To evict a tenant in Missouri, you file a lawsuit in the county where the property sits, win a judgment for possession, and let a law enforcement officer carry out the removal. The specific steps, notice period, and statute you file under all depend on why you want the tenant out. There is no single eviction procedure; there are several, and using the wrong one is the fastest way to lose.
Match the Reason to the Right Track
Missouri has two separate eviction statutes, and your reason for evicting decides which one you use.
Unpaid rent. You can file under Chapter 535, the rent-and-possession statute, as soon as rent is due, you have demanded payment, and the tenant has not paid. The statute explicitly says you do not have to give the advance written notice normally required to end a tenancy before filing this type of action.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 535.020 – Recovery of Possession for Unpaid Rent A verbal demand is technically enough, but a written one gives you proof.
Holdover tenant. If the lease has ended and the tenant stays without your permission, Missouri calls this unlawful detainer: willfully holding over after the time for which the property was let has ended.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 534.030 – Unlawful Detainer Defined You file under Chapter 534 after making a written demand for possession.
Illegal activity. If the tenant allows drug activity, gambling, or prostitution on the property, the lease becomes void immediately.3Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 441.020 – Illegal Use of Premises Renders Lease Void Even so, you still have to give ten days’ written notice to vacate before reentering.4Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 441.040 – Reentry After Violation
Month-to-month, no cause. With no written lease, Missouri treats the arrangement as month-to-month. Either side ends it with written notice that the tenancy will end on a rent-paying date no less than one month after the notice is received. The statute says “one month,” not thirty days. If rent is due on the first and the tenant gets your notice on May 10, the earliest the tenancy ends is July 1. For a tenant who owns a mobile home and rents the lot, the notice period is sixty days before the next rent payment is due.5Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 441.060 – Tenancy at Will, Sufferance, Month to Month, How Terminated
Give the Correct Notice
Each ground has its own notice rule, and nothing else you do matters if you get this part wrong.
- Unpaid rent: no statutory waiting period. Demand payment; if the tenant doesn’t pay, you can file.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 535.020 – Recovery of Possession for Unpaid Rent
- Illegal activity: ten days’ written notice to vacate.4Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 441.040 – Reentry After Violation
- Holdover after lease expires: written demand for possession before you file.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 534.030 – Unlawful Detainer Defined
- Month-to-month: one month’s written notice, effective on a rent-paying date.5Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 441.060 – Tenancy at Will, Sufferance, Month to Month, How Terminated
Every notice should name the tenant, identify the property, state the reason, give any deadline to vacate, and carry your signature. Serve it by personal delivery, certified mail, or by posting at the property when the tenant cannot be reached in person. Keep the proof of service; you will need it in court.
One federal overlay: if your property has a federally backed mortgage or participates in a federal housing program, the CARES Act requires at least thirty days’ notice to vacate regardless of what state law would allow.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 9058 – Temporary Moratorium on Eviction Filings
File the Lawsuit
You file with an associate circuit judge in the county where the property is located.
For unpaid rent under Chapter 535, your sworn written statement must set out the rental terms, the amount actually due, confirm that you demanded payment and the tenant did not pay, and describe the property. You can add other charges spelled out in the lease, such as late fees or utility reimbursements, though those extra charges alone will not entitle you to possession even if you win on them.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 535.020 – Recovery of Possession for Unpaid Rent
For holdover tenants, squatters, or employees who stay after their employment ends, you file an unlawful detainer complaint under Chapter 534 showing you were lawfully in possession and the tenant is unlawfully detaining the property.7Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 534.200 – Proof Required of Complainant
Expect roughly $45 to $55 for the filing itself, plus service fees of about $46 to $72 depending on how the sheriff serves the summons. Attach a copy of the lease, your eviction notice, and the proof of service. Forms are available from the local circuit clerk’s office or the Missouri Courts website.
