Missouri’s
Landlord-Tenant Law
The rights & responsibilities
of landlords & tenants
Landlord-Tenant Law
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Disputes between landlords and tenants are common, and
many could be avoided if both parties better understood
Missouri law and were more aware of their rights and
responsibilities.
To help Missourians become better informed, I am glad to
provide this basic guide on Missouri’s Landlord-Tenant Law
and the rental process.
Sincerely,
Chris Koster
Attorney General
Introduction
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Landlord-Tenant Law Landlord-Tenant Law
General Obligations........................................................................4
Missouri’s Law..................................................................................5
The Lease
Written Agreement................................................................6
Oral Agreement .....................................................................8
Expiration of Lease..........................................................................9
Subleasing......................................................................................10
Security Deposit............................................................................11
Repairs............................................................................................12
Eviction..........................................................................................14
Discrimination..............................................................................15
Publications...................................................................................16
Table of Contents
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Landlord-Tenant Law Landlord-Tenant Law
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Landlord-Tenant Law Landlord-Tenant Law
Landlord-tenant disputes are a common occurrence in the
renting process. Some of these disputes could be avoided
if landlords and tenants were aware of their rights and
responsibilities.
Tenants should:
• Pay rent on time.
• Use reasonable care and not damage property.
• Properly dispose of garbage.
• Refrain from taking on additional occupants or
subleasing without the landlord’s written permission.
Landlords should:
• Make property habitable before tenants move in.
• Make and pay for repairs due to ordinary wear and tear.
• Refrain from turning o a tenant’s water, electricity
or gas.
• Provide written notice to tenants when ownership of the
property is transferred to a new landlord.
• Not unlawfully discriminate.
General Obligations
PUT IT IN WRITING
e best way to avoid later problems is to address issues in
a lease. Put it in writing who has to mow the lawn, x a
clogged sink or pay the utility bills.
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Landlord-Tenant Law Landlord-Tenant Law
Missouri’s landlord-tenant laws offer protection for tenants
renting from unresponsive landlords as well as options for
landlords to get rid of drug dealers, destructive tenants and
persons unlawfully occupying a premises.
State statutes:
• Authorize county courts to order the quick removal of
tenants involved in drug-related criminal activity or
violence even when
there is no arrest, and
persons occupying
the property without
the landlord’s
permission. Prior
written notice is not
required.
• Allow landlords to
remove abandoned
personal items once
they have complied
with notice requirements.
• Make a landlord guilty of forcible entry for willfully
interrupting utility service, unless it is done for health
and safety reasons.
• Allow a tenant, under certain circumstances and aer
giving a landlord 14 days’ notice, to deduct one-half
month’s rent or up to $300 (whichever is greater) for
repair of code violations when a landlord
neglects property.
• Allow a landlord to double the rent when a tenant lets
another person take over the premises without the
landlord’s permission.
• Limit occupancy to two persons per bedroom except for
children born during the lease period.
Missouri’s Law
Mobile home lots
e law requires
landlords to give 60 days’
notice before terminating
leases for mobile home
lots when the lease is for
less than one year.
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Landlord-Tenant Law Landlord-Tenant Law
Renters are bound either by an oral or written agreement.
WRITTEN AGREEMENT
Written agreements are more common and better protect the
tenant and the landlord.
When a lease is signed by both parties, it becomes a binding
legal contract. If any party does not fulfill the terms of the
lease, the person who defaults can be sued, which can be
expensive.
A tenant is not excused from honoring a lease simply because
he does not understand or did not read it.
When considering a written lease agreement, tenants
should:
• Read the entire contract and ask questions or obtain a
legal opinion about unclear provisions.
• Ask for changes. If tenants dislike certain provisions in
the lease, they have the right to ask landlords to amend
the lease with written changes.
A landlord has the right to refuse the requested change,
and the tenant must then decide whether to sign
the lease.
• Do not rely on verbal statements. All promises and
agreements should be in writing for your protection.s
BASIC LEASE PROVISIONS
At a minimum the lease should include:
• Landlord’s name, address and phone number.
