To everyone who subscribed to this newsletter via this Tweet / post, welcome! As promised, this is the first installment of my guide for tenants in Missouri. In light of this new focus, I’ve changed the name of this Substack to “Living Under Law,” which is a better fit for what I’m trying to do here anyway: Explain how the law impacts our lives as non-lawyers.
Lawyers still seem interested in my work, and I just can’t seem to shake ‘em off. They might recognize my former byline as a reporter with Missouri Lawyers Media or they’re just interested in a newsletter adjacent to what they do. Lawyers, you’re also welcome here. Feel free to add your expert takes in the comments.
This was the tipping point for me to have the audacity to write this guide:
We were under 48 hours away from getting the keys to a rental before it failed an inspection. The electrical outlets weren’t grounded, and the landlord said they would need another 1-2 weeks to schedule a new inspection. After the inspector led the landlord to believe that it was OK for us to move in, we still were on schedule to pick up the keys, pay the security deposit, and move in that weekend. In the meantime, none of our stuff could cover up or lean against the walls for the sake of that inspection.
This isn’t the worst tenant situation, but it was pretty sus. We found it difficult to move in and actually use the space until it passed inspection. Days after paying rent, we were still living with my in-laws. I started signing us up to pay for utilities when I realized we couldn’t even apply for an occupancy permit without that completed inspection. Why would I start paying utilities for a glorified storage unit?
I looked up the municipal code, highlighted the language that supported the fact that it wasn’t legal for us to live there without the occupancy permit (!), and sent it to my husband (he is a salesperson who is not as angry about the law, which makes him decidedly nicer to talk to and a better negotiator) who then, via email, asked our landlord for some of our first month’s rent back until the inspection passed.
I followed up via email to throw the book (relevant parts of the municipal code) at our landlord. I was pretty gentle, but I used the words “We don’t want to escalate this” and this concerned our landlord (whoops!). So he called up the municipality’s director of public works about it. According to our landlord, the director said something like “I’ve never heard of that!” and that everything was “fine.”
This thoroughly pissed me off and I felt blindsided, because it felt pretty clear to me that moving into this rental — which had yet to pass its occupancy inspection — is illegal. So I stewed about this for a few hours before my husband called me again to let me know that our landlord called him to relay this:
The director called back and said SIKE, your tenant was right, and we the public works people didn’t realize this was a thing;
My husband, paraphrasing my landlord paraphrasing the director of public works, fed my ego: “She knew the law BETTER THAN US;”
The inspector was coming the next day; and
We will be getting a prorated amount of our first month’s rent back based on when that inspection gets a green light.
Man, it’s crazy how fast stuff moves when you are able to research, understand, and use your rights. It’s pretty nice to be able to fully move into our new home, too.
Just to set the tone for the tenant guide here: I am not a lawyer. I don’t give legal advice. A lawyer licensed in the state of Missouri is reviewing my tenant guide installments, and it’s still not legal advice.
But I do aim to go more in depth than the dinky state guide to landlord-tenant law that I found rotting on a state government website. What’s coming up? An introduction, podcast interviews with experts and newsletters that serve as installments that break down each step of the tenant experience in Missouri.
I’m in your inbox doing my darndest to make enough sense of the law that you can ask, “Hey, guy, is this legal?” and have fruitful discussions (maybe even with your lawyer present!) that lead to results.
What’s coming:
Interviews with experts published via a podcast and classic newsletters
A breakdown of the tenant experience that will serve as an early table of contents for incoming installments
Newsletters that break down the laws and rights tied to the tenant experience
Before signing a lease
Living under a lease
After a tenant leaves their landlord’s property via moving, eviction
I’ve got my first interview lined up and a few more leads, but I’m hoping to talk with more experts. Reach out to me if you would like to add your expertise to the conversation.
Acknowledgments: Thank you to Chelsea de Mérta, a Missouri-licensed lawyer who has volunteered to serve as my legal editor, and Bryce Wolff, a UMKC law student who has volunteered to help with legal research, etc.
If you’d like to volunteer with this or would like to provide feedback, contact me via LinkedIn or leave me a comment!
I am writing this tenant guide newsletter for free, and it will always be free. It will never be legal advice and should not be taken as such. Only a lawyer can provide legal advice to you! Here’s what I do for money: I am a freelance developmental editor for authors. I also have newsroom skills including researching, reporting, and producing audio stories for public radio spots and longer podcasts. I also have a past life in B2B marketing that turned me into a nerd about user experience, the content pipeline and how newsrooms market — or refuse to market, or pretend it’s not important for them to market — their stories to readers, listeners and watchers.
Here’s my LinkedIn. Hire me, offer me a contract or send me a story to write. If you’re like my grandma and you believe in what I’m doing, switch to a paid subscription to this newsletter and help me pay my bills as I continue to tackle Missouri’s landlord-tenant law for fellow renters free of charge.