Renter rights by state

Missouri renter rights: the basics for first-time renters

Last reviewed: October 2026 · First Apartment Kit

Missouri doesn't have a single landlord-tenant code. Renter rules are spread across Chapters 441, 534, and 535 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri (RSMo). This guide summarizes those statutes and the Missouri Attorney General's landlord-tenant guide (revised September 2025).

Quick facts

Quick facts are simplified. Read the sections below for exceptions, and check your city or county too.

Security deposits

• Cap: no more than two months' rent. A deposit labeled as a pet deposit doesn't count toward the cap.
• Where it's held: in a federally insured bank, credit union, or similar institution. Any interest belongs to the landlord.
• Move-out inspection: the landlord must give you reasonable written notice of the inspection date and time, and you have the right to be there.
• Deductions: only for unpaid rent, damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, actual losses from your failing to give proper notice, and carpet cleaning if your lease specifically says so.
• Return: within 30 days after the tenancy ends, the landlord must return the full deposit or send an itemized list of deductions with the balance. Mailing it to your last known address counts, so give a forwarding address in writing.
• Penalty: if the landlord wrongfully withholds money, you can recover twice the amount wrongfully withheld.
• You can't use the deposit as your last month's rent.

Rent increases and late fees

Missouri law doesn't cap rent or late fees, and state law bars cities and counties from regulating the amount of rent on private rental housing. Local governments also can't cap security deposits. If your lease has a late fee, it should say how much and when it applies. On a month-to-month tenancy, the Attorney General's guide notes rent can be raised with one month's notice.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

A month-to-month tenancy can be ended by either side with written notice of at least one month, ending on a rent day. That means a full rental period. For example, if rent is due on the 3rd, the period runs from the 3rd to the 3rd. Spoken notice doesn't count. A fixed-term lease ends on its end date without notice unless the lease says otherwise. If you stay after the lease ends without a written agreement, you could be charged double rent, so put any extension in writing.

When the landlord can come in

Missouri statutes don't set a statewide rule for landlord entry. Your lease controls, so check it and ask for advance notice in writing.

Repairs and living conditions

The Attorney General's guide says landlords should provide a habitable home and pay for repairs caused by ordinary wear and tear. Send repair requests in writing and keep copies. Withholding rent is risky and can lead to eviction.

Repair and deduct (narrow): you may qualify if all of these are true:

• You've lived there at least 6 consecutive months, paid all rent and charges, and haven't received an uncured written lease-violation notice in that time.
• The problem harms habitability, sanitation, or security and violates a local housing or building code.
• The repair costs less than $300 or half a month's rent, whichever is greater, but never more than one month's rent.
• You notified the landlord in writing, and the landlord didn't fix it within 14 days, or as quickly as an emergency required.

If the landlord disputes the repair in writing, you need written certification of the code violation from your city or county before doing the work. Get the work done in a workmanlike way, give the landlord an itemized statement with receipts, and then deduct the cost. A lease can't waive this right. For unsafe conditions, contact local health or housing authorities.

Eviction basics

A landlord can't evict you without going to court. Locking you out, removing your belongings or doors, or willfully shutting off essential services like electricity, gas, water, or sewer, except for health or safety reasons, counts as unlawful forcible entry and detainer.

For unpaid rent, the landlord must demand payment and can then file a sworn statement in court. The one-month notice used for month-to-month tenancies isn't required first. You'll get a summons with a court date. If you pay the rent due plus court costs at the hearing, the judge won't order possession for the landlord. If the landlord wins, the court orders possession, carried out by the sheriff. If the officer hasn't acted within 7 days, the landlord can carry out the order with a law enforcement officer present. Read every court paper, go to your hearing, and get legal help quickly.

Retaliation and discrimination

The Missouri Human Rights Act bans housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, disability, or familial status. You can file with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights or HUD. Active-duty service members may have special lease-ending rights. The Attorney General's guide describes 15 days' notice in certain situations, and the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act may also apply.

City and county rules

State law blocks local rent control, local deposit caps, and local rules requiring landlords to accept housing vouchers. Cities still enforce their own housing and building codes, which matter for repair-and-deduct. Check with your city's code enforcement office.

Move-in checklist for Missouri renters

• ☐ Get a written lease and read all of it before signing
• ☐ Get a receipt for the deposit and any move-in money
• ☐ Photograph every room, dated, before you unpack
• ☐ Fill out (or write your own) move-in condition list and keep a copy
• ☐ Note the rent due date, grace period, and late fee
• ☐ Write down how to request repairs, and do it in writing
• ☐ Save the landlord's legal name and address for notices
• ☐ Put your notice deadline for moving out in your calendar

Still apartment hunting? Our list of questions to ask a landlord before signing a lease covers deposits, fees, repairs, and move-out rules you will want answered in writing.

Where to get help in Missouri

• Missouri Attorney General — Landlord-Tenant Law guide (PDF) — the state's plain-language guide to renter and landlord rights.
• Missouri Commission on Human Rights — file a housing discrimination complaint.
• Find free legal aid near you — the federal Legal Services Corporation's directory of local legal aid offices.
• File a housing discrimination complaint with HUD — the federal fair housing agency.

More help

Nonprofit and legal aid resources (not government sources):

• Legal Services of Eastern Missouri — free civil legal help for eligible renters.
• Legal Aid of Western Missouri — free civil legal help for eligible renters.

Official sources

These are the official state law and government pages we checked for every fact on this page. The law itself controls if anything here differs.

• Missouri Attorney General, Missouri's Landlord-Tenant Law (revised Sept. 2025)
• RSMo 535.300, Security deposits
• RSMo 441.060, Termination of tenancies
• RSMo 441.234, Tenant repair and deduct
• RSMo 441.233, Unlawful removal or exclusion; interruption of services
• RSMo 441.043, Local rent regulation prohibited
• RSMo 535.020, Rent and possession procedure
• RSMo 535.040, Hearing and judgment
• RSMo 213.040, Unlawful housing practices

Not legal advice; laws change and cities may add rules. Check the official sources below or a local legal aid office. This page is a plain-language summary written by First Apartment Kit, not the law itself. Last reviewed: October 2026.

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