Missouri Rental Lease Agreement Templates (7)

1.) Identification of the Landlord or Authorized Personnel (§ 535.185): All owning individuals and acting administrators of the rental property are to disclose their corresponding names and addresses within the leasing document.

2.) Lead-Based Paint (42 U.S. Code § 4852d: Homes built prior to 1979 are required to reveal the dangers of lead-based paint exposure. Packets containing information educating tenants on warning signs safety precautions are to be shared with those interested in renting before signing an agreement.

3.) Manufacturing of Methamphetamines on Premises (§ 441.236): Residential units that have been known to have housed activity contributing to the production of Methamphetamines require sound disclosure of the fact within the lease documentation.

Grace Period: Missouri does not guarantee a grace period by law; however, landlords and tenants can include this in the lease (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020).

Unpaid Rent: Missouri requires the landlord make a rent demand before pursuing a rent demand action in court (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020).

Standard Lease: Generally, Missouri landlords may not charge more than $20 or  20% (whichever is greater) (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 415.417).

Landlords inform the tenant of the bounced check and then demand the original amount and a $25 fee plus the bank penalties within 10 days (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 570.120).

Landlords in Missouri can charge up to 2 months’ rent as a security deposit accordingly (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300).

Returning to Tenant: Tenants receive their security deposit no later than 30 days after lease termination (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300).

Itemized List: In cases where landlords deduct from security, they also send tenants a cost sheet with the remaining deposit. (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300).

Standard Entry: While Missouri does not impose notice requirements outside of a lease, most landlords honor tenant privacy rights and therefore often give 24-hour notice.

Emergency Entry: Landlords seeking to prevent injury, death, or significant property damage enter the units during emergencies (MO Rev Stat § 441.234).

Generally, a landlord develops a reasonable belief of abandonment once the rent is overdue by 30 days and there is no response from the tenant to a 10 day notice (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.065).

Missouri allows tenants facing serious health and safety issues to deduct up to”three hundred dollars, or one-half of the periodic rent, whichever is greater” after issuing notice, so long as the landlord does not object in writing (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.234).

Duty to Mitigate: Generally, landlords do not have an obligation to mitigate; they can seek to recoup damages (excluding normal wear-and-tear) from the security in order to prepare it for the market (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300(3)).

Domestic Violence: Domestic violence victims have the right to terminate the lease; however, must also provide:

• A signed statement from a victim’s services, medical, or mental health facility
• Formal law enforcement documents, such as police reports or court orders (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.920).

Active Military: Federal law specifically excuses military personnel from lease terms whenever their 30-day termination notice results from their reassignment or deployment (50 USC § 3955).

Landlord’s Noncompliance: Missouri does not approve of tenant remedies such as terminating a lease early for noncompliance unless the issues are serious enough to be constructive evictions (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.234).

Landlord’s Harassment: Whenever the landlord’s behavior constitutes significant interference with the tenant’s enjoyment, the tenant may terminate the lease under common law practice (Ridley v. Newsome, 754 S.W.2d 912, 915 (Mo. Ct. App. 1988).

Oral leases that are specifically for one year or less are legally recognized as agreements in Missouri (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 432.010).

Missouri law expressly prohibits counties from regulating rent increases, particularly those associated with lease renewals (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.043).

Tenants forfeit their property if they have terminated the lease prematurely, are unpaid for at least thirty days, and no longer return to the dwelling (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.065).

Further information analyzing the rules and regulations on Landlord and Tenant (§441) and Landlord-Tenant Actions (§535) can be attained by visiting the state online legal archives.