Tenant Cases

Being a tenant in Missouri comes with many responsibilities but it also comes with certain rights.  Long gone are the days that a landlord can terminate utilities, take off your front door or just move you out without the need for court intervention.  

In Missouri, landlords have a duty to provide habitable living conditions, including maintaining vital services and ensuring the property is structurally sound. Tenants have rights to a safe, sanitary, and livable home, privacy, and protection from retaliation for reporting housing code violations. Missouri law also outlines specific procedures for rent withholding, repairs, and security deposit returns. 

Key aspects of Missouri landlord-tenant law include:

• Habitable Living Conditions: Landlords must maintain vital services like heat, water, and electricity. 
• Tenant Rights: Tenants have the right to a safe, sanitary, and livable home, privacy, and protection from retaliation. 
• Landlord Responsibilities: Landlords must make repairs due to ordinary wear and tear ina timely manner, and refrain from shutting off utilities. 
• Rent Withholding/Repairs: Tenants can withhold rent or make repairs and deduct the cost if the landlord fails to maintain habitable conditions, following specific procedures. 
• Security Deposits: Landlords may only charge legally allowable security deposits, and Landlords must return security deposits within 30 days and provide an itemized list of deductions. 
• Eviction: Landlords can't evict without a court order, and tenants have the right to be heard in court before eviction. 
• Discrimination: Missouri law prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin. Hoefle Law, does not handle this type of case. 

Many Tenants have the same or similar questions, we will try to address the most common here:

My rental has a maintenance problem (mold, no heat, no A/C, rodents, bugs, etc.): This situation may give you the right to terminate your lease.  Your best best is to document the problem and document the notice to the landlord.  If the problem is bad enough you may likely terminate your lease and be relieved of future obligations under the lease.  Each case is different.  

My rental has sold and the new owner wants a new lease: This could also apply for a new managment company for the same owner.  If you are still under a lease you are not required to sign a new lease until that lease is up or terminated per the lease.  If you never had a lease or the lease has expired and you are on a month-to-month tenancy you may need to signa  lease or face possible eviction.     

How do security deposits work?  Landlords in Missouri can charge a security deposit of up to 2 month's rent.  Once yo uhave vacated the premises you are entitled to a refund or explanation of the use of your security deposit from your landlord within 30 days.  If you dispute the amounts withheld you may need to file a small claims suit to recover the money.  If you do not get a refund or explanation within 30 days you have the right to sue for double the amount of your security deposit.  

Any advice for Tenants:  Read your lease, make sure you understand the provisions and hidden terms, if not consult an attroney.  Take lots of pictures when you move in to document the condition and lots of pictures when you move out.  This can be very valueable when disputes arise.     

My landlord sued me, now what?  Your landlord has filed suit, this can be a scary time, what shoudl you know?  

• Service.  Your landlord must “serve” you with the lawsuit.  Service occurs when someone hands the lawsuit to you or someone in your home over the age of 18 or when the lawsuit is “posted” in a visible place on your home.  If you want to defend the suit, call an attorney right away, as these cases move pretty fast.  
• No judgment for past-due rent if lawsuit posted outside home. If the landlord posted the suit outside your home, then the landlord will not be able to get a judgment for past due rent if you do not appear in court (but the landlord can get a judgment to evict you).  If you want to be sure there won’t be a judgment for past-due rent, call an attorney. They can look at the “return of service” in the court records.   
• Failure to appear in court. If you or your attorney do not appear in court, the landlord will automatically win the case.  This is called a “default judgment.” You should know that a judgment against you will be in the public record. This will make it more difficult for you to rent in the future. Even if you have no defense, you may be able to negotiate an agreement that would prevent a judgment.
• Read the lawsuit. Reading the lawsuit will tell you what the landlord is accusing you of, what type of suit it is, and how much money the landlord is demanding.  If you disagree with what the lawsuit says, call an attorney right away.  This is especially important if the landlord is seeking an “expedited eviction” and is accusing you or others of engaging in drug activity, serious property damage, or being a threat to others. 

What kinds of landlord tenant cases are there? 

• Rent and Possession. The most common type of suits landlords file are called “rent and possession.”  Through this type of suit, a landlord can seek a judgment from the court evicting you and requiring you to pay past-due rent and late fees (but not property damages). 
• Responding to Rent and Possession Suit.
  • Catch up on the rent. If you pay all of the rent due on or before your court date, the case will be dismissed and you will not be evicted (to be safe, appear in court and pay the past due rent to the court with a money order).
  • Present evidence of inaccuracy.  If the landlord has charged you for fees that are not provided for in the lease or if the amount sought is wrong, you can present evidence of that to the judge.  We suggest you call an attorney for a consultation beforehand.
  • Counterclaim for landlord abuses.  If, during the time you rented the home, you believe the landlord violated your rights, such as failing to maintain safe, sanitary and livable housing or cutting off your utilities, you may have grounds for a counterclaim.  Call an attorney right away for guidance.
• Unlawful detainer.  Sometimes landlords will file “unlawful detainer” suits.  A landlord can file this type of suit when the tenant has stayed in the home past the time permitted.  This can occur when the landlord ends your month-to-month tenancy, chooses not to renew your lease, or accuses you of violating the lease.  The landlord can seek your eviction, rent, and damages.   To succeed, the landlord must send you a letter demanding you leave (for breaching the lease, the landlord must give ten days notice and for ending the tenancy, the landlord must give you notice at least 30 days before rent is due).  If the landlord did not follow this procedure, the landlord loses.  If a landlord wins, a court can order you to pay double rent for the time you stayed over plus damages. 
• Responding to unlawful detainer suit.  
  • No counterclaims.  You cannot file most counterclaims in unlawful detainer cases.  But if you believe you have claims against your landlord, you may want to call an attorney and consider filing them independently.
  • Inaccuracies.  You can challenge the amount of money being sought if you believe it is inaccurate.  You can also try to prove that the landlord failed to provide 30 days’ written notice.  
  • No breach. If the landlord is attempting to evict you for breaching the lease, you can try to prove you complied with the lease.

Attorney's Fees: Most Missouri leases require the tenant to pay the attroney fees of the landlord if teh landlord wins a suit for eviction.  It is importnat to know this going into the case to know your potential liability.  Check your lease carefully.