Landlord Was Not Responsible for Maintaining Smoke Detectors
A recent Missouri appeals court opinion found that a landlord was not responsible for maintaining smoke detectors. The case involved a tenant who died in a housefire.
Dangerous Conditions
Generally, under Missouri law, a landlord is not liable for personal injury caused by a dangerous condition on leased premises. There are three exceptions to this general rule. First, a landlord may be liable for injury resulting from a hidden dangerous condition. Second, a landlord might be liable for injury resulting from a dangerous condition existing in a common area used by multiple tenants. Third, a landlord may be liable when the landlord is contractually obligated to make repairs on the premises, and the landlord has retained sufficient control of the premises. Sufficient control might exist if the landlord retains the right to enter the premises for the purpose of inspection and repair.
Landlord Was Not Responsible for Maintaining Smoke Detectors
In 2013, a tenant died in a housefire that occurred in the City of St. Louis. The representative of the deceased tenant sued the landlord, claiming that the landlord negligently caused the death of the tenant by failing to replace the batteries in the smoke detectors. The trial court granted the landlord’s motion for summary judgment, wherein the landlord asserted that he had no duty to maintain the smoke detectors. The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the summary judgment.
The landlord testified that she rented the premises to the tenant in 2000 pursuant to an oral lease; that she installed new smoke detectors in the premises at that time; that she never replaced the smoke detectors and that she did not know if they were working at the time of the fire; that every October she would remind tenant to replace the batteries in the smoke detectors and that the tenant always told her that he would take care of it; that she never replaced the batteries in the smoke detectors during the tenant’s occupancy; that she told tenant to call her if there was a problem with the premises; that the tenant would make repairs to the premises and deduct the expense from his rent; that she retained a key to the premises for emergencies only; and that she never used the key to enter the premises during the tenant’s occupancy of the premises and that she only entered the premises with the consent of the tenant.
Based on the above evidence, the appeals court found that the landlord did not retain sufficient control over the premises, and therefore the landlord was not responsible for maintaining smoke detectors. The appeals court additionally cited an ordinance of the City of St. Louis that requires tenants to “provide and maintain functional batteries for each [smoke] detector, to test and maintain detectors…, and to notify the owner…in writing of any deficiencies.” (The ordinance also requires landlords to provide each tenant with written information about testing and maintaining smoke detectors.)
Control Over the Premises
Most residential leases require the landlord to make repairs to the leased premises. Additionally, most landlords want the right to enter leased premises to periodically assess its condition and to make repairs. However, landlords should carefully consider both the laws and the facts described in this case when drafting their leases and when actually asserting control over the premises for the purpose of inspection and repair.
This article is for general informational purposes only, and it is not intended as legal advice. Sewell Law provides professional legal services in the areas of real estate and business law, including litigation. Please contact Michael Sewell, MBA, JD at (314) 942-3232 or at michael@sewelllaw.net to discuss your legal matters.
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