State of Missouri Statutes on Tenants Rights

Missouri has statutes in place to help tenants.

Tenant/landlord laws exist in an effort to keep people safe. Missouri statutes on tenants rights, in particular, can protect renters from unscrupulous landlords. Laws about habitability not only protect renters, but also help communities.

Background

Chapter 441 is a portion of Missouri state law that has to do with tenants rights. Section 441.233 clearly establishes legal guidelines against landlords who try to remove tenants from a property illegally. Property owners cannot change a lock, for example, without a court order. If they do, they may be subject to severe penalty.

Revised Code

Section 441.234.1 of the Revised Missouri statutes dictates that landlords must keep a property reasonably clean and livable. The law states that if a rental property has issues with sanitation, security or other conditions that may "detrimentally affect the habitability," the landlord can be held accountable for violating housing codes.

Eviction

If you are in danger of getting evicted in Missouri, you might want to review sections 441.710 through 441.880 of the state law. It concerns ways in which a tenant can postpone or even stop an order of eviction. It also has details about probationary tenancy for the duration.

References

• Missouri General Assembly (MOGA): RSMO - Chapter 441
• Missouri General Assembly (MOGA): RSMO - Section 441-234 Tenant May Deduct Cost of Repair
• Missouri General Assembly (MOGA): RSMO - Section 441-880 Stay of Execution of Eviction Order

Resources

• Missouri General Assembly (MOGA): Missouri General Assembly