Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Missouri
Tenant Privacy
My daughter's lanlord does not make advance arrangements for repair work on her rental home. He comes & goes while she is at work, turns off the radio she leaves on for her pet and goes into areas of the house where he should not be for that repair. He is entering to ''fix'' things that she did not report as needing repair. She has asked him to please call in advance to set up appointment so she or a family member can be there, he so far has been unwilling to honor her requests. She has only been renting from this lanlord for 2 weeks and she is already uncomfortable about the situation. She want's to change the dead bolt locks to limit his access to when she is home. Should he be entering her house without permission? What are the laws concerning this matter? Is she within her tenant rights in Missouri to change the locks?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Tenant Privacy
As to residential leases, there is no state law or regulation that condones nor prohibits changing dead bolts. You may wish to find out if there are any Municipal ordinances where the house is.
Generally, this question can be answered by reading the written lease, if there is one. If it does not prohibit her from changing locks without giving the landlord a key, then she may be able to do it. Most leases I've read require that the landlord have a key.
Perhaps you should hire an attorney to write tot eh landlord instructing him to cease entering the premises without prior notice, unless he wants to concee that he is harming her quiet enjpyment, and granting her leave to rescind the rental agreement. I do not remember ever having alandlord agree to say that the landlord gave teh tenant grounds to say the landlord breached the agreement.
Good Luck,
Tony Smith
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