I am attempting to advocate for a friend of mine who currently has no heat in her home for her, her child, her pets and her husband. Apparently, the furnace is broken (has been for 4 days) and because she owes the landlord $150.00 remaining on this months rent, he is refusing to make any necessary repairs to the furnace. Currently the temperature outside is 46 degrees and only colder at night.
I am a recent transplant from the state of NY and where I come from, unless the tenant is seriously delinquent with rent payments, a property owner cannot withhold necessary repairs to the home for the comfort of the tenants. What law in Missouri has this landlord convinced that he can refuse the repair with only a balance of $150.00?

Read page #15 http://ago.mo.gov/publications/landlordtenant.pdf He should make the repairs but the timeliness of the repair is vague. I do not think he has broken the law yet. Your friend can contact the local housing authoity and report an uninhabitable apartment situation.

Thank you. Since I am new to MO, I do not yet know what the Landlord/Tenant laws are here. In NY they were clear cut and to the point. There were rules for property owners and rules for the tenants. I just think that it is irresponsible for someone to let a family go without heat for 4 days and refuse to do anything about it for a mere $150.00. Any Judge where I come from would not only make the property owner repair the problem at whatever cost and have him do it within 24 hours.

Actually many states handling things this way. 4 days without heat is not right but is legal in many states, unfortunately. From the LL side , he may be strapped for cash too and could use that $150 to pay for the repairs.