The Court Hearing
Once you file, the court issues a summons. The hearing has to be set no more than twenty-one business days from the date the summons is issued, unless you or your attorney agree in writing to a later date. Personal service has to happen at least four days before the hearing. If the tenant cannot be found, you can ask the court to allow service by posting a copy on the dwelling and mailing a copy to the tenant’s last known address at least ten days before the hearing.8Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 535.030 – Service of Summons, Court Date Included in Summons
Bring the lease, the notice with proof of service, a payment ledger showing the arrearage, photographs of any damage, and any relevant communications. The tenant can defend by paying the full rent plus court costs at the hearing, by showing improper notice or service, by raising the implied warranty of habitability if the property wasn’t livable after reasonable notice, or by claiming retaliation or discrimination. If the tenant was served only by posting and mailing and does not appear, the court can grant you possession but cannot award a money judgment for the unpaid rent.9Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 535.040 – Upon Return of Summons, Cause to Be Heard
If the judge finds rent was demanded and not paid, you get a judgment for possession and a money judgment for the unpaid rent plus court costs.9Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 535.040 – Upon Return of Summons, Cause to Be Heard
Removing the Tenant After Judgment
A judgment is not a removal. The judge issues an execution ordering an officer to put you in possession, and the officer then has five days from receiving the execution to carry it out.9Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 535.040 – Upon Return of Summons, Cause to Be Heard
If the officer has not delivered possession within seven days, there is a fallback. Within sixty days of the judgment, you may go to the property with a county or municipal law enforcement officer, present a copy of the judgment and execution, and take possession yourself. The officer signs a written acknowledgment that you showed them the court order, and you file that acknowledgment with the court within five days.5Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 441.060 – Tenancy at Will, Sufferance, Month to Month, How Terminated The process cannot involve any breach of the peace.
What You Cannot Do
Changing the locks, shutting off utilities, removing doors, or hauling out a tenant’s belongings without a court order is illegal in Missouri. A landlord who does any of these things is guilty of forcible entry and detainer. The statute also specifically bars cutting off electricity, gas, water, or sewer to pressure a tenant into leaving, unless it is done for a genuine health or safety reason.10Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 441.233 – Removal or Exclusion of Tenant Without Court Order
Back rent, property damage, and bad behavior are not defenses. A tenant who sues over an illegal lockout can recover the cost of temporary housing, spoiled food, replacement heating, and similar actual losses, and courts may add penalties on top.
Fair Housing and Retaliation Limits
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits evicting or refusing to renew a lease because of a tenant’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing Disability protections also mean you cannot evict over a reasonable accommodation request, such as an assistance animal that would otherwise violate a no-pets policy.
Evicting shortly after a tenant reports code violations or asks for legally required repairs can look like retaliation. Courts weigh the timing. The strongest defense is a paper trail of lease violations or late payments that predates the complaint, so document problems as they happen rather than after you have decided to file.
Belongings and the Security Deposit
When a sheriff completes an eviction and the tenant leaves things behind, you are generally not liable for loss or damage to that property, except for willful or malicious acts on your part. If any items visibly belong to a third party, you must notify that person by certified mail and give them five business days to retrieve the property.9Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 535.040 – Upon Return of Summons, Cause to Be Heard
If the tenant has simply walked away rather than being formally evicted, Missouri’s abandonment statute applies. You can treat the premises as abandoned only when all three conditions are met: you reasonably believe the tenant has left and does not intend to return, rent has been unpaid for at least thirty days, and you post written notice on the premises and mail the same notice by both first-class and certified mail to the tenant’s last known address. The notice must give the tenant ten days to respond in writing stating they have not abandoned the property. Only after that ten-day window passes with no response can you enter and remove belongings.12Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 441.065 – Abandonment of Rental Premises, When, Procedure
Within thirty days after the tenancy ends, you must either return the full security deposit or send the tenant a written, itemized list of deductions with any remaining balance. You can withhold only amounts reasonably necessary to cover unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, or actual damages from the tenant’s failure to give proper notice before leaving.13Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 535.300 – Security Deposits, Requirements Mailing the statement and any payment to the tenant’s last known address satisfies the requirement.
If the Tenant Appeals
A tenant who loses can ask for a new trial or appeal. The appeal does not automatically stop the eviction. To stay the execution and remain in the property, the tenant must post a bond within ten days of the judgment, large enough to cover damages, court costs, and rent due at the time of judgment, and must continue paying rent into the court within ten days of each due date while the appeal is pending.14Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 535.110 – Appeal, Bond Requirements If the tenant misses the bond deadline, you can proceed with enforcement even while the appeal moves forward.