Rental Property Rules in Missouri (2026)
31 rules on the books across Missouri, 12 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Rent Control
Local limits on how much landlords can raise rent each year, including which properties are covered and exemptions for newer buildings.
Missouri: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsMissouri expressly preempts local rent control. Under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.043, no county or city may enact, maintain…
Read full rule →Clay County
Few RestrictionsRent control is illegal anywhere in Clay County. Missouri statute §441.043 bars every county and city, including…
Read full rule →Kansas City
Few RestrictionsKansas City does not have rent control or rent stabilization ordinances. Missouri state law (RSMo §441.043) preempts…
Read full rule →St. Louis
Few RestrictionsRent control is prohibited in Missouri. Under RSMo 441.043, political subdivisions including St. Louis cannot enact…
Read full rule →Just Cause Eviction
Protections requiring landlords to have a valid reason to evict tenants, such as nonpayment of rent, lease violations, or owner move-in.
Missouri: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsMissouri statute governs lease termination notice statewide and does not require landlords to demonstrate just cause to…
Read full rule →Clay County
Few RestrictionsMissouri has no just-cause eviction law, and Clay County cannot add one. A landlord ends a month-to-month tenancy with…
Read full rule →Lees Summit
Few RestrictionsLee's Summit has no just-cause eviction law; state law governs. Landlords may end a month-to-month tenancy with one…
Read full rule →Rental Registration
Requirements for landlords to register rental properties with the city, including inspection programs, fees, and occupancy standards.
Missouri: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsMissouri preempts local ordinances that limit landlord tenant screening, source-of-income decisions, security deposit…
Read full rule →Columbia
Significant RestrictionsEvery operator of a Columbia, Missouri rental -- long-term or short-term -- must file a formal application for a…
Read full rule →Florissant
Significant RestrictionsFlorissant requires every residential rental property to carry an annual $50-per-unit rental license from the…
Read full rule →Independence
Significant RestrictionsEvery landlord in Independence must obtain a City business license before renting out a dwelling unit, and separately…
Read full rule →Springfield
Significant RestrictionsIn its West Central Neighborhood pilot area, Springfield, Missouri requires owners to hold a city rental license before…
Read full rule →St. Louis
Significant RestrictionsSt. Louis requires every rental dwelling unit to be registered with the city in a public database before a certificate…
Read full rule →Kansas City
Some RestrictionsKansas City requires every rental dwelling owner to register the property annually with the city; renting or occupying…
Read full rule →St. Louis County
Some RestrictionsBefore renting or selling residential property in unincorporated St. Louis County, owners, agents, brokers, attorneys…
Read full rule →Security Deposit Rules
Caps on how much landlords may collect as security deposits, return deadlines, itemized-deduction requirements, and tenant remedies for wrongfully withheld deposits.
Repairs & Habitability
The implied warranty of habitability, how long a landlord has to fix essential services (heat, water, plumbing, mold), and tenant remedies such as repair-and-deduct, rent withholding, or breaking the lease.
Missouri: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsMissouri recognizes an implied warranty of habitability through case law (Detling v. Edelbrock, 1984), requiring…
Read full rule →O Fallon
Significant RestrictionsO'Fallon requires every rental dwelling to pass a Code Official inspection and hold a valid occupancy permit before…
Read full rule →Columbia
Some RestrictionsColumbia's Property Maintenance Code requires landlords to supply heat of at least 60°F from September through May in…
Read full rule →Florissant
Some RestrictionsFlorissant's Property Maintenance Code requires every rented dwelling unit to have continuous electric, gas or other…
Read full rule →Independence
Some RestrictionsIndependence bars landlords from renting out any dwelling unit that fails to meet the City's adopted International…
Read full rule →Kansas City
Some RestrictionsKansas City's Healthy Rental Homes program sets minimum health and safety standards for every rental unit and requires…
Read full rule →Kirkwood
Some RestrictionsKirkwood does not write its own housing-condition rules: § 5-22 adopts the 2021 International Property Maintenance…
Read full rule →Lees Summit
Some RestrictionsLee's Summit's Property Maintenance Code requires every door into a rented, leased or let dwelling, rooming or…
Read full rule →Springfield
Some RestrictionsWithin its West Central Neighborhood rental pilot, Springfield, Missouri judges a rental dwelling's condition against a…
Read full rule →St Charles County
Some RestrictionsLandlords in St. Charles County must supply heat to keep rented dwelling units at 68 degrees from January through…
Read full rule →St. Louis
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis landlords must supply heat maintaining at least 68°F in every habitable room, bathroom, and toilet room from…
Read full rule →St. Louis County
Some RestrictionsLandlords in unincorporated St. Louis County must keep rented dwellings, rooming units and guest rooms at 68 degrees…
Read full rule →Lease Termination & Notice to Vacate
Notice required to end a month-to-month tenancy, the rules and penalties for breaking a fixed-term lease early, and early-termination protections for active-duty military, domestic-violence survivors, and medical hardships.
Eviction Notice & Process
The notice a landlord must give before filing to evict, pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit periods, no-cause termination notice, how long the court eviction process takes in this state, and the tenant's options to respond or cure.
Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession
When an occupant without a lease gains legal protections, the line between a trespasser and a squatter, how many years of continuous possession adverse possession requires in this state, and how an owner lawfully removes a squatter.