Missouri Eviction Process

Eviction Process in Missouri

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There are 2 kinds of eviction lawsuits in Missouri. The first one is called a Rent and Possession Suit. This is used to evict a tenant because the tenant has not paid rent. The landlord is required to demand the rent by serving an eviction notice before the lawsuit is filed. In order to file this suit, the landlord should go the Court that handles evictions for the jurisdiction where the property sits (this is Circuit Court in St. Louis). The landlord should tell the Court Clerk that they need to file an eviction case for Rent and Possession. There will be a filing fee. The Court will prepare a Summons and serve (deliver) it on the tenant. The Summons will tell the tenant when and where the court date is. If the tenant does not show up to court on the court date, the landlord will win by default. The judge can award possession as well as money damages. If the tenant does show up, then the judge will examine evidence and allow both sides to tell their side of the story. It is advisable that the landlord bring all witnesses, documents (eviction notice, lease, etc.), and other evidence to prove their case. If the judge rules for the landlord, the judge can award possession, damages (back rent), or both. If the judge rules for the tenant, the tenant will be able to stay.

Missouri Eviction Laws

The foundation of the Eviction Laws in Missouri are contained in Chapter 535 of the Missouri Revised Statutes. General Landlord Tenant Laws in Missouri are found in Chapter 441 of the Missouri Revised Statutes. If you are a landlord in Missouri, it is a good idea to become familiar with the eviction procedures laid out in this law.

The First Step in the Missouri Eviction Process is Serving a Notice to the Tenant

The eviction notice must state why the tenant is being evicted, and give them a specified amount of time to correct the problem. Common reasons to serve an eviction notice on a tenant are non-payment of rent, breaching obligations in the lease, and holdover (the lease is up and the tenant will not move). Missouri law requires that an Eviction Notice be served before an eviction lawsuit can be filed. The time period for an eviction notice demanding rent is not specified, but the time period in the eviction notice to end a lease is one month from the next date rent is due.

 

 

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Rent and Possession Suit

There are 2 kinds of eviction lawsuits in Missouri. The first one is called a Rent and Possession Suit. This is used to evict a tenant because the tenant has not paid rent. The landlord is required to demand the rent by serving an eviction notice before the lawsuit is filed. In order to file this suit, the landlord should go the Court that handles evictions for the jurisdiction where the property sits (this is Circuit Court in St. Louis). The landlord should tell the Court Clerk that they need to file an eviction case for Rent and Possession. There will be a filing fee. The Court will prepare a Summons and serve (deliver) it on the tenant. The Summons will tell the tenant when and where the court date is. If the tenant does not show up to court on the court date, the landlord will win by default. The judge can award possession as well as money damages. If the tenant does show up, then the judge will examine evidence and allow both sides to tell their side of the story. It is advisable that the landlord bring all witnesses, documents (eviction notice, lease, etc.), and other evidence to prove their case. If the judge rules for the landlord, the judge can award possession, damages (back rent), or both. If the judge rules for the tenant, the tenant will be able to stay.

 

Unlawful Detainer Suit

This is the kind of eviction case used to evict a tenant for “holding over” – not vacating after their lease is over (after the landlord gave proper notice that the lease is ending), or for tenants who have breached the terms of their lease. If a landlord needs to evict for non-payment of rent, he should use the Rent and Possession Eviction Suit above. An Unlawful Detainer Suit proceeds the same way as the Rent and Possession suit, with a Summons issued to the tenant, and a court date.

 

 

10 Day Appeal Period

Once the landlord wins at the original court date, the tenant has 10 days to appeal the judgment. If the tenant wants to remain in the property after the 10 days while the appeal is pending, the tenant must post a bond (give money to the court to hold) for the full amount of the judgment.

 

Sheriff Removal

If the tenant is still in possession of the property after the 10 day appeal period, the landlord can apply to the court to have the Sheriff remove the tenant.

 

Expedited Eviction in Missouri

Landlords in Missouri can request expedited eviction from the court if the tenant has caused damage equal to more than 12 months of rent, has used the property for drug related activity, or has allowed people on the property that were previously barred by the landlord.

 

 

Learn Missouri rent rules, including notice landlords must give tenants to raise the rent or end the tenancy for nonpayment of rent.

Your lease or rental agreement should spell out your landlord’s key rent rules, including:

• the amount of rent (there are no limits to how much a landlord can charge in Missouri since there are no communities with rent control in the state)
•  where rent is due (such as by mail to the landlord’s business address)
• when rent is due (including what happens if the rent due date falls on a weekend date or holiday)
• how rent should be paid (usually check, money order, cash, and/or credit card)
• the amount of notice landlords must provide to increase rent
• the amount of any extra fee if your rent check bounces, and
• the consequences of paying rent late, including late fees and termination of the tenancy.

State laws in Missouri cover several of these rent-related issues, including the amount of notice a landlord must provide to increase rent under a month-to-month tenancy, and how much time a tenant has to pay rent or move before a landlord can file for eviction.

