| Rent Increase Facts | Answer |
| Reason Needed? | No |
| Maximum Amount | None |
| Required Notice | No Statute (except for mobile homes) |
Does Missouri Have Rent Control?
Missouri does not have rent control laws limiting the amount landlords request. State law prohibits local governments from establishing local rent control laws.
When Can a Landlord Raise Rent in Missouri?
Landlords in Missouri can raise the rent at any time, as long as they comply with the following:
- Wait until the end of the lease term (unless otherwise specified in the lease)
- Give reasonable notice
- Aren’t raising rent for discriminatory or locally determined retaliatory reasons
60 days before the end of a year-long lease, a landlord sends the tenant a notice that rent will increase by 2.5% if they choose to renew the lease.
When Can’t a Landlord Raise Rent in Missouri?
Landlords in Missouri may not raise the rent if:
- The increase is applied in a way that discriminates against one of the protected classes specified in the Fair Housing Act.
- It is during the middle of a lease’s fixed term (unless stated otherwise in the lease agreement).
Although most other states have landlord retaliation laws, Missouri law does not address retaliatory rent increases. However, local governments may enact retaliation laws.
For example, in Kansas City, landlords cannot increase rent because a tenant:
- Filed a complaint with the landlord or appropriate agency regarding the health or safety of the property
- Joined or organized a tenants’ group or union
- Was the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking
How Often Can Rent Be Increased in Missouri?
Landlords in Missouri can increase the rent as often as they wish. There is no legal limit or cap on the number of rent increases per year.
How Much Notice is Needed to Raise Rent in Missouri?
Missouri law does not require a specific notice period before raising the rent, except 60 days’ notice is required for mobile homes (unless the rent increase is due to an increase in property taxes).
The notice period required for the termination of a lease is typically used as reasonable notice for a rent increase as follows:
- Year-to-year lease – 60 days’ notice
- Month-to-month lease – 30 days’ notice
How Much Can a Landlord Raise Rent in Missouri?
In Missouri, landlords can raise the rent by any amount. There is no legal limit or cap on the amount of a rent increase.
Sources
- 1 MO Rev Stat § 441.043
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No county or city, or county or city with a charter form of government may enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance or resolution which regulates the amount of rent to be charged…
Source Link - 2 Kansas City Code of Ord. § 50-109
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A landlord or its agent may not retaliate by increasing rent…because…the tenant has complained…has organized or become a member of a tenants’ union or similar organization…is the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking…
Source Link - 3 MO Rev Stat § 700.600
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The landlord shall not increase the rent, except for a rent increase based solely on an increase in property taxes, for any tenant of the manufactured or mobile home land lease community during the sixty-day period prior to providing such notice or at any time after providing such notice.
Source Link - 4 MO Rev Stat § 441.050
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Either party may terminate a tenancy from year to year by giving notice, in writing, of his intention to terminate the same, not less than sixty days next before the end of the year.
Source Link - 5 MO Rev Stat § 441.060
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…the landlord…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.
Source Link
