- Legal Representation of Tenants
- Topics Covered on Other Pages
- Key Points of Missouri Landlord-Tenant Law
Legal Representation of Tenants
Steve Scott, the attorney at Scott Law Firm (SLF), has focused on landlord-tenant law for more than 25 years. SLF can represent a limited number of tenants in court cases, but only in Boone County, Mo. SLF can also provide legal advice to tenants on a time-available basis.
Individual tenants have the right to represent themselves in court.
If tenants chose to represent themselves, they should carefully review the court procedures sections on the Court Cases Overview page.
Tenants representing themselves can find help to prepare court filings on the Missouri Tenant Help website.
In the landlord-tenant information on this website, references to “landlords” include “property managers” who manage rental properties on behalf of owners. The legal information provided is based on Missouri law, which may differ substantially from the law of other states.
Topics Covered on Other Pages
- Leasing, Move-In and Move-Out
- Court Cases Overview
- Rent-and-Possession Evictions
- Unlawful Detainer Evictions
- Expedited Eviction Cases
- Contract Cases
- Counterclaims
- Security Deposits
Key Points of Missouri Landlord-Tenant Law
- Eviction Requires Court Action
- Leases Can Be Written or Oral
- Termination of Month-to-Month Leases
- Types of Landlord-Tenant Lawsuits
- Prohibited Discrimination
Eviction Requires Court Action
Under Missouri law landlords can legally evict tenants only through court action. The landlord must obtain an eviction judgment from the court and have the judgment enforced by a law enforcement official.
Landlords who are not aware of the requirement for court action followed by eviction supervised by law enforcement sometimes attempt illegal “self-help” evictions. Examples include:
- Physically removing a tenant and/or the tenant’s property from the rental unit
- Changing locks
- Removing doors
- Turning off utilities (however, a landlord can legally shut off utilities on a temporary basis to address health or safety issues, such as a gas or water leak)
A landlord who obtains an eviction judgment from the court and then tries to enforce the judgment without involving law enforcement personnel is also guilty of wrongful eviction.
A tenant can sue for wrongful eviction (technically known in the law as “forcible entry and detainer”) if the landlord takes any of the actions mentioned above or otherwise causes a tenant to be displaced from the tenant’s rental unit. In such a situation, the tenant can sue to recover proven actual losses and can also request punitive damages. For more information, see the Wrongful eviction section under Common tenant claims on the Counterclaims page.
Leases Can Be Written or Oral
Most landlords use written leases. For more information about written leases, see the Leasing, Move-In and Move-Out page. Written leases usually are for a term of one year and may include an option for renewal. However, some written leases may provide for month-to-month occupancy.
A very small number of landlords use oral leases. An oral lease of residential property is a month-to-month lease under Missouri law. In most cases, the only enforceable terms of an oral lease are the agreed amount of rent and the day of the month rent is due.
A written lease can also be structured as a month-to-month lease.
A longer-term written lease that specifies a termination date can become a month-to-month lease if the tenant remains in the rental unit and pays rent covering any period of time after the termination date, and the landlord accepts the rent payment. In this situation, the written lease continues on a month-to-with basis with the other terms of the lease remaining unchanged.
Termination of Month-to-Month Leases
Either the tenant or the landlord can terminate a month-to-month residential lease by giving one month’s written notice to the other side. The notice does not have to provide a reason for termination. However, the termination cannot be for a discriminatory reason in violation of federal or state fair housing laws – see the Prohibited Discrimination section below on this page.
The term “one month’s notice” to terminate a month-to-month lease is interpreted by Missouri courts to mean that a proper notice given before a rent-due date will terminate the lease one month after that rent-due date.
There is one major exception to the requirement for one month’s notice – if a tenant owns a mobile home and leases the lot where the home sits, a 60-day notice is required to terminate the lot lease.
Types of Landlord-Tenant Lawsuits
There are four common types of lawsuits that landlords file against tenants. More details are provided on separate pages about each type of case. Different legal rules apply to each type of case. The four types are:
Prohibited Discrimination
Federal and Missouri fair housing laws strictly prohibit discrimination based on:
- Race
- Color
- Religion
- National origin
- Ancestry
- Sex (gender)
- Disability
- Familial status
If you believe you are the victim of discrimination based on one or more of these categories, you may file a complaint with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and/or the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR).
Some landlords may reject a rental application based on an applicant’s criminal history. While criminal history itself is not a prohibited discrimination category, under certain circumstances rejection of an applicant with a criminal history can constitute illegal discrimination. Consultation with an attorney is advised.
The main federal law is the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3631. Another relevant federal law is the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §12101 et seq. The primary Missouri statute is §213.040 RSMo.
In addition to the federal and state laws, the City of Columbia has an ordinance in Chapter 12 known as the “Source of Income Equality” law that prohibits discrimination based on the source of a person’s money – such as an applicant who receives governmental financial assistance to pay rent. Violation complaints may be filed with the city’s Commission on Human Rights.
Most discrimination categories are self-explanatory. However, “familial status” needs more explanation. “Familial status” is defined as one or more individuals who have not attained the age of 18 years being domiciled with either:
- a parent or another person having legal custody of such individual, or
- the designee of such parent or other person having such custody, with the written permission of such parent or other person.
The protections against discrimination based on familial status also apply to any person who is pregnant or who is in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who has not yet attained the age of 18 years.
Prohibited discrimination in the rental context includes:
- Lease termination
- Refusal to negotiate, rent or renew a lease, or discrimination in the terms, conditions or privileges of rental, or in the provision of services or facilities
- Denial that any dwelling is available for inspection or rental when it is available.
- Refusal to permit, at the expense of a person with a disability, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by such person if the modifications are necessary to afford the person full enjoyment of the premises; however, if reasonable under the circumstances, a landlord can require the tenant to agree to remove the modifications upon termination of the lease.
- Refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services when such accommodations are necessary to afford persons with disabilities equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.
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