Landlord-Tenant Law

A Consumer Guide

Landlord-Tenant disputes are a common occurrence in the renting process. Some of these disputes could be avoided if landlords and tenants were aware of their legal rights and responsibilities.

The Lease
Renters are bound either by an oral or written agreement. Written agreements are more common and offer greater protection to both tenant and landlord. When considering a written lease agreement, the tenant should remember to:

• Read the entire contract and ask questions or obtain a legal opinion about objectionable provisions you do not understand.
• Ask for changes. If a tenant dislikes certain provisions in the lease he or she has the right to ask the landlord to amend the lease with written changes. However, if the landlord refuses, which he or she has a right to do, it is up to the tenant to decide whether to sign the lease. If changes are made both the tenant and landlord should initial the changes.

At a minimum the lease should include the landlord's name, address and phone number; address of the rental property;amount of the monthly rent; rent due date and grace period; and terms governing the amount and return of the security deposit.

Although an oral agreement usually obligates the tenant for only one month, it greatly reduces security. A landlord can evict a tenant or raise rent with 30 days' notice.

Security Deposit
Under Missouri law a landlord may only require up to two months' rent as a security deposit.

The law also requires a landlord, within 30 days of the termination of the lease, to return the full deposit or furnish the tenant with an itemized list of damages for which any portion of the deposit is kept. Prior to the expiration of the 30-day period, the landlord must notify the tenant of the time and date the landlord plans to inspect the dwelling to determine any damage.

The landlord cannot prevent the tenant from being present during the inspection.

The landlord may keep a part or all of a deposit to compensate for or repair actual damage done, not to include normal wear and tear.

If the landlord has wrongfully withheld a part or all of a deposit, the tenant may sue to recover up to twice the amount wrongfully withheld.

Repairs

You may have more success if you request the landlord to make repairs within a reasonable period of time. If the repairs are not made, the tenant may send, by registered mail, a written request for the necessary repairs. The tenant should keep a copy of the letter.

If the repairs still are not made, the tenant may seek legal assistance. If the dwelling becomes unsafe due to the repair problems, the tenant should contact the local health or housing authorities.

Tenants and landlords need to remember if rent payments are withheld pending completion of repairs, the renter may be in violation of his lease and may be subject to eviction.

Eviction

Missouri law sets forth specific procedures for evicting tenants.

If a tenant damages property, consistently fails to pay rent on time or otherwise violates the terms of the lease, the landlord may begin eviction proceedings.

A landlord may not evict a tenant without a court order. Attempts by a landlord to physically remove a tenant or his property without a court order should be reported to the police.

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