An unfortunate part of being a landlord is tenant evictions. If irrevocable issues emerge with the Missouri tenants of a landlord, such as failure to pay their rent or possession of illegal substances on the property, the landlord will want to be fully aware of what their rights are with regards to arranging for the removal of the tenant and following the eviction process outlined in Missouri eviction laws.
The reasons to evict a tenant can be many and varied. It can be because of excessive property damage, failure to pay rent and possession of illegal substances or other illegal activities in the rental unit or property of the landlord, or from a tenant violating the terms of the lease agreement.
When filing an eviction lawsuit against a tenant, landlords must follow the proper process or procedure, or they may find themselves facing a Missouri eviction lawsuit. Landlords cannot—for instance—carry out a ‘self-help’ eviction, which entails actions like locking tenants outs of the property, shutting off previously available utilities or removing personal property of tenants.
In Missouri, just like elsewhere in the U.S., only a circuit court can sanction eviction lawsuits, and only for certain reasons such as avoiding their responsibility of paying rent. The Missouri eviction process is outlined in Missouri laws, and it is the responsibility of landlords to ensure they adhere to it.
The difficulty of carrying out evictions is one of the reasons why landlords often enlist the services of a qualified property management company. Let's take a look at the steps involved in a successful Missouri eviction including how to file an eviction lawsuit.
An Overview of Eviction Laws in Missouri
Step #1: Eviction Notice
A successful eviction in Missouri begins with the landlord serving the tenant with an eviction notice, in accordance with Missouri's landlord tenant laws. In order to evict a tenant, the proper notice must state, among other things, the violation that the tenant committed and what the tenant must do to fulfill the court order. The notice must also be relevant to the tenant's violation committed, and must appear in writing on the lease or rental agreement.
The following are some common reasons why a tenant violates a rental agreement, and the different notice types available for Missouri landlords. Early lease termination is justified for a variety of reasons and may not permit a landlord to evict a tenant.
Nonpayment of Rent: Of course, a landlord has a right to evict a tenant if the tenant fails to pay rent on time. As per statewide law, rent becomes late the day after it falls due, no matter when the tenant pays. The option of allowing a grace period for a tenant is up to each landlord and should be addressed in the rental agreement for the property paying rent.
A landlord must not begin the Missouri eviction proceedings unless the tenant is at least one month late with their payment. For failing to pay rent, a notice isn’t required unless the rental agreement and both the landlord and tenant specifies.
Violation of Lease Terms: As per Missouri law, once a tenant signs the lease agreement for a particular rental unit, the tenant must abide by all terms for the entire lease term. If the tenant doesn’t abide by the lease terms, a landlord can begin the proceedings by serving the tenant a 10-Day Notice to Quit.
The prior written notice served by the landlord gives the tenant 10 days to either vacate on their own or be evicted. Typical lease violations that fall under this category include excessive rental premises damage, keeping an unauthorized pet, and having too many people living in the rental unit. These are all unlawful detainer cases.
Holdover Tenant: A holdover tenant situation happens when a tenant doesn't vacate and remains the rental unit after their lease term has ended. The notice period depends on the terms of the written lease or rental agreement.
For tenancies that are less than one year per the lease, landlords must serve the tenant with a 30 Day Quit Notice. For year-long tenancies, landlords must serve the tenant with a 60 Day Quit Notice.
Both of these eviction notices give the tenant no other option than to vacate the rental after the notice period has ended. If the tenant doesn’t vacate the rental after the expiry of the notice period, the landlord can proceed with the Missouri eviction process against the tenant.
Illegal Activity: If a tenant has committed an illegal activity at their rented premises, then the landlord must serve them a written notice called a 10 Day Quit Notice. Examples of illegal activities in a rental unit include prostitution, illegal gaming, and illegal sale, possession, or distribution of controlled substances.
No notice is required for certain violations. Examples of these include drug-related criminal activities, such as possession or distribution, and excessive property damage in excess of the value of a year's rent. If this is the case, the landlord can take eviction action immediately.
Failure to pay rent and possession of illegal substances are two of the most common reasons as to why tenants get evicted.
Step #2: Summons & Complaint
Once they have served the written notice, landlords must file an eviction lawsuit in an appropriate court. In Clay County, for instance, this will set the landlord back by around $36 for an eviction involving nonpayment of rent.
Serving the summons and complaint must be done by a process server, which can be any law enforcement officers but usually the sheriff. This must be carried out at least four days prior to the court hearing.
As per Missouri law when serving the tenant, the process server can choose to:
- Give the copy of the written notice or court order to the tenant in person.
- Leave a copy with a competent member of the family. The family member must be at least 15 years old.
- Mail the copy to the tenant’s last known address be it the rental premises or otherwise.
- Post a copy in a conspicuous place at their rented premises.
Step #3: Court & Judgment
In the state of Missouri, the type of eviction determines the court date. For evictions involving a tenant's failure to pay rent and unlawful detainer lawsuit, the court hearing must be held 21 days after the court issues the sermons and the court date is set.
For illegal activity, such as possession of illegal substances or illegal gaming in the rental unit, the eviction hearing must be held 15 days after the summons are issued.
The tenant doesn’t have to show up for the eviction process. In this case, the landlord wins through a default judgment.
On the other hand, if the tenants choose to fight the eviction filing, the following are some of the defenses tenants may provide against the summons and complaint:
The landlord tried to evict the tenant via “self-help” means: As a Missouri landlord, the only way to evict a tenant is via a judicial process through law enforcement officials. A landlord cannot attempt to do it any other way. For example, a landlord can't shut off utilities during the month to month tenancy, change locks, or even remove the personal property of the tenant.
The landlord failed to follow proper eviction procedures: A landlord must carefully follow the rules of the eviction process in Missouri, set forth in the statewide law. If the landlord fails to do so, they may risk invalidating the eviction in Missouri, for example if they removed the personal property of a tenant. The rental agreement specifies this.
The landlord failed to maintain the unit to habitable standards: It is the responsibility of the landlord to ensure their rental unit or leased property meets all housing and building codes. If the landlord fails to do so, the tenant can opt to exercise their right to “deduct and repair” from any paid rent.
This consists of the tenant carrying out the repairs themselves and deducting the costs from the rent.
In such a case, the landlord cannot then try to evict the tenant citing a lease violation.
The eviction is discriminatory: The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants based on a protected class. The protected classes include gender, religion, race, familial status, national origin, and disability. A landlord must ensure that their tenant screening process, lease agreements, and even actions in the case of an eviction all adhere to Fair Housing laws.
Step #4: Writ of Restitution
A writ of restitution is a legal document that acts as a final proper notice for the tenant to vacate the premises. A landlord must request it within 10 days after the judgment is made. Next, the landlord must deliver it to a law enforcement officer who can remove the tenant and the tenant's personal property.
Bottom Line
If you're a landlord looking for further help filing an eviction lawsuit, please get in touch with the expert team at Pro X Property Management. For more than a decade, we've been providing the best property management services available in Missouri, Southeast Kansas, and more! Contact us today to find out about our excellent personal service and learn how we can help manage your Missouri or Kansas rental property!
Disclaimer: This article isn’t a substitute for professional legal advice. Also, laws change frequently and this blog may not be up-to-date at the time of your reading.
