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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 3016
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE BUSH.
5288H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal section 441.060, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections relating to
landlords and tenants.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 441.060, RSMo, is repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu
2 thereof, to be known as sections 441.060, 441.238, and 534.125, to read as follows:
441.060. 1. A tenancy at will or by suff erance, or for less than one year , may be
2 terminated by the person entitled to the possession by giving one month's notice, in writing, to
3 the person in possession, requiring the person in possession to vacate the premises.
4 2. An occupancy limitation of two persons per bedroom residing in a dwelling unit
5 shall be presumed reasonable for this state. The two-person limitation shall not apply to a
6 child or children born to the tenants during the course of the lease.
7 3. Except as otherwise provided by law , all contracts or agreements for the leasing,
8 renting or occupation of stores, shops, houses, tenements or other buildings in cities, towns or
9 villages, and of stores, shops, houses, tenements or other buildings except when such leasing,
10 renting or occupation is as tenant of real estate used or rented for agricultural purposes, other
11 than garden purposes, not made in writing, signed by the parties thereto, or their agents, shall
12 be held and taken to be tenancies from month to month, and all such tenancies may be
13 terminated by either party thereto, or the party's agent, giving to the other party , or the party's
14 agent, one month's notice, in writing, of the party's intention to terminate such tenancy .
15 4. (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2), the landlord or the tenant may terminate
16 a month-to-month tenancy by a written notice given to the other party stating that the tenancy
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
17 shall terminate upon a periodic rent-paying date not less than one month after the receipt of
18 the notice.
19 (2) When a person occupies and has an ownership interest in a mobile home and is
20 leasing the land or the lot upon which the mobile home is located, a tenancy for less than one
21 year may be terminated by the landlord only for cause by giving written notice to the tenant
22 that the tenancy shall terminate not sooner than sixty days from the date the rent payment next
23 becomes due unless the tenant cur es any violation specified in the notice of the conditions
24 of the lease, of applicable rules and r egulations, or of section 441.020 or 441.030 within
25 fifteen days of recei pt of the notice , notwithstanding any written lease provision regarding
26 earlier lease termination to the contrary .
27 5. If a person occupies and has an ownership interes t in a mobile home and is
28 leasing the land or the lot upon which the mobile home is located under a lease for mor e
29 than one month with a specified termination date, the landlord may refu se to re new the
30 lease only for cause by giving written notice not less than sixty days before the
31 termination date that the lease will not be ren ewed unless the tenant cur es violations
32 specified in the notice of the conditions of the lease, applicable rules and regul ations, or
33 section 441.020 or 441.030 within fifteen days of recei pt of the notice.
34 6. If after the rendition of a judgment and a request for an execution on any judgment
35 rendered in an action pursuant to chapter 524, chapter 534, chapter 535, or this chapter and
36 there is no stay of execution, the service of ficer fails to deliver possession of the premises to
37 the landlord within seven days of the delivery of the writ to such of ficer , the landlord may ,
38 within sixty days of the date of the judgment, in the presence of a municipal or county law
39 enforcement of ficer of the jurisdiction in which the premises are located, without breach of
40 the peace, break and remove locks, enter and take possession of the premises and remove any
41 household goods, furnishings, fixtures or any other personal property left in or at the
42 premises, provided the law enforcement of ficer is first presented a true copy of the judgment
43 and order of execution, and the law enforcement of ficer acknowledges in writing such
44 presentation, and such acknowledgment is filed in court by the plaintiff within five days
45 following taking possession of the premises.
46 [ 6. ] 7. Except for negligent, willful or wanton acts or omissions of the landlord, or
47 failure to both timely obtain and file the law enforcement of ficer acknowledgment described
48 in the preceding subsection, the landlord shall have no liability for loss or damage to any
49 household goods, furnishings, fixtures or any other personal property left in or at the dwelling
50 unit, by reason of the landlord's removal of the property in accordance with the provisions of
51 this section.
441.238. 1. A landlord shall not engage in conduct described in subsection 2 of
2 this section if the landlord's purpose is to ret aliate against a tenant who:
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3 (1) Complained to a governmental agency res ponsible for enforcem ent of a
4 building, housing, fir e, or health code or other law , alleging a violation applicable to the
5 pr emises materially affecting the health or safety of the tenant or the tenant's immediate
6 family member;
7 (2) Complained to a governmental agency res ponsible for enforcem ent of laws
8 pr ohibiting discrimination in ren tal housing;
9 (3) Complained to the landlord of noncompliance with the lease or
1 0 noncompliance with the landlord's duty to maintain the pr emises in habitable condition;
11 (4) Organized or became a member of a tenant's union or similar organization;
12 (5) Exerci sed or attempted to exer cise a right or rem edy under the lease or
13 landlord-tenant statutes or law other than the statutes; or
14 (6) Pursued an action or administrative rem edy against the landlord or testified
15 against the landlord in court or an administrative pr oceeding.
