| Quick Facts | Answer |
| Acceptable Deductions | Unpaid rent and late fees
Costs of damage Damages due to early termination Carpet cleaning |
| Return Deadline | 30 days |
| Itemized Deductions | Required |
| Penalty for Late Return | 2x amount wrongfully withheld |
For laws on security deposit collections and holdings in Missouri, click here.
Some cities and counties may have regulations which are different from those presented here. Always check local laws.
Security Deposit Deductions in Missouri
Missouri allows the following deductions from security deposits:
- Unpaid rent and late fees
- Costs of damage excluding normal wear and tear
- Monetary damage as a result of early termination of the lease
- Carpet cleaning
Most states, including Missouri, do not have a legal limit on how much a landlord can charge for damages except that the charges must be reasonable and reflect actual landlord expenses.
If the cost of the damages exceeds the amount of the security deposit, landlords are entitled to seek additional damages from the former tenant.
What is Considered Normal Wear and Tear in Missouri?
“Normal wear and tear” is damage and deterioration to a property that happens over time using an ordinary and reasonable level of care. Normal wear and tear includes things like:
- Gently worn carpets
- Lightly scratched glass
- Faded paint and flooring
- Lightly dirtied grout
- Loose door handles
- Stained bath fixtures
“Excessive damage” means any careless, reckless, or intentional damage that occurs because of someone on the property with the tenant’s permission. Examples include:
- Heavily stained, burned, or torn carpets
- Broken tiles or windows
- Holes in the wall
- Missing fixtures
Can the Landlord Charge for Replacing the Carpet in Missouri?
Landlords can charge for replacing the carpet if it is damaged beyond normal wear and tear.
A carpet that is slightly discolored or gently worn will be considered normal wear and tear. A carpet with visible stains, major discoloration and rips will be considered excessively damaged.
Can the Landlord Charge for Nail Holes in Missouri?
Missouri landlords can charge a tenant for nail holes if they damage the walls in a way that doesn’t demonstrate an ordinary and reasonable level of care.
Tenants have the right to use the walls within their unit in a reasonable way. This includes inserting small nails or thumbtacks to hang posters or pictures.
However, large holes from drilling, multiple nail holes, large nail holes, and holes made for hanging heavier things may be considered damage, and thus chargeable to the tenant.
Can the Landlord Charge a Cleaning Fee in Missouri?
Missouri landlords can charge a cleaning fee if:
- The fee is specifically agreed in the lease
- The cleaning is not to address normal wear and tear, AND
- The fee amount is the actual cost of the cleaning done
Can the Landlord Charge for Painting in Missouri?
Missouri landlords can charge for painting, except for normal wear and tear. For example, a landlord might be able to charge for:
- Damage to the paint beyond normal wear and tear
- Tenant repainting without the landlord’s consent
- Tenant repainting with consent, but not doing the work to a professional standard
Normal paint wear includes:
- Minor scrapes from daily use
- Fading due to sunlight
- Minor cracks in the original paint.
Landlords can charge for repainting if the damage is not the result of ordinary care. This includes stains, large or deep scratches, and water damage.
Security Deposit Returns in Missouri
Landlords must notify tenants in writing by hand delivery or mail of their right to attend a final inspection scheduled by the landlord at a reasonable time. Landlords must return any remaining portion of a security deposit within 30 days from the termination of the lease with an itemized list of damages (if any).
How Long Do Landlords Have to Return Security Deposits in Missouri?
Missouri landlords have 30 days after the lease term ends to return any remaining portion of a security deposit.
Do Landlords Owe Interest on Security Deposits in Missouri?
Missouri law does not require landlords to provide interest on held security deposits. If a landlord chooses to hold a security deposit in an interest-bearing account, the interest belongs to them and not the tenant.
How Do Landlords Give Notice in Missouri?
In Missouri, an itemized list of damages (if any) must be sent by mail to the tenant’s last known address along with any remaining portion of the security deposit. If deductions are made for carpet cleaning, a receipt must be provided.
Can a Security Deposit Be Used for Last Month’s Rent in Missouri?
In Missouri, a tenant is not entitled to apply the security deposit toward rent. However, the law allows landlords to deduct any unpaid rent from the security deposit.
