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A Missouri eviction notice is a landlord's written notice ending a tenancy. It gives ten days when a tenant violates section 441.020 or 441.030, under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.040.
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A Missouri eviction notice fits several situations. Landlords commonly send one when:
This document goes by several names, including notice to vacate, notice to quit and demand for rent. Searchers also call the one-month notice a 30-day notice and the rent notice a 3-day or 5-day notice.
A Missouri eviction notice gives ten days or one month, by reason: ten days when a tenant violates section 441.020 or 441.030 (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.040), and one month to end a tenancy at will, by sufferance or for less than one year (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060). Unpaid rent follows its own route through Chapter 535.
| Reason for the notice | What Missouri law sets | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Violation of section 441.020 or 441.030 | Ten days' notice to vacate, only when the tenant violates section 441.020 or 441.030 | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.040 |
| Tenancy at will, by sufferance, or for less than one year (no cause) | One month's notice, in writing | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060 |
| Unpaid rent | A demand for the rent before the court statement; the one-month notice is not required | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020 |
| Lockout by the landlord | Not allowed without judicial process and a court order, except as section 441.065 provides | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.233 |
The 10-day notice to quit applies only when a tenant violates section 441.020 or 441.030 of the Missouri statutes (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.040). When the ten days' notice has run, the landlord has a right to reenter and take possession, or to oust the tenant and anyone on the premises with the tenant's permission, by the procedure the law specifies (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.040).
The notice names the section the tenant violated and the date the ten days end. A deadline calculator helps count the notice period from the delivery date.
The one-month notice ends a tenancy at will, a tenancy by sufferance or a tenancy for less than one year, and it is given in writing to the person in possession (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060). The notice needs no cause.
The statute states the period as one month's notice, not as a number of days (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060). Before choosing the move-out date, read the full text of Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060 for any rule on the day the month must end.
A Missouri rent case starts from a demand for the rent: the landlord's sworn statement to the court says the rent was demanded from the tenant and not paid (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020). Section 535.020 names no number of days for the demand, so the 3-day and 5-day labels are not terms of that statute.
Giving the one-month notice of section 441.060 is not required before filing the statement (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020). Rent falls into default at the time the parties agreed on, and the statute adds no grace period before the landlord may seek possession (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.010).
A Missouri eviction notice names the parties, the property, the reason and the deadline, so the tenant knows what is owed or when to leave. Each item below also feeds the court papers if the tenant stays.
The rent figure on the notice matches the court statement, which sets out the terms of the rental and the amount of rent actually due (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020). The clerk's summons later goes to the tenant and to all persons occupying the premises, by name (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020). A notice that lists every adult occupant keeps those names the same from the first page to the last.
A Missouri eviction notice is filled out from the lease and the payment history: the names, the address, the reason and the deadline all come from those records. The steps below follow the order of a standard notice.
Example: "Notice to Vacate. To: Jane Doe and all occupants, 123 Example Street, Apt. 4, Springfield, Greene County, Missouri. Your tenancy at will ends on June 30. Please vacate the premises by that date. Landlord: John Roe, signed May 1."
The delivery of a Missouri eviction notice is best done in a way the landlord can prove later, because the court statement asks whether the rent was demanded. The Missouri sections cited on this page set no delivery method for the notice itself.
A Missouri eviction moves from the notice to a statement, verified by affidavit, before an associate circuit judge in the county where the property is situated (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020). The steps below follow a rent and possession case under Chapter 535, the route for unpaid rent only. A tenant who stays after a ten-day notice is removed by the procedure specified by law (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.040), and this page does not set out the steps of that procedure.
The rent case can carry other unpaid sums under the lease, other than property damages, only on the condition that those sums are not treated as rent under Chapter 535 (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020). A judgment for those other sums does not by itself entitle the landlord to an order for possession, even if it is entered in the same case (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020).
A tenant's appeal or application for a trial de novo does not stay the eviction unless the tenant gives bond into court within ten days after the judgment, with security for all damages, costs and rent then due (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.110). In the case of an unlawful detainer action, execution to restore possession issues no sooner than ten days after the judgment (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 534.350).
The notice to a family member with no lease is one month's written notice if the stay is a tenancy at will or by sufferance (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060). Section 441.060 does not mention relatives or guests, so the notice rests on the stay being one of the tenancies it names.
When the relative is a tenant, removing the relative or the relative's belongings, or the doors or locks, without judicial process and a court order is forcible entry and detainer, except as section 441.065 provides (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.233).
No: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.233 makes a landlord who removes or excludes a tenant or the tenant's belongings without judicial process and a court order guilty of forcible entry and detainer as described in Chapter 534, except as section 441.065 provides. The same rule covers a landlord or agent who causes the removal of the doors or locks, except as section 441.065 provides (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.233).
Changing the locks, removing the doors or putting the tenant's belongings out without a court order is not allowed, except as section 441.065 provides (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.233).
A Missouri rent and possession case uses three court papers: the landlord's statement verified by affidavit, the clerk's summons and the execution that restores possession (Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 535.020, 535.040). Each one follows the notice in turn. A case over a lease violation or a holdover runs on its own papers, which this list does not cover.
A notice to vacate is the landlord's written demand that the tenant leave or pay; the eviction is the court case that follows if the tenant stays. The case starts with a statement filed with an associate circuit judge (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020).
A 3-day notice is not a term of Missouri's rent statute: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020 asks for a demand for the rent before the statement is filed and names no number of days for it. A landlord may give more time than the demand alone.
The statute sets no grace period: rent is in default at the time or times the parties agreed on, and the landlord may then seek possession in the manner Chapter 535 provides (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.010). A grace period in the lease is a term of the lease.
The Missouri sections on this page set no minimum length of stay. If the stay is a tenancy at will or by sufferance, one month's written notice ends it (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060), and the person is not locked out without a court order if the person is a tenant (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.233, except as section 441.065 provides).
Yes, other unpaid sums the lease names can join the rent case, other than property damages, but only as sums that are not rent under Chapter 535 (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020). A judgment for them alone does not give the landlord possession (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.020).
General information, not legal or tax advice.
Unless noted otherwise, the sources below are from the Mo. Rev. Stat..
