What Are the Landlord-Tenant Laws in Missouri?
Missouri landlord-tenant law is not contained in one statute. It is spread across three chapters of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, plus a body of court decisions and a layer of local ordinance that varies by municipality:
- Chapter 441 covers the landlord and tenant relationship itself: lease termination notice, prohibited landlord conduct, repair remedies, and what cities may and may not regulate.
- Chapter 534 covers forcible entry and unlawful detainer, the action used to remove a tenant who stays past the end of a tenancy.
- Chapter 535 covers rent and possession actions and security deposits.
Missouri is generally considered a landlord-friendly state. It has no statewide rent control, no statutory notice requirement before a landlord enters, no cap on late fees, and no mandatory grace period for rent. But the places where Missouri does impose duties are strict, and the penalty for getting the security deposit statute wrong is mandatory, not discretionary.
This guide covers what a St. Louis owner actually needs to know in 2026, including the 2025 change that reshaped what local governments may require.
Missouri Security Deposit Law
This is the single most commonly violated area of Missouri landlord-tenant law, and the one with the clearest statutory penalty. It is governed by RSMo 535.300.
The maximum is two months’ rent. A landlord “may not demand or receive a security deposit in excess of two months’ rent.”
The deposit must be held in a federally insured institution. The statute requires it be held in a bank, credit union, or depository institution insured by an agency of the federal government. Missouri does not require a separate account per tenant or payment of interest, but it does require the funds to sit somewhere insured.
The return deadline is 30 days from termination of the tenancy. Note the trigger carefully. The clock runs from termination of the tenancy, not from the day the tenant hands back the keys or moves the last box out. Those dates diverge on holdovers, early surrenders, and late key returns, and an owner who counts from the wrong date can start the clock late.
A written itemized list is required for any amount withheld, delivered with the balance of the deposit.
You must give written notice of the move-out inspection. The statute requires the landlord to give reasonable written notice, at the tenant’s last known address or in person, of the date and time the landlord will inspect the unit, and the tenant has the right to be present. This requirement is skipped constantly, and it is not optional.
The penalty for wrongful withholding is mandatory doubling. The statute says the tenant “shall recover as damages twice the amount wrongfully withheld.” Not “may.” Not “up to.” Many secondary sources, including the Missouri Attorney General’s own consumer guide, describe this as recovering “up to twice” the amount. The statutory text is not discretionary, and an owner planning around the softer version is underestimating the exposure.
What you may deduct
You may deduct for unpaid rent, damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, and costs the lease makes the tenant responsible for. What you may not deduct is ordinary wear and tear, which is the normal deterioration of a unit from reasonable use. A carpet worn thin in a hallway after four years is wear and tear. A burn hole in it is considered damage.
Notice Requirements: Ending a Tenancy in Missouri
This is where owners most often create their own procedural problems, because two entirely different notice rules apply depending on why you are ending the tenancy.
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
Under RSMo 441.060, either party may terminate a month-to-month tenancy by written notice stating that the tenancy will end on a periodic rent-paying date not less than one month after the other party receives the notice.
Read that literally. It is not “30 days.” It is a full rental period, ending on a rent-paying date, counted from receipt. Notice delivered on the 10th does not end a tenancy on the 10th of the following month. It ends at the end of the following full rental period.
A tenancy at will or by sufferance requires one month’s written notice to vacate. A tenant renting a lot for a mobile home under a lease shorter than one year gets 60 days.
Nonpayment of rent: no written notice period is required
Here is the rule that surprises most owners, including many who have rented in other states. Under RSMo 535.020, before filing a rent and possession action, the landlord must have demanded the rent and not received it. The statute then says plainly that giving the notice provided in section 441.060 “is not required prior to filing a statement or obtaining the relief provided in this chapter.”
There is no statutory 3-day notice, no 5-day notice, and no 10-day notice for nonpayment of rent in Missouri. A demand is required. A waiting period is not.
A widely repeated error worth correcting: Deca’s own older FAQ post states a flat 10-day notice requirement, and versions of that claim circulate across St. Louis landlord content generally. The 10 business day notice in RSMo 534.030 applies to occupants after a foreclosure, where a new owner must give the occupant not less than ten business days to vacate before commencing an action. It is not a general eviction notice period.
Even though notice is not statutorily required for nonpayment, sending a written demand anyway is the right practice. It creates a record, it frequently resolves the matter without a filing, and judges notice the difference.
Holdover tenants
If a tenant stays after the tenancy has properly ended, the action is unlawful detainer under Chapter 534, and it requires a written demand for possession before filing. This is a different action from rent and possession, with different pleadings, and filing the wrong one costs you the docket date.