16 2. Conduct that may be ret aliatory under subsection 1 of this section includes
17 doing or thr eatening to do any of the following:
18 (1) Increas ing the ren t or fees;
19 (2) Decreasing services, increa sing the tenant's obligations, imposing differ ent
20 rules on, or selectively enforcing the landlord's rules against the tenant or the tenant's
21 immediate family member , or otherwise materially altering the terms of the lease;
22 (3) Bringing an action for possession on a grou nd other than nonpayment of
23 r ent;
24 (4) Refusing to renew a tenancy for a fixed term under a lease containing a
25 r enewal option that is exer cisable by the tenant without negotiation with the landlord
26 for any period after the lease would otherwise terminate;
27 (5) T erminating a periodic tenancy; or
28 (6) Committing a criminal act against the tenant, the tenant's immediate family
29 member , or the tenant's guest.
30 3. A landlord shall not be liable for r etaliation under subsection 1 of this section
31 if:
32 (1) The violation of which the tenant complained under subdivision (1) or (2) of
33 subsection 1 of this section was caused primarily by the tenant, the tenant's immediate
34 family member , or the tenant's guest;
35 (2) The tenant's conduct described in subsection 1 of this section was in an
36 unr easonable manner or at an unr easonable time or was repea ted in a manner
37 harassing the landlord;
38 (3) The tenant was in default in the payment of ren t at the time notice of the
39 action described in subdivision (3) of subsection 2 of this section was sent;
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40 (4) The tenant, the tenant's immediate family member , or the tenant's guest
41 engaged in conduct that thr eatened the health or safety of another tenant on the
42 pr emises;
43 (5) The tenant, the tenant's immediate family member , or the tenant's guest
44 engaged in a criminal act;
45 (6) The landlord is seeking to r ecover possession based on a notice to terminate
46 the lease and the notice was given to the tenant before the tenant engaged in conduct
47 described in subsection 1 of this section; or
48 (7) The landlord is complying or complied with a building, housing, fir e, or
49 health code or other law by making a r equir ed r epair , alteration, rem odeling, or
50 demolition that effectively deprives the tenant of the use and enjoyment of the pr emises.
51 4. If a landlord's purpose for engaging in conduct described in subsection 2 of
52 this section is to ret aliate against the tenant for conduct described in subsection 1 of this
53 section:
54 (1) The tenant has a defense against an action for possession, may r ecover
55 possession, or may terminate the lease; and
56 (2) The tenant may r ecover two times the periodic rent or two times the actual
57 damages, whichever is gr eater .
58 5. If a tenant terminates a lease under subsection 4 of this section, the landlord
59 shall r eturn any security deposit and unearned r ent to which the tenant is entitled.
60 6. A tenant's exer cise of rights under subsections 4 and 5 of this section does not
61 r elease the landlord fr om liability to the tenant for the landlord's failure to maintain the
62 pr emises in habitable condition or the landlord's noncompliance with the lease that
63 r esults in the tenant not recei ving an essential service, that materially interfer es with the
64 health or safety of the tenant or the tenant's immediate family member , or that
65 materially interfer es with the use and enjoyment of the pre mises by the tenant or the
66 tenant's immediate family member .
67 7. Except as otherwise prov ided in subsection 8 of this section, evidence that a
68 tenant engaged in conduct described in subsection 1 of this section within six months
69 befor e the landlord's alleged reta liatory conduct creat es a reb uttable presum ption that
70 the purpose of the landlord's conduct was ret aliation.
71 8. A pr esumption does not arise under subsection 7 of this section if the tenant
72 engaged in conduct described in subsection 1 of this section after the landlord gave the
73 tenant notice of the landlord's intent to engage in conduct described in subdivisions (1)
74 to (5) of subsection 2 of this section.
75 9. A landlord may r ebut a pr esumption under subsection 7 of this section by a
76 pr eponderance of evidence showing that the landlord had sufficient justification for
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77 engaging in the conduct that crea ted the pr esumption and would have engaged in the
78 conduct in the same manner and at the same time whether or not the tenant engaged in
79 conduct described in subsection 1 of this section.
80 10. If a tenant engages in conduct described in subdivision (1) or (5) of
81 subsection 1 of this section knowing ther e is no factual or legal basis for the conduct, the
82 landlord may recove r actual damages and the court may award the landlord up to two
83 times the periodic ren t.
534.125. The defendant may file an answer , legal and equitable defenses,
2 counter claims, and cr oss claims not later than the ret urn date and time of the summons
3 unless leave to file the same at a later date is granted by the court. If the defendant files
4 no pleading, the statements made in the petition shall be consider ed denied.
✔
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