Missouri eviction law

Before filing for rent and possession you must demand the rent, and it must remain unpaid. A demand is good any time after the rent falls due. Missouri sets no statutory waiting period after the demand, but if your written lease declares it forfeited after rent goes unpaid for a specified time, no summons issues until that time has passed. The one-month termination notice is not required before a rent and possession case.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.060 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.050

• If, on the date a money judgment is given, the tenant pays you or the court all rent in arrears and all costs, the case stops; paying the judgment and costs after trial but before the judgment becomes final stays execution for possession. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.160 See Eviction process on the Missouri page

If a tenant assigns the lease without your written consent, violates a condition of a written lease, commits waste, or allows gambling devices, a brothel or illegal drug possession, sale or distribution on the premises, you may give ten days' notice to vacate and then recover possession by the procedure the law provides. The statute gives no right to cure.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.040 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.030 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.020

• The assignment, lease condition and waste rule applies to a tenant for a term of two years or less, at will or by sufferance. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.030
• Allowing illegal gaming, a brothel or illegal drug possession, sale or distribution makes the lease void, and you have the same remedies as against a tenant holding over. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.020
• In a drug case you must prove the illegal use, but you are not liable for damages from relying on written notice from law enforcement that the premises were used that way. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.040

For unpaid rent, file a verified statement with an associate circuit judge after demanding the rent. The summons sets a court date no more than 21 business days after it is issued (unless you consent in writing to a later date) and must be served at least 4 days before that date. If you win, the judgment covers possession and the rent due, and the officer delivers possession within 5 days after receiving the execution. A tenant holding over after the lease ends is removed through an unlawful detainer case after a written demand for possession.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.030.1 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.040.1 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 534.030.1

• Service by posting on the dwelling and ordinary mail must happen at least 10 days before the court date, and if the tenant defaults after that kind of service you get no money judgment. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.030.2, .3
• The tenant has 10 days after the judgment to move to set it aside or apply for a trial de novo; otherwise the judgment for possession becomes final. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.030.4
• An appeal or an application for a trial de novo stays execution only if the tenant posts a bond within 10 days covering damages, costs and rent due, and pays later rent into court. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.110
• In an unlawful detainer case, execution to restore possession issues no sooner than 10 days after judgment, and the winning landlord recovers double the damages and double the monthly rental value until restitution. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 534.350 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 534.330.1
• If the officer does not deliver possession within seven days after receiving the writ, you may, within 60 days of the judgment and in the presence of a law enforcement officer shown the judgment and without breach of the peace, change the locks and remove property, and must file the officer's written acknowledgment within five days. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060.5
• A tenant for a fixed term who willfully holds over after the term ends and after your written demand for possession owes double the yearly value of the property for the time held. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.080
• Choose the court papers for the claim you are bringing; a rent-and-possession case and an unlawful-detainer case are distinct routes. Ask the clerk for the current forms and filing instructions for the county where the case belongs. Boone County's published rent/possession petition is one local example, not a statewide filing packet. Prepare the lease, demand or termination notice, delivery records, payment ledger with credits, and any photographs or messages supporting the disputed issue. Read the summons for the hearing details and keep later payments or agreements with the case record. Missouri Courts: Boone County rent/possession form, local example Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020

You may not remove or exclude a tenant or the tenant's belongings without judicial process and a court order, or remove the doors or locks; doing so is forcible entry and detainer. Willfully interrupting essential services such as electric, gas, water or sewer service is also forcible entry and detainer, unless you do it for health or safety reasons.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.233

• The only exception to the lockout rule is a home that is abandoned under the statutory procedure. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.233.1 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.065 See Abandoned property on the Missouri page
• A successful forcible entry and detainer complainant gets the premises back and double the damages found, plus double the monthly rental value until restitution. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 534.310 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 534.330.1

A home is treated as abandoned only if you reasonably believe the tenant has moved out and does not intend to return, rent has been due and unpaid for 30 days, you post the statutory notice on the premises and mail it to the tenant's last known address by both first class and certified mail, return receipt requested, and the tenant neither pays nor answers in writing within 10 days after both the posting and the mailing. You may then remove or dispose of property left behind without liability to the tenant.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.065

• The notice must state that rent has been unpaid for 30 consecutive days, that you believe the tenant has moved out, and that you may declare the property abandoned and remove the tenant's possessions unless the tenant writes to you within 10 days, and it must give your name and street address. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.065(3)
• After a court-ordered eviction, you are not liable for property left behind except for willful, wanton or malicious acts, but property clearly labeled as a third party's requires a certified mail notice and five business days for the owner to recover it. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.040.2, .3

Missouri's landlord and tenant chapters contain no rule against retaliating against a tenant. The Missouri Human Rights Act's retaliation section is written for employers, employment agencies, labor organizations and places of public accommodation. Federal fair housing law was not read for this page.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 213.070 Mo. Rev. Stat. chapter 441 Mo. Rev. Stat. chapter 534 Mo. Rev. Stat. chapter 535

• You may not evict or find a lease violation because a tenant is, has been, or is in imminent danger of becoming a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.920.2 See Fair housing on the Missouri page