When is it okay to lie?

I am having a personal conflict.

My momma taught me not to lie.

My pastor/priest/bishop always said don't lie.

Even Abraham Lincoln himself said not to lie(or was that Washington?).

BUT I am pretty sure had they known Mr.Hyde* they might be tempted to break that 9th commandment.

Let me back up here so you can understand my predicament...

Almost a year ago I moved in a couple who seemed very nice. They had mentioned they were having problems with their current apartment managers(first clue, duh!) and that their apartment had been flooded and they were looking to move asap. Their credit checked out and apparently their apartment manager didn't have much of a conscience and so willing dumped her problem onto poor, innocent me.

The couple were slated to move in on a Friday but decided late Thursday night that they would like to move in because they only had the truck and helpers that night. So we quickly moved them in and all was well. So I thought!

Mr. Hyde came to me and was pacing and smoking and shaking and going on and on and on about how everything in his apartment is broken. EVERYTHING! I ask him to please make a list of the things that need to be fixed and I will have that taken care of asap. One week later he shows up with a list of four things, yes FOUR things and a box of See's candy saying he was sorry and everything was fine except those four things. WHAT! Did I miss something. I was totally going to toss the See's but my husband, not knowing it was from Mr. Hyde, downed the entire box. Just so you know he is still alive and well.

So again I think everything is fine and then a month later Mr. Hyde comes into my office going on and on and on how everything is broken and the carpet needs to be replaced...blah blah blah. He is also so unhappy with me because he thinks I am a lazy manager because I didn't do anything about his previous requests. Seriously!?! I almost break my neck form the whiplash and ask him to leave my office immediately. I then talk to his girlfriend Ms Jekyll who is soft spoken, level headed and very nice(she must be on some sort of medication) . I explain I have no problem replacing the carpet but I was not going to replace the cupboards all the doors, the windows and basically tear down the entire apartment and rebuild it for him. Of course they declined and everything was fine again....

Then I am walking the property and he comes storming up behind me and asks for my bosses number I obliged because I have the best boss ever and at least he will be able to wittiness this craziness(and know it's not me). Luckily Mr. Hyde didn't disappoint and did his crazy talk to him as well. Since he is on a lease(why oh why did I do a 1 year lease with them?!?!?) we don't feel like going through an eviction so we basically said find a new place to live and we will let you out of your lease because obviously this relationship isn't working. Now this conversation happened about a month ago and...nothing which is not surprising.

Then today I get a fax from another apartment manager looking for resident verification. My first thought is yes please take him please take him away!!! The fax had only a few questions:

Does this person live there? Yes (unfortunately)

Did they pay their rent on time? Yes

How long has tenant lived at this address? 9 months (it feels like an eternity)

Were they evicted or given 30/60 notice? No (technically they weren't)

Were they a good tenant?....... (No! I am pretty sure he is the devil. This has not be confirmed nor denied. It's simply a theory)

Would you rent to them again?......... (H NO!)

Do I leave it blank which is code for "good luck with that one"? Do I risk eternal damnation by putting yes and sending this poor manager the crazy Mr. Hyde? If what goes around comes around is true then will I just get another Mr. Hyde??

Decisions, decisions.

Well actually it really isn't really a hard decision but sometimes I like acting like I have a conscience.

*Name changed for crazy tenants protection