Ask Me Help Desk - Tenant rights under Missouri Law

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?

Hello booth:

Quote:

Originally Posted by bootheelgirl

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 going to 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)

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Hope it helps.

excon

Hello again, boothee:

I probably should have added more. Sorry.

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.

excon

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 Passé 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.

You can also do a "proof of mailing" yourself.

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).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cvillecpm

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.

Quote:

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.

Quote:

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.

My daughter's landlord has indicated they are offering remodelled apratments for an increase in rent during the next rental period 8-1-11 to 7-31 12. OTherwise rent was $300 per month if an early lease agreement was signed. My daughter and the landlord signed the lease 2-2-11. ON 2-18-11 my daughter received an email stating her apartment was being remodelled and she would be given 48 hours notice of this remodelling during the months of April, May June or July. If she would like to pay the increased rate of $350.00 per month for the new lease period she could stay in her current unit. OTherwise she and her roommates would be relocated to another unremodelled unit on the premises for the new lease period.

Further the landord is planning to completely remodel the kitchen and bathroom and tear out the flooring and completely repaint the premises while she and her roommates are paying rent and living under an existing lease. Can they do this? I can see entry for repairs and the lease says improvements but extensive remodelling seems a stretch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooke1029

My daughter's landlord has indicated they are offering remodelled apratments for an increase in rent during the next rental period 8-1-11 to 7-31 12. OTherwise rent was $300 per month if an early lease agreement was signed. My daughter and the landlord signed the lease 2-2-11. ON 2-18-11 my daughter received an email stating her apartment was being remodelled and she would be given 48 hours notice of this remodelling during the months of April, May June or July. If she would like to pay the increased rate of $350.00 per month for the new lease period she could stay in her current unit. OTherwise she and her roommates would be relocated to another unremodelled unit on the premises for the new lease period.

Further the landord is planning to completely remodel the kitchen and bathroom and tear out the flooring and completely repaint the premises while she and her roommates are paying rent and living under an existing lease. Can they do this? I can see entry for repairs and the lease says improvements but extensive remodelling seems a stretch.

Please don't insert your new question, even if relates to a previous issue, on an existing thread. Start a new thread instead. That way we won't find ourselves reading 2 pages of 2-year old threads.

Anyway, it depends. Does her lease specify the unit she is in now? I would suspect that it does. Does the lease provide that the tenant can be relocated like this?

I would agree that extensive remodeling during the lease (for those who do not elect to be moved to an un-remodeled unit) is probably not lawful unless the landlord intends to put the tenants up somewhere else for free (with no increase in rent for their rented units being remodeled). I would also ask for moving expenses.

Please Help! I am a 52 year old female living in the same apartment complex since 2003. Over the years I have had 3 different apartment owners. I frequently have problems getting anything fixed or looked at by the managers or by anyone in mainenance and have paid out of pocket for plumbers, widow people etc... etc.. One summer I went without any air conditioning with temperatures in the 100's. My current problem is this... Recently a new apartment manager took over here. ( In the complex there seems to be an issue with keeping them. ) Every month for the past 4 months I have come home or opened my door to find a nasty letter either stuck in it.. which could blow away... or taped or in a bag. The problem is this... The letter threatens eviction and or commencement of action to the Circuit Court of Jackson County where I reside, for non payment of rent. Subsequently, I am forced to take off work, Drive back home 15 miles.. Get my receipt of payment, go to the office, sit and wait while the assistant is either chatting on the phone or talking to a tenant while the apartment manager sits in her office on the phone. I loose 22 dollars an hour doing this.. and sometimes they are not even there... hence, more money lost.. gas.time etc. I have a serious heart condition. This added frustration, wage loss, time loss and aggravation isn't helping me. I even ended up in the emergency room in December 2009 over it. Do I have any legal rights because of this? I have lost almost a thousand dollars because of it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SharonLeslie

... Every month for the past 4 months I have come home or opened my door to find a nasty letter
...
The letter threatens eviction and or commencement of action to the Circuit Court of Jackson County where I reside, for non payment of rent. Subsequently, I am forced to take off of work, Drive back home 15 miles..Get my reciept of payment, go to the office, sit and wait while the assistant is either chatting on the phone or talking to a tenant while the apartment manager sits in her office on the phone. I loose 22 dollars an hour doing this..and sometimes they are not even there.....hence, more money lost..gas.time etc. I have a serious heart condition. This added frustration, wage loss, time loss and aggravation isn't helping me. I even ended up in the emergency room in December 2009 over it. Do I have any legal rights because of this?? I have lost almost a thousand dollars because of it.

As I wrote on February 18th, "Please don't insert your new question, even if relates to a previous issue, on an existing thread. Start a new thread instead. That way we won't find ourselves reading 2 pages of 2-year old threads." What part of that didn't you understand?

Now, as to your question:

No, you can't sue the apartment management for your own stupidity. You don't have to take time off from work, etc. Merely call them and remind them that you paid the rent and they gave you a receipt.

If you paid the rent on time and they nevertheless sue you, proof of payment will make them look almost as silly as one who takes time off from work to hand-carry a receipt to a property manager.