Landlords can include a provision in the lease agreement that the security deposit cannot be used for the last month’s rent until the tenant vacates the rental unit.
Security Deposit Disputes in Missouri
If landlords do not return the security deposit or provide an itemized statement of deductions, if any, within the required time period, tenants can file for damages in court up to twice the amount wrongfully withheld.
Tenants can also take legal action against a landlord for:
- Deductions that are not mentioned in the lease agreement
- Failure to provide written notice of or conduct a final inspection
- Failure to deposit the security deposit in an account of a financial institution
- Unreasonable deductions
How Can Tenants File a Dispute for a Security Deposit in Missouri?
If a landlord fails to perform their obligations regarding a security deposit, the tenant can file a dispute in the small claims division of Circuit Court if the amount of damages is less than $5,000. If the amount is greater, the tenant must file a civil case in the Circuit Court.
A small claims case regarding the return of a security deposit must be filed within 3 years.
Cases are filed in the Circuit Court where the property is located or where the defendant lives. An attorney is not required but permitted. Filing fees vary by court.
Sources
- 1 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300
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The landlord may withhold from the security deposit only such amounts as are reasonably necessary for the following reasons:
(1) To remedy a tenant’s default in the payment of rent due to the landlord, pursuant to the rental agreement;
(2) To restore the dwelling unit to its condition at the commencement of the tenancy, ordinary wear and tear excepted; provided, however, that this subdivision does not preclude a landlord and tenant from agreeing, in the rental agreement between them, upon amounts or fees to be charged for cleaning of the carpet, and such amounts actually expended for carpet cleaning can be withheld from the security deposit, so long as the rental agreement also includes a provision notifying the tenant that he or she may be liable for actual costs for carpet cleaning that exceed ordinary wear and tear, which may also be withheld from the security deposit. Within thirty days of the end of the tenancy, the landlord shall provide the tenant a receipt for the actual carpet cleaning costs; or
(3) To compensate the landlord for actual damages sustained as a result of the tenant’s failure to give adequate notice to terminate the tenancy pursuant to law or the rental agreement; provided that the landlord makes reasonable efforts to mitigate damages.
Source Link - 2 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300(7)
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Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the right of the landlord to recover actual damages in excess of the security deposit, or to permit a tenant to apply or deduct any portion of the security deposit at any time in lieu of payment of rent.
Source Link
- 3 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300(5)
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The landlord shall give the tenant or his representative reasonable notice in writing at his last known address or in person of the date and time when the landlord will inspect the dwelling unit following the termination of the rental agreement to determine the amount of the security deposit to be withheld, and the inspection shall be held at a reasonable time. The tenant shall have the right to be present at the inspection of the dwelling unit at the time and date scheduled by the landlord.
Source Link - 4 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300(3)
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Within thirty days after the date of termination of the tenancy, the landlord shall:
(1) Return the full amount of the security deposit; or
(2) Furnish to the tenant a written itemized list of the damages for which the security deposit or any portion thereof is withheld, along with the balance of the security deposit. The landlord shall have complied with this subsection by mailing such statement and any payment to the last known address of the tenant.
Source Link
- 5 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300(2)
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All security deposits shall be held by the landlord for the tenant, who is a party to the rental agreement, in a bank, credit union, or depository institution which is insured by an agency of the federal government. Any interest earned on a security deposit shall be the property of the landlord. A housing authority created under section 99.040 or any other government entity acting as a landlord shall not be subject to this subsection.
Source Link
- 6 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300(6)
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If the landlord wrongfully withholds all or any portion of the security deposit in violation of this section, the tenant shall recover as damages twice the amount wrongfully withheld.
Source Link
- 7 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 482.305
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When sitting as a small claims court, the judge shall have original jurisdiction of all civil cases, whether tort or contract, where the amount in controversy does not exceed five thousand dollars, exclusive of interest or costs, or as provided in this chapter.
Source Link
- 8 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.130(2)
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What actions [to bring] within three years.
Within three years:
…
(2) An action upon a statute for a penalty or forfeiture, where the action is given to the party aggrieved, or to such party and the state.
Source Link
