QUESTION
What should I do if I find unenforceable or illegal clauses in my lease?
Asked on Aug 07th, 2025 on Landlord and Tenant Law - Missouri
More details to this question:
I've been trying to break a lease I've barely lived in for repair/construction issues but my property manager refuses to allow us to break the lease without paying the associated fees. I was recently going back through the lease and found waivers to trial by jury and class action suits, and also a clause that asks the tenant to pay any attorney's fees regardless of fault. Other sources I've consulted say these are illegal and can void my lease. What do I do?
1 ANSWER
Business Law Attorney serving Manchester, MO
Partner at
The Law Offices of Robert Grant Pennell, LLC
2 Awards
No attorney can interpret the terms of a contract without reading it in its entirety. That said, none of the provisions you mentioned are illegal or unenforceable. Those are all fairly standard clauses. The only one that is an issue is the attorney fees clause but the courts only enforce it if the landlord prevails. Their inclusion in your lease is not a basis for terminating the lease.
Answered on Aug 09th, 2025 at 8:59 AM
The answer above is only a general statement of the law and not intended as legal advice.