Missouri eviction notice and late fee rules

Notice for unpaid rent

When rent is due, has been demanded and is unpaid, the landlord may file a statement, verified by affidavit, with an associate circuit judge in the county where the property is.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

Except for certain mobile-home situations, either party may end a month-to-month tenancy with written notice stating it ends on a periodic rent-paying date not less than one month after receipt.

Late-fee limit

No statutory cap found

Grace period before a late fee

None found in the statutes we read

Notice for unpaid rent

When rent is due, has been demanded and is unpaid, the landlord may file a statement, verified by affidavit, with an associate circuit judge in the county where the property is.

“Whenever any rent has become due and payable, and payment has been demanded by the landlord or the landlord's agent from the lessee or person occupying the premises, and payment thereof has not been made, the landlord or agent may file a statement, verified by affidavit, with any associate circuit judge in the county in which the property is situated,”
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020

Giving the § 441.060 notice is not required before filing a rent-and-possession statement under chapter 535.

“Giving the notice provided in section 441.060 is not required prior to filing a statement or obtaining the relief provided in this chapter.”
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020

Paying to stop an eviction

If, on the date a money judgment is given, the tenant tenders to the landlord or pays into court all rent in arrears and all costs, further proceedings stop; if the judgment and costs are paid after trial but before the judgment is final, execution for possession is stayed.

“If the defendant, on the date any money judgment is given in any action pursuant to this chapter, either tenders to the landlord, or brings into the court where the suit is pending, all the rent then in arrears, and all the costs, further proceedings in the action shall cease and be stayed. If on any date after the date of any original trial, but before the judgment becomes final, the defendant shall satisfy such money judgment and pay all costs, any execution for possession of the subject premises shall cease and be stayed;”
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.160

Ending a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy

Except for certain mobile-home situations, either party may end a month-to-month tenancy with written notice stating it ends on a periodic rent-paying date not less than one month after receipt.

“Except as provided in subdivision (2), the landlord or the tenant may terminate a month-to-month tenancy by a written notice given to the other party stating that the tenancy shall terminate upon a periodic rent-paying date not less than one month after the receipt of the notice.”
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060(4)(1)

A tenancy at will or by sufferance, or for less than one year, may be terminated by one month's written notice to vacate.

“A tenancy at will or by sufferance, or for less than one year, may be terminated by the person entitled to the possession by giving one month's notice, in writing, to the person in possession, requiring the person in possession to vacate the premises.”
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060(1)

Lockouts and utility shutoffs

A landlord who removes or excludes a tenant or the tenant's property without judicial process and court order, or causes removal of doors or locks, is deemed guilty of forcible entry and detainer.

“Except as provided in section 441.065, a landlord or its agent who removes or excludes a tenant or the tenant's personal property from the premises without judicial process and court order, or causes such removal or exclusion, or causes the removal of the doors or locks to such premises, shall be deemed guilty of forcible entry and detainer as described in chapter 534.”
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.233(1)-(2)

Willfully interrupting essential services such as electric, gas, water or sewer is deemed forcible entry and detainer, except when done for health or safety reasons.

“Any landlord or its agent who willfully diminishes services to a tenant by interrupting or causing the interruption of essential services, including but not limited to electric, gas, water, or sewer service, to the tenant or to the premises shall be deemed guilty of forcible entry and detainer as described in chapter 534; provided however, this section shall not be applicable if a landlord or its agent takes such action for health or safety reasons.”
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.233(2)

What the notice must say and how it is delivered

On the plaintiff's request, the summons may also be served by posting on the dwelling and mailing by ordinary mail at least ten days before the court date.

“shall also serve the same by securely affixing a copy of such summons and the complaint in a conspicuous place on the dwelling of the premises in question at least ten days before the court date in such summons, and by also mailing a copy of the summons and complaint to the defendant at the defendant's last known address by ordinary mail at least ten days before the court date.”
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.030(2)

Court deadlines and the eviction case

The summons must be served at least four days before the court date, which may not be more than twenty-one business days after issuance unless the plaintiff consents in writing to a later date.

“Such summons shall be served as in other civil cases at least four days before the court date in the summons. The summons shall include a court date which shall not be more than twenty-one business days from the date the summons is issued unless at the time of filing the affidavit the plaintiff or plaintiff's attorney consents in writing to a later date.”
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.030(1)

If you have received a notice

1. Write down the date you received it and how it was delivered.
2. Check what it asks for — payment, fixing a problem, or moving out — and the deadline it gives against the Missouri rules above.
3. Keep paying what you can document; ask for receipts.
4. If you receive court papers, note the response deadline on them; a legal-aid office or the court’s self-help center can help.

Check another situation with the eviction notice checker or the late fee checker.

Common questions

How much notice does a landlord in Missouri have to give for unpaid rent?

When rent is due, has been demanded and is unpaid, the landlord may file a statement, verified by affidavit, with an associate circuit judge in the county where the property is. (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020).

How much notice is needed to end a month-to-month tenancy in Missouri?

Except for certain mobile-home situations, either party may end a month-to-month tenancy with written notice stating it ends on a periodic rent-paying date not less than one month after receipt. (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060(4)(1)).