A Missouri month-to-month rental agreement is a contract (not necessarily in writing) which allows a tenant to rent property from a landlord, for one month at a time, in exchange for a fee (“rent”). The rental renews monthly, until either party gives proper notice to end it.
Basics of a Missouri Month-to-Month Rental Agreement
In Missouri, a landlord and tenant create a month-to-month lease by agreeing to rent a property according to acceptable terms. Written rental agreements are clearer and legally stronger, but oral leases are legal in a month-to-month context.
Parties under a month-to-month lease enjoy full rights under Missouri landlord-tenant law. The tenant must use the property in a responsible way and pay rent on time. The landlord must keep essential features of the property in habitable condition, and protect the tenant’s quiet enjoyment of the lease.
The main difference between a month-to-month lease and a fixed-term lease is that month-to-month leases can be terminated (with proper notice) by either party for any reason without penalty. Landlords also can usually modify terms from one month to the next, again with proper notice.
Required Disclosures for Month-to-Month Rentals in Missouri
Missouri landlords may not rent a property out without making the following disclosures to a potential tenant, as relevant:
- Landlord’s Name and Address – Landlords must give the tenant their name and address, or that of their authorized agent, to enable smooth communication of legal notice.
- Methamphetamine Disclosure – Landlords must disclose any knowledge relating to methamphetamine manufacturing or contamination on rental property.
- Lead-Based Paint – Landlords must provide an EPA-approved disclosure and informational pamphlet to tenants renting any property built before 1978.
Required Notice To End a Month-to-Month Rental in Missouri
Missouri lets both the landlord or tenant terminate a month-to-month lease with at least one month of advance notice in most cases. In general, any reason that isn’t landlord retaliation is a legal and valid grounds for ending a month-to-month lease.
Missouri requires written notice to end a month-to-month lease.
Required Notice To Raise the Rent on a Missouri Month-to-Month Lease
Missouri requires that notice for a rental increase be delivered in writing, but doesn’t specify a particular timeframe for that notice. This means in most cases it’s reasonable for a landlord to keep the same standard advance notice provided for termination or other major lease changes, which in Missouri is one month.
Eviction in Missouri Month-to-Month Rentals
Missouri tenants may face eviction for violating a month-to-month lease or remaining on the property after the notice period allowed by a valid termination. Evictions in Missouri typically take one to three months.
For more information on the eviction process in Missouri, click here.
Sources
- 1 Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060(4)
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(1) 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.
(2) When a person occupies and has an ownership interest in a mobile home and is leasing the land or the lot upon which the mobile home is located, a tenancy for less than one year may be terminated by the landlord by giving written notice to the tenant that the tenancy shall terminate not sooner than sixty days from the date the rent payment next becomes due, notwithstanding any written lease provision regarding earlier lease termination to the contrary.
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