How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Missouri?

No more than two months' rent. The cap comes from Mo. Rev. Stat. 535.300, and the lease repeats it in the deposit clause.

How much notice does a Missouri landlord give before entering?

Missouri statute sets no notice period before the landlord enters, so this lease uses at least 24 hours' notice at a reasonable time, and no notice in an emergency.

What does a Missouri landlord have to disclose with the lease?

Beyond the federal lead paint disclosure for a building built before 1978, the Missouri checklist has three items: name and address of the person authorized to manage the Premises and of the owner or agent who accepts service of process and notices, in writing; any known prior methamphetamine production on the Premises, in writing; and any affirmative report of radioactive or hazardous material contamination on the Premises, in writing before signing. Each one names its statute and the landlord initials it in the document.

Which Missouri statutes does this lease cite?

Mo. Rev. Stat. 535.300, Mo. Rev. Stat. 441.060, Mo. Rev. Stat. 535.185 and Mo. Rev. Stat. 441.236, read on October 23, 2026. They print in the document footer so a reader can check each clause against the statute in a minute.

Should a lawyer look at this Missouri lease before I use it?

It is a general form, not legal advice, and it does not claim to comply with any law. The clauses state what the Missouri statute requires and name the statute. A lawyer who works with Missouri landlords can tell you whether the form fits your property, your city and the terms you want to add, which is worth the hour before signing a lease for a large rent or a long term.

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Missouri Residential Lease Agreement

A plain-language lease for a house or apartment in Missouri. The deposit, notice and disclosure clauses follow Missouri statute, cited in the document. Download the blank PDF or e-sign it online; electronic signatures are recognized under the federal ESIGN Act and state UETA laws.

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Different state?

Page one of the Missouri Residential Lease Agreement — Page 1 of the PDF. Tinted boxes are the placed fields, one color per role.

Missouri rules in this lease

Security deposit cap: No more than two months' rent
Deposit return: Within 30 days after the tenancy ends, the Landlord returns the full deposit or sends a written itemized list of damages with the balance, mailed to the Tenant's last known address, after giving the Tenant reasonable written or in-person notice of the date and time of a move-out inspection the Tenant may attend.
Where the deposit is kept: The deposit is held for the Tenant in a bank, credit union, or depository institution insured by an agency of the federal government, and any interest it earns belongs to the Landlord.
Ending a month-to-month tenancy: Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice stating that the tenancy ends on a rent-paying date at least one month after the other party receives the notice.
Landlord entry: No notice period in the statute; the lease uses 24 hours
Disclosures: 4 items, listed below with the section that requires each one
Statutes: Mo. Rev. Stat. 535.300, Mo. Rev. Stat. 441.060, Mo. Rev. Stat. 535.185, Mo. Rev. Stat. 441.236. Read the Missouri statute
Rules read on: 2026-10-23

A general form, not legal advice, and not a claim that it complies with any law. Rules change and vary by city. Check the statute cited here, or ask a lawyer, before you rely on it.

What is different in Missouri

Pick Missouri and three parts of this lease change: the security deposit clause, the notice clause for a month-to-month tenancy and the disclosures checklist, each rewritten from the Missouri statute. The rest of the document reads the same in every state.

Start with the deposit. Missouri caps it at two months' rent, and the statute also says where the money sits while the tenant lives there. The return rule, quoted in full below, says when and how the deposit comes back, and requires an itemized statement of anything kept.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy works the same from both sides in Missouri. Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice stating that the tenancy ends on a rent-paying date at least one month after the other party receives the notice.

On entry the Missouri statute is silent, so the lease fills the gap with at least 24 hours' notice at a reasonable time and no notice in an emergency, and the footer says the statute set no period.

The disclosures checklist carries three Missouri items on top of the federal lead paint notice, among them any known prior methamphetamine production on the Premises, in writing, each with the section that requires it and a line for the landlord's initials.

This row notes no city or county overlay for Missouri; if the property is in a city with its own rental ordinance, check it before signing. The state clauses follow four sections of Missouri law, read on October 23, 2026 and listed in the Statutes row above; the same citations print in the footer of the PDF.

