King v. Moorehead, 495 S.W.2d 65 (1973)

Citation: King v. Moorehead, 495 S.W.2d 65 (1973)
Parent Document: King v. Moorehead, 495 S.W.2d 65 (1973)
Jurisdiction: Missouri (state)
Effective Date: 1973-04-02
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1683367/king-v-moorehead/ ↗

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The social realities, legislative policies and judicial disposition to re-examine an outworn common law doctrine which have prompted these courts to imply a warranty of habitability in residential leases obtain also in Missouri. The Missouri Legislature in 1939 enacted the Housing Authorities Law, Chapter 99 RSMo 1969, which authorized the improvement and construction of dwelling units to relieve the “shortage of safe or sanitary dwelling accommodations available at rents which persons of low income can afford”. Thereafter, the apparent legislative recognition of the fact, commonly known, that even with such governmental assistance, new construction was not keeping pace with the obsolescence and deterioration of the existing housing inventory in the cities, resulted in the enactment in 1969 of the Enforcement of Minimum Housing Code Standards Act, §§ 441.500-441.640, RSMo Supp.1973. This statute has as its purpose the coercive repair, by the landlord or from his property, of conditions harmful to the life, health and safety of occupants of a dwelling unit resulting from violations of the housing code. If within a reasonable time after notice the landlord fails to repair such a deficiency, a receiver, appointed upon the petition of the code enforcement agency of a municipality or the requisite number of tenants, is authorized to collect rent and encumber the property to meet the cost of abatement of the housing code violations. Such statutes have been effective in extending the life of residential housing accommodations which otherwise would have lapsed into blight.12

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