Southeast Missouri · Member since 2018 · 1 post · 0 votes
My tenant is trying to hold rent from me because she claims the lights flicker and she does not have access to the breaker box. Is she legally required to have access in Missouri?
I highly doubt there’s a law in any state that says the tenant must have access to the breaker box. Plus, if the lights are flickering, then they’re getting power so it’s not a tripped breaker. Something else is going on, or she just wants to withhold rent. Hard to say from what’s posted. But you should probably look into it either way.
If you guys do occupancy permits down there check with the permit office and see what the inspector says. I haven't seen too situations, up here in the county or the city, where the tenants have restricted access to the panel in either a SFR or MFR's.
In my opinion it would be a life safety issue to not allow a tenant access to the panel in case of an emergency, especially for non-GFCI outlets.
I believe NJ is one of those states that the tenant must have access to their breaker box. But I don’t know of any/many other states.
Regardless, I doubt it’s a habitability issue, so withholding rent is likely not allowed.
That said, I’d still have my handyman or electrician check it out. If it’s a loose wire or something, I’d want it fixed. More likely, it’s a bad bulb or maybe an LED on a dimmer.