 

Missouri Rules on Late Fees

Rent is legally due on the date specified in your lease or rental agreement (usually the first of the month).  If you don’t pay rent when it is due, the landlord may begin charging you a late fee. Missouri state law does not cover late rent fees. If your lease or rental agreement does not say anything about late fees, your landlord may not impose one, no matter how reasonable it is.

 

Amount of Notice Missouri Landlords Must Give Tenants to Increase Rent

Missouri does not have a state statute on the amount of notice the landlord must provide tenants in order to increase the rent or change other terms of a month-to-month rental agreement. Unless your rental agreement specifies otherwise, the landlord must typically provide the same amount of notice to change the rent or another term of the tenancy as state law requires the landlord to provide when ending the tenancy—in this case, one month. Keep in mind that if you have a long-term lease, the landlord may not increase the rent until the lease ends and a new tenancy begins—unless the lease itself provides for an increase.

 

 

Rent Increases as Retaliation or Discrimination

Missouri landlords may not raise the rent in a discriminatory manner—for example, only for members of a certain race.

 

Missouri State Laws on Termination for Nonpayment of Rent

States set specific rules and procedures for ending a tenancy when a tenant has not paid the rent. Missouri landlords must give tenants at least five days in which to pay the rent or move. If the tenant does neither, the landlord can file for eviction.

 

Missouri Guide to Tenant Rights

For an overview of tenant rights when it comes to paying rent under Missouri landlord-tenant law, see http://www.ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/publications/landlord-tenantlaw.pdf?sfvrsn=4.

 

Abandoned Property

Upon termination of the tenancy, whether at the end of the lease term or otherwise, the Landlord expects the Tenant to vacate the rental premises, leave the premises clean and in good condition, and as a part of same to remove all of the Tenant’s personal property.  Quite often that is not the case.

A Landlord may find that the Tenant appears to have abandoned unwanted personal property on the rental premises in various circumstances.  These circumstances include, but not by exclusion, expiration of the lease term when the Tenant appears to have moved but leaves various items of furniture in the garage or home, and the situation where the Tenant, during the term of the lease, appears to have vacated the premises and abandoned various types of personal property in the apartment.  Can the Landlord take possession of the rental premises in these circumstances? Is the Landlord liable for the value of the personal property if the Landlord disposes of it as trash?  Can the Landlord protect itself from the risk of that liability?

If the rental premises and any personal property are “abandoned”, Landlord may take possession of the premises and may dispose of the personal property.  Whether the Tenant has vacated the rental premises and abandoned the personal property is a question of intent.  Did the Tenant “intend” to vacate the premises and abandon the personal property, releasing any claim to title to it?  Will the Tenant later claim to simply have left the area due to an unexpected death in the family, intending to return and resume occupancy of the rental premises and/or remove the personal property?  If the latter, but while gone the Landlord retakes possession of the rental premises and disposes of the personal property, the Landlord may be liable in damages to Tenant for wrongful eviction and conversion.

A Landlord may wish and have a means to protect itself from the risk of liability in some circumstances.  Under Missouri law, the rental premises, and the personal property left on it, is deemed abandoned if each of the following four (4) requirements are satisfied.

(1.)   Landlord reasonably believes the Tenant has vacated the premises and does not intend to return.  Did Tenant notify the Landlord that Tenant was leaving town for a brief period?  Did Tenant tell neighbors that Tenant was leaving town for a short time?  Have the utility services been terminated by the utility provider?  Landlord must perform a reasonable investigation, should document everything, and must remember that any court later looking at the matter will have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

(2.)   The Tenant has failed to pay rent for thirty (30) days or more.  Landlord’s records should be complete, reflecting all rent that has accrued and each payment received by date and amount.

(3.)   The Landlord posts and mails to the Tenant, in the manner required, a notice in the proper form notifying the Tenant of #1 and #2 above, and further notifying the Tenant that unless within ten (10) days the Tenant pays the rent due or responds that the Tenant has not abandoned the rental premises that the Landlord will declare the rental premises and the personal property abandoned and will remove and dispose of the personal property.  A notice that is not in the proper form, or not posted and delivered properly, will likely be determined to not satisfy this requirement.

(4.)   The Tenant fails to pay rent or respond within ten (10) days after the proper posting and mailing of the notice.

If all of the requirements are fully satisfied, Landlord may remove and dispose of the personal property without liability to Tenant.  This statute provides no protection, however, from a claim of third parties, such as a parent that claims ownership, a company that rented the appliances or furnishings to the Tenant, or a company that sold them to Tenant and has a properly perfected security interest.  Accordingly, Landlord must carefully examine the items thought abandoned, and any public records, for evidence of ownership or a properly perfected lien.

If the Tenant returns and makes a claim, Landlord can expect that a court will review carefully each of the requirements and Landlord’s attempt to satisfy them.  Failure by Landlord to satisfy a requirement may result in the Landlord being held liable for damages and not receiving the benefit of the protection the statute was intended to provide.  Accordingly, legal advice should be sought.

 

Missouri State Laws on Termination for Nonpayment of Rent and Other Rent-Related Issues

For state rent rules and procedures on issues such as raising rent, see Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060 and 535.060.

For Missouri laws on termination for nonpayment of rent, see Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535-010.