• Address of rental property.
• Amount of monthly rent.
The Lease
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Landlord-Tenant Law Landlord-Tenant Law
• Rent due date and grace period (if any).
• Amount of security deposit and conditions for its return.
• Length of lease.
OTHER QUESTIONS
Before renting, tenants might get other questions answered or
address them in the lease:
• Who will pay for electricity, gas and water?
• What repairs and cleaning will the landlord do?
• What is the policy on keeping pets?
• Are fees charged for late payments?
• Who takes cares of the yard and removes snow?
ORAL AGREEMENT
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Landlord-Tenant Law Landlord-Tenant Law
An oral agreement obligates the landlord and tenant for only
one month. A landlord can evict the tenant or raise rent with
only one month’s notice. Likewise, the tenant can give notice
to vacate on one month’s notice.
(One month’s notice means a full calendar month, and must
include a full rental period. For example: If your rent is due on
the third day of the month, your rental period runs from the
third of the month to the third of
the following month.)
The tenant or landlord must
give written notice to terminate
the tenancy.
Oral notice from either party to
the other is not valid.
LANDLORD CAN END LEASE
A landlord can end a lease:
• When a tenant doesn’t pay rent.
• At the end of a written lease.
• When a tenant damages property.
• When a tenant violates a condition of a written lease.
• When a tenant is involved in criminal activity.
A lease for one
year or more
must be written
and signed by
the tenant
and landlord.
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Landlord-Tenant Law Landlord-Tenant Law
Leases specify a date on which the tenant must move. Neither
the landlord nor tenant is required to give notice.
Some leases contain an automatic renewal clause. These are
automatically renewed unless the tenant notifies the landlord
he will move when the lease ends.
Any agreement between a tenant and landlord allowing
the tenant to stay after the lease ends should be in writing.
Otherwise if there is a disagreement, the tenant may be
charged double rent.
MILITARY PERSONNEL PROVISIONS
Active-duty members of the armed forces may end a lease
with 15 days’ notice if they:
• Receive a permanent change of station.
• Receive temporary duty orders to a station at least 25
miles away for 90 days or more.
• Are discharged or released from active duty.
• Are ordered to live in government-supplied quarters.
Under these conditions, a tenant is entitled to a full refund of
the security deposit if other lease provisions have been met.
Tenants in the military may have additional rights under the
Service Members Civil Relief Act.
Expiration of Lease
CYBER LAW
You can nd the state statutes at www.moga.mo.gov/.
Chapters 441, 534 and 535 address landlord-tenant issues.
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If a tenant wishes to move out before a lease ends, he may
choose to sublease. This means leasing your lease to another
person who moves in and pays rent to you or to the landlord.
Before subleasing to another individual, the tenant must get
the landlord’s approval. Missouri law allows the landlord
to double the amount of rent if a tenant subleases without
approval.
If you sublease, you still are responsible to your landlord for
the original lease payments and other terms. You can be held
responsible for any problems created by the new tenant.
If a tenant needs to move out before the lease terminates, the
lease may be canceled only if the landlord agrees. The tenant
and landlord should sign a statement that the lease has been
canceled by mutual agreement.
Bottom Line: You need a written agreement to sublease or
cancel your lease.
Subleasing
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Under Missouri law, a landlord cannot charge more than two
months’ rent as a security deposit.
At the end of the lease, the landlord has 30 days to return the
security deposit with an itemized list of damages for which
any portion of the deposit is kept.
During that 30-day period, the landlord must provide
reasonable notice to the tenant of the time and date when the
landlord plans to inspect the dwelling.
The tenant has the right to be present during the move-out
inspection, which must be conducted at a reasonable time.
To avoid last-minute problems, tenants should ask the
landlord in what condition he expects the unit to be left. Then
allow plenty of time for cleaning.
The landlord may keep all or part of a deposit to pay for actual
damages (not for normal wear and tear), unpaid rent, or lost
rent due to the tenant moving out without adequate notice.
The tenant may not use the security deposit to pay the last
month’s rent.
