you need to make it clear that it's against laws to keep the rent money for repairs unless landlord refuses to make the property inhabitable. you may also keep records of false maintenance calls and charge back to the tenant to make arrears even higher, not necessarily used for eviction notice, just showing him what he owes between you and him to prevent him from making false calls again.
you can deposit his check and just make sure that the check is good. in the meantime, you need to write back to re-enforce the lease agreement with the points above.
Keep tracking of overall balance owed. If it exceeds the limit that you can stand, file an eviction. Good luck.