The Eviction Process in Missouri
Missouri recognizes distinct eviction actions, and choosing correctly matters:
- Rent and possession (Chapter 535), for nonpayment of rent. Requires a demand for rent. The tenant can generally stop the eviction by paying everything owed plus court costs before the judgment is executed.
- Unlawful detainer (Chapter 534), for a tenant holding over after the tenancy ended, or for possession obtained or held wrongfully. Requires written demand for possession. There is no pay-and-stay cure.
- Breach of lease actions, for violations other than nonpayment.
In every case, only a court can order a tenant removed, and only a sheriff can execute it. For the full step-by-step process, timelines, and St. Louis court specifics, see our detailed guide to the eviction process in Missouri.
Self-Help Eviction Is Illegal in Missouri
RSMo 441.233 is short, and every Missouri owner should know it. A landlord or agent who removes or excludes a tenant or the tenant’s personal property from the premises without judicial process and a court order is deemed guilty of forcible entry and detainer under Chapter 534. The same applies to removing the doors or locks, and to willfully diminishing services by interrupting essential utilities including electric, gas, water, or sewer.
The only carve-out is interrupting utilities for genuine health or safety reasons.
Changing the locks on a tenant who owes three months of rent feels justified. It converts a case you would have won into a case you will lose, and it hands the tenant a claim against you. There is no version of this that ends well.
The Implied Warranty of Habitability in Missouri
Missouri has no statute setting minimum habitability standards for residential rentals. The duty comes from case law.
Missouri courts first recognized an implied warranty of habitability in residential leases in King v. Moorehead, 495 S.W.2d 65 (Mo. App. 1973), and the Supreme Court of Missouri adopted it statewide in Detling v. Edelbrock, 671 S.W.2d 265 (Mo. banc 1984), rejecting caveat emptor in residential leasing. A tenant asserting it must generally show a residential lease, a condition dangerous or unsanitary enough to materially affect health and safety, reasonable notice of the condition to the landlord, and the landlord’s failure to restore habitability. Mold, water intrusion, non-functioning heat or plumbing, and structural defects are the usual fact patterns.
Practically, the warranty most often shows up as a defense or counterclaim in a rent and possession case. In Kohner Properties, Inc. v. Johnson, 553 S.W.3d 280 (Mo. banc 2018), the Supreme Court of Missouri held that a trial court may, in its discretion and case by case, require a tenant to escrow rent while litigating a habitability defense. It is discretionary, not automatic. An owner should not assume a tenant raising habitability will be required to pay rent into the registry first.
On top of that, municipalities across the St. Louis region enforce their own housing and property maintenance codes, and many require occupancy permits and inspections at turnover. Those requirements vary meaningfully from one municipality to the next.
Missouri’s Repair and Deduct Remedy
RSMo 441.234 gives tenants a narrow self-help repair remedy, and it is narrower than most tenants believe. To use it, a tenant must have lawfully resided at the premises for six consecutive months, have paid all rent and charges due during that period, and have no uncured written lease violation notices.
The condition must detrimentally affect habitability, sanitation, or security and violate a local housing or building code. The tenant must notify the landlord in writing, and the landlord has 14 days to make the repair, or as promptly as an emergency requires.
The cost limit is the greater of $300 or one-half of the periodic rent, capped at one month’s rent, and a tenant may not deduct more than one month’s rent in total during any twelve-month period. The tenant must provide an itemized statement with receipts. The remedy does not cover damage caused by the tenant, their family, or their guests.
The practical takeaway for owners is simple: respond to written repair requests within 14 days and this statute never comes up.
Tenant Screening in Missouri After HB 595
This is the most significant change to Missouri landlord-tenant law in recent years, and the priority plan’s flagged correction lands here.
House Bill 595, effective August 28, 2025, amended RSMo 441.043 to prohibit counties and cities from enacting or enforcing ordinances that:
- Bar a landlord from refusing to lease to a tenant based on the tenant’s use of federal or other housing assistance as a source of income
- Restrict a landlord’s use of income verification, credit scores, eviction history, or criminal background checks in screening
- Cap the amount of a security deposit
- Require an automatic tenant right of first refusal
The same statute already prohibited local rent control, with carve-outs for a political subdivision’s own property, voluntary agreements on subsidized housing, and CDBG-funded properties. A preserved exception lets political subdivisions still prohibit discrimination against recipients of veterans’ benefits.
The practical effect for St. Louis and Kansas City owners is that local source-of-income ordinances are preempted. This does not mean screening is unregulated. Federal and state fair housing law still apply in full, disparate impact theories still apply to criminal and eviction history screening, and any criteria you adopt must be applied consistently to every applicant. HB 595 removed a layer of local requirements. It did not remove the Fair Housing Act.
Note on House Bill 1862: older content on this blog referenced HB 1862 as the relevant Missouri housing legislation. That reference is outdated and should be retired. HB 595 (2025) is the current, operative change to RSMo 441.043.