Remember to give the landlord your forwarding address in
writing. Otherwise, he may not be able to send your deposit.
(When moving, it is also a good idea to provide a “forwarding
order” to the post office.)
If the landlord has wrongfully withheld all or part of a
deposit, the tenant may sue to recover up to twice the amount
wrongfully withheld.
Security Deposit
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Landlord-Tenant Law Landlord-Tenant Law
One way to avoid problems with repairs is to have a written
agreement, preferably in your lease. The agreement should
state which repairs are the landlord’s responsibility and which
are the tenant’s.
The landlord should be responsible for repairs caused by
ordinary wear and tear and natural forces such as the weather.
Tenants should pay for damages resulting from their own
negligence or the negligence of a guest.
If repairs are needed, ask the landlord to make repairs within
a reasonable period of time. If repairs are not made, make a
written request for the necessary repairs and keep a copy of
the letter.
If the repairs still are not made, the tenant may seek legal
assistance. If the dwelling becomes unsafe due to the repair
problems, the tenant should contact local health or housing
authorities.
If a tenant withholds rent payments until repairs are
completed, the renter may be in violation of the lease and may
be subject to eviction.
In most circumstances, a tenant has no right to withhold rent.
Missouri law provides only a very narrow exception to this
rule for dangerous or unsanitary conditions that a landlord
fails to fix.
Only under these very limited circumstances may the tenant
make the necessary repairs and deduct the cost from rent:
• e condition aects the sanitation, security or
habitability of the property and violates city code
Repairs
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Landlord-Tenant Law Landlord-Tenant Law
(If the landlord disputes this, a tenant must obtain
written verication from city inspectors as to the code
violation.)
• The tenant has lived on the property for at least six
consecutive months.
• The tenant has paid all rent owed.
• The tenant is not in violation of the lease.
• The tenant has provided written notice to the landlord of
the problem and the tenant’s plan to fix it.
• The tenant has allowed at least 14 days for the landlord to
respond to the notice.
If the landlord still does not fix the code violation within 14
days of receiving the city’s notice, then the tenant can proceed
with the repairs.
The amount of the repair must be verified by receipts. In most
cases, the cost of repair must be less than $300 or one-half
month’s rent (whichever is greater).
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Landlord-Tenant Law Landlord-Tenant Law
A landlord may not evict a tenant without a court order.
e landlord may begin eviction proceedings if a tenant:
• Damages property.
• Fails to pay rent.
• Violates the terms of the lease.
• Injures the lessor or another tenant.
• Allows drug-related criminal activity on the premises.
• Fails to vacate at the end of the lease term.
• Gambles illegally on the property.
• Allows a person to
reside on the property
whom the landlord has
previously excluded.
The tenant will receive
a notice that an eviction
lawsuit has been filed and
will have the opportunity to
be heard in court before any
eviction.
Missouri law also allows landlords to remove persons who are
not lawfully occupying the property.
Eviction
A tenant may sue
a landlord if all
or part of the
security deposit
is wrongfully
withheld.
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Landlord-Tenant Law Landlord-Tenant Law
Landlords cannot refuse to sell, rent, sublease or otherwise
make housing available based on a renter’s race, color, religion,
sex, disability, familial status or national origin.
Landlords also cannot charge some individuals higher rent or
falsely state that housing is not available for discriminatory
reasons.
However, there are some exceptions to these rules. If you
believe you have been a victim of housing discrimination,
contact one of these agencies:
Missouri Human Rights Commission
Toll-free: 877-781-4236
Jefferson City: 573-751-3325
St. Louis: 314-340-7590
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Housing Discrimination Hotline: 800-669-9777
Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council
For residents of St. Louis city and St. Louis, St. Charles,
Franklin and Jefferson counties: 314-534-5800 or 800-555-3951
Discrimination
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Landlord-Tenant Law
e Missouri Attorney General’s Oce publishes information
on a variety of topics. ese brochures may be accessed at
ago.mo.gov.
Publications
Landlord-Tenant Law
Revised April 2015
OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL
CHRIS KOSTER
PO Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
573-751-3321
ago.mo.gov
