Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Missouri
Shouldn't My Landlord Be Responsible For Getting An Exterminator?
My husband and I have been renting a house from our landlord for almost a full year. We have always paid our rent and we have paid it on time with the exception of this month. The problem is that the house has also become home to some rats. They have ruined furniture, walls, etc in this house and even my car in the driveway. We told our landlord that we refused to pay rent until she does something about the rats. We have 2 small children in the house and we worry about their safety. We have a rent with option to buy lease, she doesn't think it is her responsibility to get someone in here to get rid of the rats. Since we are not purchasing nor have we signed anything saying we will purchase in the furture wouldn't that make it her responsibility as landlord? She even admits that the situation may warrant the house uninhabitable by the citys standards. We are in Independence, MO. She said that she is going to call an attorney tomorrow and work on getting us evicted if we don't have her rent. So my question is, what can we do about this situation? We don't feel its fair to have to pay rent to live in a rat infested home. Thanks in advance for advice!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Shouldn't My Landlord Be Responsible For Getting An Exterminator?
Technically your landlord has breached the "warranty of habitability" that comes with a rented dwelling. In other words, a landlord represents, by renting a place for human habitation, that the rented place is safe and habitable. Hot and cold running rodents would surely seem to make the place uninhabitable.
Tell your landlord that she can either get rid of the rats, within the next five days, or you will sue her for breach of her warranty and damages. Tell her that if the situation is not remedied within those five days that you will contract with an exterminator to take care of the situation and that you will pay her the rent minus the amount charged by the exterminator. This is called "repair and deduct" and is a defense in most jurisidictions.
Send her a certified letter and tell her that if anyone in your household, including your children, is in any way harmed by these rodents that you will sue her for all the damages allowed by law, including punitive damages, because her failure to eradicate the problem when she knows of the problem is "tantamount to intentional wrongdoing" because she is "substantially certain that harm will result." If she takes that letter to an attorney the attorney will no doubt advise her to get rid of the rodents.
But here is the larger issue. Why would you WANT to remain in a house where there are rats? If I were you, I would want out of there as quickly as humanly possible! If you have a lease, you can notify the landlord that her breach of the warranty of habitability is a breach of the lease agreement, and that you are moving out.
Your landlord may sue you under Unlawful Detainer for the rent and for possession. If she does, make sure you file a "counterclaim" for the breach of warranty of habitability. To do this, you will probably need an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, keep in mind that Legal Aid of Western Missouri (downtown KC on Grand Avenue) can often provide free legal assistance in situations like this.
Good luck.
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