Read the Missouri clauses

The wording below is what prints in the PDF for Missouri, word for word, under the headings Security deposit, Entry, Ending the lease and default, and Disclosures.

Security deposit

Within 30 days after the tenancy ends, the Landlord returns the full deposit or sends a written itemized list of damages with the balance, mailed to the Tenant's last known address, after giving the Tenant reasonable written or in-person notice of the date and time of a move-out inspection the Tenant may attend. The deposit may not exceed two months' rent. The deposit is held for the Tenant in a bank, credit union, or depository institution insured by an agency of the federal government, and any interest it earns belongs to the Landlord.

Entry

The Landlord may enter at reasonable times to inspect, repair or show the Premises after at least 24 hours' notice, and without notice in an emergency.

Ending the lease and default

Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice stating that the tenancy ends on a rent-paying date at least one month after the other party receives the notice. If rent is unpaid or a term is broken, the Landlord gives the written notice Missouri law requires before ending the tenancy, and the Tenant is responsible for rent through the end of the term unless the Premises is re-rented sooner.

Disclosures the Landlord initials

Lead-based paint and hazards, for a building built before 1978, with the EPA pamphlet (42 U.S.C. 4852d)
Name and address of the person authorized to manage the Premises and of the owner or agent who accepts service of process and notices, in writing (Mo. Rev. Stat. 535.185)
Any known prior methamphetamine production on the Premises, in writing (Mo. Rev. Stat. 441.236)
Any affirmative report of radioactive or hazardous material contamination on the Premises, in writing before signing (Mo. Rev. Stat. 442.055)

Footer of the PDF: Missouri clauses follow Mo. Rev. Stat. 535.300, Mo. Rev. Stat. 441.060, Mo. Rev. Stat. 535.185, Mo. Rev. Stat. 441.236 as read on 2026-10-23.

Missouri lease questions

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Missouri?: No more than two months' rent. The cap comes from Mo. Rev. Stat. 535.300, and the lease repeats it in the deposit clause.
When does the security deposit come back in Missouri?: Within 30 days after the tenancy ends, the Landlord returns the full deposit or sends a written itemized list of damages with the balance, mailed to the Tenant's last known address, after giving the Tenant reasonable written or in-person notice of the date and time of a move-out inspection the Tenant may attend.
Where does a Missouri landlord keep the deposit?: The deposit is held for the Tenant in a bank, credit union, or depository institution insured by an agency of the federal government, and any interest it earns belongs to the Landlord.
How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in Missouri?: Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice stating that the tenancy ends on a rent-paying date at least one month after the other party receives the notice.
How much notice does a Missouri landlord give before entering?: Missouri statute sets no notice period before the landlord enters, so this lease uses at least 24 hours' notice at a reasonable time, and no notice in an emergency.
What does a Missouri landlord have to disclose with the lease?: Beyond the federal lead paint disclosure for a building built before 1978, the Missouri checklist has three items: name and address of the person authorized to manage the Premises and of the owner or agent who accepts service of process and notices, in writing; any known prior methamphetamine production on the Premises, in writing; and any affirmative report of radioactive or hazardous material contamination on the Premises, in writing before signing. Each one names its statute and the landlord initials it in the document.
Which Missouri statutes does this lease cite?: Mo. Rev. Stat. 535.300, Mo. Rev. Stat. 441.060, Mo. Rev. Stat. 535.185 and Mo. Rev. Stat. 441.236, read on October 23, 2026. They print in the document footer so a reader can check each clause against the statute in a minute.
Should a lawyer look at this Missouri lease before I use it?: It is a general form, not legal advice, and it does not claim to comply with any law. The clauses state what the Missouri statute requires and name the statute. A lawyer who works with Missouri landlords can tell you whether the form fits your property, your city and the terms you want to add, which is worth the hour before signing a lease for a large rent or a long term.

Who this is for. A Missouri lease is one half of a landlord's paperwork; proving a notice was received is the other. Both are covered at free e-signatures for landlords.

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