I hope someone can answer this question for me. I would appreciate any help. I have a landlord who is very negligent concerning his property. The furnace in my house has developed a gas leak and the gas company shut off the gas. My landlord has known about this for a month and has yet to find someone to repair the problem. I have talked with him about this problem several times and nothing has been done. With cold weather approaching in the not so distant future, I am wondering what my rights are. I live in a small town and moving is not an option at this point. I considered withholding rent and having the problem repaired myself but am afraid of eviction. Any suggestions?
I am wondering what my rights are. I live in a small town and moving is not an option at this point. I considered withholding rent and having the problem repaired myself but am afraid of eviction. Any suggestions?
Missouri has some pretty decent protections for tenants. I copied the law below. They make you jump through a few hoops, but if you follow the law, you're gonna have a nice toasty winter....
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Landlord's unlawful removal or exclusion of tenant, liability --interruption of services, landlord's liability.
441.233. 2. Any landlord or its agent who willfully diminishes services to a tenant by interrupting or causing the interruption of essential services, including but not limited to electric, gas, water, or sewer service, to the tenant or to the premises shall be deemed guilty of forcible entry and detainer as described in chapter 534, RSMo; provided however, this section shall not be applicable if a landlord or its agent takes such action for health or safety reasons. (L. 1997 H.B. 361 § 441.223)
Tenant may deduct cost of repair of rental premises from rent, when --limitations.
441.234. 1. The provisions of this section shall apply only to a tenant who has lawfully resided on the rental premises for six consecutive months, has paid all rent and charges due the landlord during that time, and did not during that time receive any written notice from the landlord of any violation of any lease provision or house rule, which violation was not subsequently cured.
2. If there exists a condition on residential premises which detrimentally affects the habitability, sanitation or security of the premises, and the condition constitutes a violation of a local municipal housing or building code, and the reasonable cost to correct the condition is less than three hundred dollars, or one-half of the periodic rent, whichever is greater, provided that the cost may not exceed one month's rent, the tenant may notify the landlord of the tenant's intention to correct the condition at the landlord's expense. If the landlord fails to correct the condition within fourteen days after being notified by the tenant in writing or as promptly as required in case of an emergency, the tenant may cause the work to be done in a workmanlike manner and, after submitting to the landlord an itemized statement, including receipts, deduct from the rent the actual and reasonable cost of the work, as documented by the receipts, not exceeding the amount specified in this subsection; provided, however, if the landlord provides to the tenant within said notice period a written statement disputing the necessity of the repair, then the tenant may not deduct the cost of the repair from the rent without securing, before the repair is performed, a written certification from the local municipality or government entity that the condition requiring repair constitutes a violation of local municipal housing or building code. In the event of such certification, the tenant may cause the work to be done as described herein if the landlord fails to correct the condition within fourteen days after the date of said certification or the date of the notice from the tenant, whichever is later, or as promptly as required in case of an emergency. The tenant's remedy provided herein is not exclusive of any other remedies which may be available to the tenant under the law. No lease agreement shall contain a waiver of the rights described in this section.
3. A tenant may not repair at the landlord's expense if the condition was caused by the deliberate or negligent act or omission of the tenant, a member of the tenant's family, or other person on the premises with tenant's consent. A tenant may not deduct in the aggregate more than the amount of one month's rent during any twelve-month period.
(L. 1997 H.B. 361)
Some landlords are lazy and cheap and don't want to spend money unless they're forced. Asking nicely, like you have, apparently isn't forcing squat.
So, here's what I suggest. From now on, do all your communications with the landlord by mail, sent certified return receipt requested, or email, or both. Sure, you can talk to him on the telephone, but make sure you follow up with a certified letter and email highlighting the conversation.
That's HOW you should communicate. WHAT you should communicate is that you are no longer asking, you are demanding pursuant to Missouri law. If he doesn't act within x days, you will proceed according to law.
The idea is to get him to act - so you don't have to. He will if he thinks he's dealing with a serious person. HOW you are going to be communicating with him, will indicate that you are, indeed, a serious person. He'll probably even lower your rent too. Ok, probably not.
