No most states have habitabililty statutes or others that may cover items that were there and thus part of the 'bargain'.

Best bet is to determine cause and at move in have a check list that all is in working order, and signed..

Not to rain on your situation, but what does your lease say. And be careful that what your wanting them to fix are not habitability items which you are legally responsible for. Additionally what did you advertise was included in the rent. Then consider do you really want the non-knowledgeable tenant to fix items which may require specialized skills, and will they repair it like you would like or just do a patch repair that you will have to later undo and re-do correctly. And just what will you liability will be (irrespective of any lease waivers, but what a renter friendly judge would rule and the your legal costs to present your case) if they are injured doing a repair.

Tenants are tenants for a reason, most of that reason is because they can call someone else to take care of things. That is why they pay the rent to the landlord and the landlord does the work or calls the appropriate people. Otherwise they might as well own.

Hi Sandra,. Our lease says that the appliances are supplied as a convenience and are not included in the rent payment. Anything that goes wrong with it is on them. We have the right to remove appliances if they are being mistreated. This lease was given to us by a property manager in MO who had a judge help them write it. So, most likely, yes you can.

Hi Sandra. Speaking as a fellow Missouri land lord, I can tell you that SOME of those are legal and SOME are not.

To the best of my knowledge, most municipalities have what is called a "Warrant of Habitability" expressed or implied. What that means is to rent a dwelling out it has to provide basic services. Among those are typically are a fixed heat source capable of maintaining the inside temperature at a sustained level (at least 68 degrees seems common), running hot and cold water, and at least one usable bathing and toilet fixture.

This is a minimum standard that cannot be legally transferred to the tenant if one hopes to prevail should it ever go to court. Some land lords try to do it anyway, and I'll cover why that might not be smart from a business angle here in a minute.

THAT SAID: there are some legitimate optional items. Fridge, stove, washer, dryer...appliances are not required unless your lease includes them as part of the rent. If your lease is not clear whether the items are part of the rent or provided merely as conveniences, clarify it.

In my market most folks expect a fridge and a stove. I supply one of each but do not warrant either of them. That way I'm not liable if it goes out and the $500 of Omaha steaks they just bought last week spoil. Food losses aren't my concern: tell it to your renter's insurance, Dear Tenant. Likewise when they have 10 folks coming over for Thanksgiving and the oven isn't working (and they just now told me after noticing it 2 weeks ago), I am not obliged to try to find a repair man with an hour's notice on a holiday. Lastly, I don't want the wear and tear of tenants moving large appliances in and out or trying to hook up gas or 220V electrical appliances...so I keep the basics in place. I don't do washers or dryers. They break from abuse too easily.

Your market might not require stove and fridge. Know your market. If I can get $10 more per month for providing a fridge and another $10 for providing a stove, that will buy a new basic fridge & stove delivered once every 4 years and after that the rest is gravy. A rental fridge or stove in my units lasts 8-10 years. I like gravy, so I provide fridges and stoves from a practical standpoint as mentioned above.

I also don't like pushing too many repairs off on the tenant because most tenants will just not do them and/or will do them poorly causing more damages. My guys fix items that break and I pay the contractors: the tenant then pays me back for it if they broke it or I evict. Keeps my places in better condition.

I've seen rentals where LL's tried to push everything on the tenant. One tenant had 5 buckets in the house to catch the rain water. His verbal rental agreement said he was responsible for anything up to $50, so he bought buckets and kept the "fix" under $50. The hardwood floor was destroyed in several rooms. That LL made a penny wise and pound foolish decision and is going to have a MASSIVE damage bill when this tenant moves out. Not worth it in my view.