Attorney General Josh Hawley, R, has launched an investigation into the conditions of a mainly low-income housing complex in St. Louis. His office has issued a civil investigative demand—a civil subpoena—to the St. Louis Housing Authority to determine whether conditions at the Clinton-Peabody housing complex violate state law by creating an uninhabitable living environment.

Attorney General Josh Hawley

Residents of the complex have reported significant rodent infestations, lack of heat and backed up sewage.

“My Office is standing up for residents of the Clinton-Peabody Housing Complex who don’t have the power to do this for themselves,” Hawley says. “If these allegations are true, this must be fixed. No Missourian should have to live in an uninhabitable environment.”

Missouri law requires that residential rental property be safe and appropriate for habitation. A landlord’s failure to comply with that requirement can constitute an unfair trade practice that violates the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.

On March 19, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, who is expected to face Hawley in November’s general election, wrote to U.S. Housing & Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, R, urging his agency to take swift action on the housing issues within the 328 units. In McCaskill’s letter, she calls on Carson to devote all necessary resources toward implementing an effective and lasting plan to address the development’s rodent problems.