Missouri Month-to-Month Lease Agreement

Missouri has specific laws governing landlord-tenant relationships, and our Month-to-Month Lease Agreement Template for Missouri is tailored to align with these legal requirements. Utilizing this template ensures that landlords and tenants in Missouri can establish a comprehensive and legally compliant lease agreement, promoting a transparent and cooperative renting experience with the added flexibility of a month-to-month arrangement.

Month-to-Month Leases in Missouri

Landlords must understand the basic state lease laws when they draw up a Missouri month-to-month lease agreement. While these agreements can also be verbal, a written one ensures you add all the disclosures and have a record of the contract.

Lease Termination & Renewal 

• Tenants and landlords must give at least one month’s notice, generally 30 days, if they want to withdraw from the lease agreement. 
• It must be a written notice, and they can terminate the lease for any reason. The only exception to the rule is that landlords can’t terminate leases as retaliation against a tenant’s protected action.
• The lease requires no renewal terms, as a month-to-month agreement implicitly means the lease will remain valid until either party terminates it.

Rent Increases 

• The state law has no rent control practices and prohibits local governments from implementing rent control laws. 
• Landlords can raise the rent as much as possible whenever they want. 
• There’s no legally required notice period, except for mobile homes, which have a 60-day notice period. The only exception is if the mobile home’s rent increases due to increased property tax. 
• Most lessors prescribe a 30-day notice period.

Security Deposit

• Landlords can’t charge more than two months’ rent as the security deposit in this state. 
• The lessor isn’t required to notify the tenant of receiving the deposit. 
• They also don’t need to bear interest on the security deposit.
• Lessors have 30 days to refund the security deposit once the lease ends. 
• They’re entitled to a walk-through inspection of the premises and to make any necessary deductions for damages beyond the standard wear and tear. Making deductions means landlords must also provide an itemized list of those deductions.

Tenant Rights 

• All lessees are entitled to a habitable rental unit, meaning it must be safe, habitable, and livable. Further, tenants can request repairs from the landlord that damage this habitability. 
• There are limited circumstances where they can use their rent to fix the repairs if the landlord doesn’t comply. 
• Some of the terms are that they must have lived in the rental unit for over six months. Others are that they must have paid all their rent previously and without violations, and the cost is under $300 or maximum half of the month’s rent (whichever is higher). 
• The maximum limit for repairing the damages is one month’s rent, and it must violate the local housing codes.

Required Disclosures 

Missouri only has three disclosures that you need to remember:

• Lead-Based Paint: This disclosure warns that buildings built before 1978 might have lead-based paint present.
• Identification: The lessor must inform the tenant of the property’s authorized agent’s name and address. It ensures they can serve any legal notices.
• Methamphetamine Production: If the landlord knows that the unit was previously used to produce meth, then they must inform the tenant of that.