No Air Conditioning

rece159

New Member
Jurisdiction
Missouri
I have been renting my home for about 5 years now. I asked my Landlord a question about getting a window unit due to the AC unit not working anymore. The Landlord asked when the problem started (we had this same discussion last year and the year before that....) I told them that it had been just a couple of days and that the blower had quit.
The answer to my question about a window AC was that if I wanted to buy I could but it would be mine and I would not be able to deduct it from the rent. The Landlord sent her husband out a couple of days later to look at it. He told us that he would have to get parts so that he could fix it. While on the phone with his wife my room mate stated that the thing needed to be replaced and that we told the landlord that last year.
I received a text from the landlord stating that we were being given 30 days notice to leave. She stated that there would be some kind of paper work on our door the next day. She stated that we are to be out by the 15th of July,. So now I have to try to find a way to get moved out of my home and find another home by the 15th of July. However I have not received any thing other than the text message stating that we are to move out in 30 days. And the AC still does not work. How does she expect us to do this in 90 plus degree weather with no AC?
Myself and one other person in this house has Asthma not having AC makes it hard at times. We have had many problems and getting them to fix anything has become almost impossible. We have a whole in out tub cause the wall rotted out. The Landlord's father (who is the actual landlord) stated 3 years ago that he was going to redo the bathroom tub area because of the rotting issue. He never did anything and his daughter says that we are suppose to fix it. I am at a loss. Anything I have had in writing from the Landlord was ruined in one of the seven floods we have had in our house (due to rain and sewage backing up). I live paycheck to paycheck and am not ready for this move as I was not preparing for this. Any advice on how to get threw this would be great. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
 
If things are as bad as you say in the house, you should be thrilled that you are getting out.
 
The landlord is likely rewired to give you 60 days notice and that click won't start until you are served notice in writing. The text message doesn't count and was short notice anyway.
You will not have to be out but July 15. If you are still there the landlord could begin an eviction which would take more time to go through the courts, which you could disrupt by arguing the improper service. The landlord would have to start over from the beginning and give you another 60 day notice.
It sounds like this place is not worth fighting for. You should be looking for a new home, but don't be rushed by the July 15 deadline.
Expect to have to fight for return of any deposits you made when moving in.
 
Any advice on how to get threw this would be great.

Advice: Move.

Unless you have a written lease with more time on it than one month, all the landlord is required by statute to do is give you one month's written notice.

See Missouri statute 441.060.1

2016 Missouri Revised Statutes :: TITLE XXIX OWNERSHIP AND CONVEYANCE OF PROPERTY (441-448) :: Chapter 441 Landlord and Tenant :: Section 441.060 Tenancy at will, sufferance, month to month, how terminated--judgment of eviction, how effectuated, landlord's liability.

These days text messaging is routinely accepted as evidence in court so you got your written notice and need not rely on anything further.

According to the Missouri Court of Appeals:

"the content of text messages on a phone is more properly analogous to a personal letter and those rules of admissibility should be applied. The authenticity of a document cannot be assumed. Robin Farms, Inc. v. Bartholome, 989 S.W.2d 238, 252 (Mo. App. W.D. 1999). The proponent of the document must offer proof that it is what it purports to be. Id. "The law is well settled that the mere fact that a letter purports to have been written and signed by one in authority to do so is, in itself, insufficient to establish the authenticity and genuineness of the letter." Id.
Applying these rules to text messages, the proponent of such evidence must present some proof that the message
were actually authored by the person who allegedly sent them. This should not be an unduly burdensome requirement and can be satisfied by circumstantial evidence. Proof could be in the form of admission by the author that he actually sent them, or simply an admission by the author that the number from which the message was received is his number and that he has control of that phone. Such proof could even be established by the person receiving the message testifying that he regularly receives text messages from the author from this number, or something distinctive about the text message indicating the author wrote it, such as a personalized signature. Once the evidence is admitted, it is still the province of the jury to determine its weight."

http://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=51282

The case obviously has nothing to do with landlord tenant matters but it is clear how the court feels about text messages as evidence.

If you got the text yesterday, one month from yesterday June 16 is, indeed, July 15th.
 
The landlord is likely rewired to give you 60 days notice and that click won't start until you are served notice in writing. The text message doesn't count and was short notice anyway.
You will not have to be out but July 15. If you are still there the landlord could begin an eviction which would take more time to go through the courts, which you could disrupt by arguing the improper service. The landlord would have to start over from the beginning and give you another 60 day notice.
It sounds like this place is not worth fighting for. You should be looking for a new home, but don't be rushed by the July 15 deadline.
Expect to have to fight for return of any deposits you made when moving in.

The phrases in bold are correct. The rest is not.
 
Whatever the time requirement is in Missouri, the clock will not start until personal service is made, or a posting of the notice is left at the residence.

You have not received the required notice so you have more time, however you would have to make this argument is court and go through all the hassle. Hopefully you can find somewhere better before things get that far, but just know that you will not be legally required to leave in July. You will not be forced to leave until ordered by a court, but you don't want that to happen.
 
OP, you should strive at all costs to avoid having any eviction proceeding filed against you.

Even if you went to court and prevailed, there are many databases used by landlords that would forever hold that against you.

Bottom line, it would suddenly become impossible to secure decent rental housing for decades.

Some would even say it would negatively impact obtaining a home mortgage, too.

Bottom line, be very careful, traps are being set for you, mate.
 
Central AC did not become more or less standard in homes until a generation or so ago. There are many more homes built before this than since. AC is not a required feature in a home.
 
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