The landlord should be responsible for repairs necessitated by ordinary wear and tear and natural forces (e.g. weather). Tenants should be responsible for paying for damages resulting from their own negligence or the negligence of their guests.

The landlord is required to make the property habitable before you move in and to maintain the habitability of the property while you live there.
The dwelling must meet the requirements of the 1996 BOCA National Property Maintenance Code. (See ‘Moving In’ and Appendix A.) The BOCA code applies only within the city limits.

If the problem is a fire hazard, call the Public Works Department or the Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Bureau.

If you smell gas, call your gas utility immediately.

If you have difficulty getting your landlord to make repairs, you might use some of the following methods. Whether you use these suggestions or your own strategy, act responsibly, because it will help you if a legal problem develops.

If you have any questions about repairs, contact the Public Works Department or BCT

If the repair problem does not cause a great hardship, a threat to health or safety, or unbearable living conditions, go through the following steps: (For serious repair problems, refer to the end of this section and the section on “Termination’.)

Step 1: Call or visit the landlord and request he/she makes the repairs. If he/she says the repairs will be made, wait a reasonable length of time. If it is not done as promised, try again.

Step 2: Call the landlord once, twice or several times a day or until the repairs are made. This is a patience contest.

Step 3: Notify the landlord of the problem in writing. Your letter should contain:

• The specific details of the problem.

• Reference to any previous communication with the landlord about the problem and the results of such communication.

• Any commitments the landlord has made to resolve the problem - i.e., inspections, promises, or repair attempts, and the dates and results of such commitments.

• A time limit for the landlord to correct or respond to the problem (a reasonable time is 3 - 10 days).

• Words to the effect that you will do whatever is necessary to resolve the matter if the landlord has made no attempt to correct the problem by the date specified. Your letter should be reasonable, polite and firm.

Step 4: Ask the landlord if he/she will allow you to hire someone to make the repairs or to make the repairs yourself. If he/she says to go ahead, get a signed agreement. The agreement should cover the specific work to be done; reimbursement for the expenses and labor cost (including your time); and a price ceiling. You and the landlord should both have a copy of this agreement.

If these procedures don’t bring results:

(1) If the deficiency is covered by the BOCA code, you will want to have the Protective Inspection Division of the Columbia Public Works Department inspect your dwelling. If the dwelling has an unexpired certificate of compliance, you will be required to post a $10 service charge. If the housing inspector finds violations of the BOCA code, the city may order the landlord to correct the violation within a certain period of time (usually 30 days). If the property is found to be substandard or unfit for occupancy, ask the Public Works Department to notify you of this by mail. If you don’t think the inspection was done properly, you can take your complaint to the Public Works Department officials and appear to the Board of Housing Standards and Appeals

(2) It may be possible to sue the landlord for breach of contract if your lease says the landlord is responsible for repairs.

SERIOUS REPAIR PROBLEMS

If the need for repairs causes you inconvenience or threatens your safety, it may be possible for you to move out. This is a constructive eviction. To claim constructive eviction, you must act as soon as you realize the landlord Won’t correct the problems. (More on this in “Termination.”)

The law may permit tenants to deduct the cost of repairs from their rent, although this is a very complicated process and we recommend you contact an attorney before you proceed with this action. Partial payment of rent is a breach of the lease and that subjects the tenant to a suit and/or eviction (§441 .234).

There are at least three remedies for tenants whose landlords won’t repair substandard property:

(1) BOCA National Property Maintenance Code.
If the landlord fails to correct the deficiencies cited by a housing inspector, the Public Works Director must call a hearing on the matter. All parties to the issue will be heard. If the hearing proves that the building doesn’t meet the code standards, the Director can order the owner to repair the building. If the landlord refuses to comply, the Director may inform the City Council. The Council may order the owner to repair the building. If the owner refuses to pay for the work, he/she can be charged with a special tax bill to meet the expenses.
(PM-105.3-PM-107.1 1)

(2) Receivership.
If local authorities have cited housing code violations in a building and conditions in the building threaten the health or safety of the residents, there is another remedy in Missouri law. Residents of the building can sue the landlord if one third or more of the tenants participate in the action.
A municipality, through its housing code enforcement (Public Works Department in Columbia) can also take this action. The Court may give the landlord time to repair the property, or the court may collect the rent and appoint a receiver to correct the deficiencies from the rent moneys.
(§44l.500 - §441.640)

(3) Implied Warranty of Habitability and Illegality of Contract.
The King v Moorehead case, decided by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Kansas City District, established a basis for action when landlords don’t keep property to code standards. This case also provides two defenses when a landlord sues for rent on substandard property:
(A)Every rental contract contains an implied warranty that the property is habitable (action and defense).
(B)If the property violates a housing code, the lease is an illegal contract (defense).
This case was decided in 1973 and can be found at 495 S.W.2nd, pages 65 - 80. Page numbers for important material are given in parenthesis.

(a) Implied Warranty of Habitability.
“(I)n every residential lease there (is) an implied warranty by the landlord that the dwelling is habitable and fit for living at the inception of the term and that it will remain so during the entire term. The warranty of the landlord is that he will provide facilities and services vital to the life, health and safety of the tenant and to the use of the premises for residential purposes. It is an obligation which the landlord fulfills by substantial compliance with the relevant provisions of an applicable housing code.”

If housing code violations exist, a tenant can claim a breach of this warranty. “The materiality of a breach of warranty claimed by a tenant shall be determined by” (these guidelines, among others), “the nature of the deficiency or defect, its effect on the life, health or safety of the tenant, length of time it has persisted and the age of the structure. Minor ... violations which do not effect habitability” don’t apply. The tenant must inform the landlord of the defect and give the landlord time to correct it; the defect must be in the tenant’s dwelling unit or common areas he/she uses; and the defect must not be the tenant’s fault. (76)

(a) Illegality of contract. The court also found that leasing property having housing code violations is prohibited by these codes, and such leases become void.
(78)

The breach of implied warranty claim can be used offensively and defensively. Offensively, one can file suit for breach of warranty and simultaneously pay rent to the court. Defensively, the claim can be used against a landlord’s suit for rent.

These two remedies can’t be used simultaneously, since claiming that the lease is invalid eliminates the basis for asking a court to enforce the implied habitability warranty of the lease.