A Missouri Supreme Court case between a tenant and her landlord was decided in favor of the tenant, in a development advocates are hoping may be a sign that the tide is turning towards accountability for landlords.
Latasha Johnson’s conflict with Kohner Properties started in 2015, when a leaky ceiling her landlord refused to repair collapsed into her bathtub. Johnson found herself staying at a motel at her own expense in order to take showers. When her landlord took her to court for refusing to pay rent, Johnson turned to Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM), which represents clients who cannot afford lawyers in a variety of civil cases.
Three years later, the highest court in Missouri handed down a verdict in Kohner Properties v. Latasha Johnson in favor of the appellant on July 3. Although the Circuit Court of St. Louis ruled in favor of Kohner Properties, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that Kohner was the first to violate its lease with Johnson when her apartment became uninhabitable.
The court established a new precedent that tenants have the right to refuse to pay rent if the living conditions in their property become unreasonable. It also ruled it should not be universally required that tenants pay their rent to the court to hold in custody until their case is decided.
Susan Alverson, co-manager of the Housing Law Project for LSEM, said the decision could be an important step towards changing the status quo for tenants’ rights in Missouri.
“Kohner Properties did not uphold its end of the bargain by maintaining a safe, decent home for Ms. Johnson and her daughter,” Alverson said. “Landlords who do not keep dwellings habitable expect tenants to just give up because they cannot afford a lawyer. This means landlords continue to provide sub-standard housing to the next tenant.”
Dan Glazier, executive director and general counsel of LSEM, said it was a victory for tenants that the court ruled Johnson was justified in refusing to pay rent because of her apartments’ conditions.
“There is no longer an absolute denial of tenants’ rights to withhold rent for sub-standard housing,” Glazier said. “While we prefer that our clients who are renters would never have to provide money to the court before they can legally challenge their landlord, this ruling is a step forward for renters’ rights to decent housing. Tenants can now fight back against deplorable conditions.”
The ruling comes in the midst of a housing situation in Missouri that LSEM refers to as a “crisis” for low-income renters.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, 33 percent of the population of Missouri rents property. But there is a shortage of housing that is available to families with very low income – only 42 units available for every 100 households that need one. The cost of renting is also going up. Between 2014 and 2016, the cost of rent increased by 4.5 percent, according to America’s Community Survey.
When low-income renters come into conflict with their landlords, the odds are not in the renters’ favor. Since these cases are heard in civil court, tenants who cannot afford a lawyer are not provided with one by the courts, as criminal defendants are guaranteed. According to a Washington University School of Law report, only 2.7 percent of tenants who appeared in court between 2012 and 2016 had a lawyer.
Glazier said that without legal aid organizations like LSEM, Johnson would not have been able to take the case to the Supreme Court. “Protecting people like Ms. Johnson protects all of us from injustice,” Glazier said.
