Understanding Rental Property Laws in Missouri: Insights Every Landlord Should Know, Rent Robin LLC
In our experience managing rental properties in Missouri, we have never met a landlord who made their life easier by not knowing the laws. Fair housing. Security deposits. Evictions. There are required clauses in your lease agreement and special considerations regarding service dogs or companion animals. Legal mistakes are entirely too easy to make, and today, we want to share some insights into the rental property laws that all Missouri landlords need to know before leasing or renting out a property. Your trusted property management experts at Rent Robin can be instrumental in keeping you on the right side of the law. If you’re not already working with a property manager in Missouri, consider contacting us to discuss your options. Keeping you legally compliant and protecting your property from risk and liability is only part of what we do. Here are the most important rental property laws that you need to know. Missouri’s Implied Warranty of Habitability Your tenants have the right to live in a home that’s safe, sanitary, and livable. They have a right to utilities such as heat, electricity, and water. If there’s an infestation of mice in the kitchen, a lack of proper ventilation, or spotty running water at best, your property is not habitable, and you could face the consequences. Wrapped into the habitability laws is the protection against retaliation. If a tenant reports a landlord for a housing code violation or because they don’t have access to heat or because a repair was not made in time and now there’s no water, the landlord cannot retaliate against the tenant by raising rent, serving an eviction notice, or making any other threats. We expect the landlords and property owners we work with to commit to a high standard of habitability and maintenance. You don’t want to simply do the bare minimum that’s required. You want to offer the rental market an attractive home that tenants are eager to rent. Missouri Fair Housing Laws Missouri’s fair housing laws are identical to those of the federal laws. The state enforces fair housing laws by recognizing the same protected classes as the federal Fair Housing Act. You cannot discriminate in the rental of your property against people based on color, race, national origin, religion, familial status, disability, or sex (recent updates include sexual orientation and gender identity). Remaining compliant with fair housing laws is not always as easy as it seems. Most of your attention needs to be around advertising, screening, and accommodating tenants with disabilities: When you’re marketing your rental home, you can include details in your listing that discuss the home’s size, what the rent will be per month, when the home will be ready for occupancy, and what the property’s benefits are. Maybe those unique characteristics are updated kitchen appliances, a soaking tub in the master bathroom, or a fenced backyard. You cannot say it would be “great for single professionals” or “not appropriate for children.” You should not say it’s close to churches. This type of language can be seen as discriminatory against several of the law’s protected classes. Keep your rental property marketing accessible to everyone who is qualified. Including or excluding certain groups like families or religious minorities can be seen as discriminatory. Keep your advertising focused on what the property is and what it has to offer. Don’t make assumptions about who would want to live there, and don’t talk about the types of tenants you would prefer. Put together standard rental criteria or a set of qualifications and put them in writing. Provide it to any tenant who is interested in filling out an application. Then, make sure you follow your own standards consistently every time you screen a potential tenant. After documenting our rental criteria and putting it in writing for all of our potential applicants to review, we screen tenants against those criteria. These standards evaluate every application that comes through the Rent Robin offices, and we treat each applicant the same. It’s a consistent, documented process. As a landlord, you decide to allow pets or not allow pets in your Missouri rental property. However, you cannot deny tenants service or support animals. The fair housing laws do not consider those animals to be pets. They are, instead, accommodations. You have to make sure you understand the difference, and you cannot charge pet rent or a pet deposit on a service or companion animal. Security Deposit Law in Missouri Under Missouri law, landlords can charge tenants a security deposit of up to two months’ rent. This cap is designed to prevent excessive financial burden on tenants while still allowing property owners to protect their interests. The primary purpose of a security deposit is to cover any unpaid rent or damage caused by the tenant beyond normal wear and tear. It’s important to clearly outline in your lease agreement what constitutes damage and how the security deposit will be spent to address such issues. Timelines are important. Once a tenant vacates the property, Missouri law requires that you return the security deposit, along with an itemized list of any deductions, within 30 days. If you fail to comply, you may be liable for damages up to twice the amount wrongfully withheld. To protect both parties, we always conduct and document move-in and move-out inspections. This helps establish the property’s condition at entry and exit, reducing disputes over security deposit deductions. We get a clear and documented condition report that shows how the property looked before tenants took possession and how it looked after they left. Security deposit mistakes are common, and it’s usually because owners do not know the law. Here are some ways to avoid those potentially expensive mistakes: Make sure your lease agreement explicitly states the terms related to the security deposit, including the conditions for its return and any potential deductions. This sets clear expectations and minimizes misunderstandings. Keep thorough documentation of all inspections, maintenance activities, and communications with tenants. In the event of a dispute, detailed records can serve as valuable evidence. Encourage open communication