Fair Housing Obligations in Missouri
Every Missouri landlord is subject to both the federal Fair Housing Act and the Missouri Human Rights Act. Under RSMo 213.040, refusing to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when necessary to give a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, is an unlawful housing practice. The Missouri Commission on Human Rights enforces it.
Assistance animal requests are the most common flashpoint, and the federal enforcement landscape shifted in May 2026. See our full guide to service animals and emotional support animals in Missouri rentals for what changed, what did not, and how to handle requests correctly.
What Missouri Does Not Regulate
It is as useful to know where Missouri is silent, because owners often assume requirements that do not exist here:
- No statutory notice before landlord entry. Missouri has no statute requiring 24 hours notice before entering a rental. What governs is the lease. Write a reasonable entry provision into it, because without one you have neither a right nor a rule.
- No rent control, anywhere in the state. RSMo 441.043 preempts it.
- No cap on late fees and no mandatory grace period. Fees must still be reasonable and stated in the lease, and a fee that functions as a penalty rather than a reasonable estimate of loss invites a challenge.
- No statewide landlord licensing. But many St. Louis area municipalities require occupancy permits, rental licenses, or inspections. Check the specific municipality, not “St. Louis.”
- No statewide requirement to pay interest on security deposits.
Frequently Asked Questions: Missouri Landlord-Tenant Law
How much notice does a landlord have to give a tenant to move out in Missouri?
For a month-to-month tenancy, RSMo 441.060 requires written notice that the tenancy will end on a periodic rent-paying date not less than one month after the other party receives the notice. A tenancy at will requires one month’s written notice. A tenant renting a mobile home lot under a lease shorter than one year is entitled to 60 days notice.
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Missouri?
Thirty days from termination of the tenancy, under RSMo 535.300. Within that window the landlord must return the deposit or provide a written itemized list of damages withheld along with the balance. If a landlord wrongfully withholds any portion, the statute says the tenant shall recover as damages twice the amount wrongfully withheld.
Can a landlord evict a tenant without going to court in Missouri?
No. Under RSMo 441.233, a landlord who removes or excludes a tenant or the tenant’s property without judicial process and a court order is deemed guilty of forcible entry and detainer. The same applies to removing doors or locks and to shutting off essential utilities, except where a landlord acts for genuine health or safety reasons.
Is there a required notice period before filing for nonpayment of rent in Missouri?
No. RSMo 535.020 requires that rent has been demanded and not paid, and the statute expressly states that the notice provided in section 441.060 is not required before filing a rent and possession action. There is no statutory 3-day, 5-day, or 10-day notice for nonpayment. The 10 business day notice in RSMo 534.030 applies to occupants after a foreclosure.
Can a landlord in Missouri refuse Section 8 vouchers?
Missouri has no statewide law requiring landlords to accept housing vouchers, and HB 595, effective August 28, 2025, amended RSMo 441.043 to prohibit counties and cities from enacting ordinances that bar refusal based on a tenant’s use of housing assistance as a source of income. Political subdivisions may still prohibit discrimination against recipients of veterans’ benefits.
How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Missouri?
No more than two months’ rent, under RSMo 535.300. The deposit must be held in a bank, credit union, or depository institution insured by an agency of the federal government. Under HB 595, effective August 28, 2025, Missouri cities and counties may not enact ordinances capping security deposits below the state maximum.
Does a landlord have to give notice before entering in Missouri?
Missouri has no statute requiring advance notice before a landlord enters a rental unit. Entry rights are governed by the lease, so owners should include a clear provision requiring reasonable notice except in emergencies. Without a lease provision, there is no agreed standard and disputes become difficult to resolve.
Is there rent control in Missouri?
No. RSMo 441.043 prohibits any county or city from enacting, maintaining, or enforcing an ordinance regulating the amount of rent charged for privately owned residential or commercial property. Limited exceptions exist for property a political subdivision owns, voluntary agreements involving subsidized housing, and properties receiving community development block grant funds.
Let Deca Handle Missouri Landlord-Tenant Compliance for You
Most of the expensive mistakes in this guide are not made by careless owners. They are made by conscientious ones who assumed Missouri works the way their last state did, or who counted 30 days from the wrong date, or who sent a notice that was one week short of what the statute required.
Deca Property Management has managed St. Louis rental property since 1990. Our property managers are licensed by the Missouri Real Estate Commission, our team carries more than 75 years of combined property management experience, and we handle deposits, notices, inspections, screening, and filings under a documented process applied the same way on every property we manage. Contact us to talk about your rental, or request a free rental analysis.
This article is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Missouri landlord-tenant law, and the local ordinances that overlay it across the St. Louis region, change over time and apply differently to different situations. For advice on a specific matter, consult a qualified Missouri attorney.