Winter weather - requiring HEAT - is min 3 months off so the landlord has some time to effect the required repairs.
Forget using certified mail - it is so PASSE that courts don't even use it.
Send e-mail if your landlord has it and then print your e-mail and send the hard copy USPS delivery confirmation service so that you have proof when it arrives at his mail box.
Also have some preliminary discussions with your local building department on what options they can do to get some activity by your landlord.
Funny thing about rent witholding and tenant-landlord relationships. The tenant rarely survives past the acceptable period by which the landlord can get even by kicking the tenant out. I suggest you wait till the summer is almost over, then make an issue about it.
Ditto Brooks - getting into a no win situation with your landlord by not knowing your rights under your state law is dangerous. Few states allow rent withholding - very few.
I have not seen a lease document that requires any notice via certified mail in over 20 years.....legal documents between attorneys or to a court are now transmitted electronically via fax or e-mail.....delivering a non-judicial document to a landlord via certified mail RRR is OVERKILL and will most likely not be picked up which will defeat the purpose....sending the notice letter with a rent check or delivery confirmation does not burden the landlord with accepting delivery at the post office and does not DELAY the receipt of the notice.... AND it provides the evidence of receipt.
I have to disagree with at least a part of your answer, Cvillecpm. I have not dealt with an attorney yet who will use e-mail for notice purposes. The only time they will use e-mail with me is to transmit drafts of documents for review. As for faxes, they will use them as notice only so long as the fax is followed by regular mail. Final versions of legal documents are not sent by e-mail or fax--they are sent by regular mail or overnight mail.
As for certified mail, that is still widely used for notice purposes. The only other method I have seen used for notice purposes is overnight mail.
While the foregoing may not be applicable to residential leases, the only methods I know for having proof of delivery for any situation are certified mail, overnight mail (with signature) or hand delivery. As for the certified mail not being picked up, I always advise people to send notices by regular mail and certified mail. If the certified mail is not picked up but the regular mail is not returned, the courts will accept that as proof of delivery.
When I was in Maryland i rented a house and the boiler went out in it. I called the landord and told him about it. He did not respond to my phone calls or letters. So what i did was fix the problem myself and when it came time to pay the rent I sent him A copy of the invoice instead of a check. How this would stand up on a legal stand point I don't know but it worked for me I never heard from him about it. If you do this make sure you keep a copy of the invoice.
Lisa - service of LEGAL court papers is not what OP needs to do. Court paperwork needs to be personally served or sub-served depending on state legal service requirements.....we are mixing apples and oranges in this discussion,
My point is that very FEW states now require certified mail for the service of court process paperwork - summons, warrents, etc. How an attorney wishes to serve other documents is purely personal preference.
In my state, I don't need to serve anything by certified mail and have not seen lease paperwork that requires it for over 20 years. There are too many other cheaper and better ways to get service so that court is not burdened with DNFs - did not find(s).
Lisa - service of LEGAL court papers is not what OP needs to do. Court paperwork needs to be personally served or sub-served depending on state legal service requirements.....we are mixing apples and oranges in this discussion,
Where did I mention service of "LEGAL court papers"? All I said was notices.
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My point is that very FEW states now require certified mail for the service of court process paperwork - summons, warrents, etc. How an attorney wishes to serve other documents is purely personal preference.
And as I said, I have never seen attorneys serve other documents electronically without them being followed by at least regular mail, if not overnight mail or certified mail.
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In my state, I don't need to serve anything by certified mail and have not seen lease paperwork that requires it for over 20 years. There are too many other cheaper and better ways to get service so that court is not burdened with DNFs - did not find(s).
And I agreed that residential leases do not require certified mail. However, certified mail, overnight mail or hand delivery are still the only ways to show proof of service. If a tenant wants to prove to the court that they sent the landlord a letter detailing repairs that need to be made, and that the landlord received it, sending it by certified mail AND regular mail is a lot better proof than saying "I sent it with the rent check." Many landlords, particularly large apartment complexes, arrange to have rent checks mailed directly to a lock box at the bank for immediate deposit. The fact that the rent check was cashed is not proof that the landlord received the complaint letter.
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