Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
                        HOUSE BILL NO. 1954
                               103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY


                               INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE BOSLEY.

     4941H.01I                                                                    JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk


                                                AN ACT
     To amend chapter 441, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to the habitability
           of the premises of a tenant.


     Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

             Section A. Chapter 441, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
 2   known as section 441.237, to read as follows:
             441.237. 1. As used in this section, the word "pests" means any unwanted:
 2           (1) Member of the class Insecta including, but not limited to, houseflies, bees,
 3   cockroaches, moths, silverfish, beetles, bedbugs, ants, termites, hornets, mosquitoes, and
 4   wasps;
 5           (2) Member of the phylum Arthropoda including, but not limited to, spiders,
 6   mites, ticks, centipedes, and wood lice; and
 7           (3) Member of the order Rodentia including, but not limited to, mice and
 8   Norway rats.
 9           2. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a landlord of a premises shall
10   be liable for damages to a tenant of such premises if, through no fault of the tenant, the
11   premises contain conditions that would materially affect the health and safety of the
12   tenant and the landlord fails to begin remediation of such conditions within thirty days
13   after the tenant notifies the landlord in writing of such conditions. Conditions that
14   would materially affect the health and safety of the tenant include, but are not limited
15   to, hazardous mold, rotting or deteriorating floors, sewage backup, roof leaks, or
16   infestation of pests.


     EXPLANATION — 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.
HB 1954                                         2

17           (2) Damages under subdivision (1) of this subsection shall include, but are not
18   limited to, any health care costs associated with the failure to remedy a condition that
19   would materially affect the health and safety of the tenant.
20           3. After the landlord completes the remediation required under subsection 2 of
21   this section, the landlord shall have the premises inspected by a licensed inspector, and
22   the inspector shall determine whether the conditions that materially affected the health
23   and safety of the tenant have been corrected.
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Statutes affected: 
Introduced (4941H.01): 441.237