Facing Eviction in Missouri: What Can I Do?
If your landlord wants you out, Missouri law sets rules for how the court case must work. It covers the notice you may get, how the case moves through court, and what happens at each step. It does not cover being locked out without going to court first.
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If you have not paid rent, your landlord must ask you for the unpaid rent before suing you. Missouri law does not require your landlord to also give the 1-month notice for ending a month-to-month rental before filing this case. That notice must be in writing and end the rental on a rent-due date at least 1 month after you get it.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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To end a month-to-month rental in Missouri, your landlord or you must give the other person written notice. The notice must set the end date on a day rent is normally due. That date must be at least 1 month after the other person gets the notice. Say you own your mobile home and rent only the lot it sits on, for less than one year. Then this 1-month rule does not apply. Instead, your landlord can end that rental with a notice that sets an end date at least 60 days after your next rent is due.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If you stay in your rental on purpose and without force after your allowed time ends, your landlord can sue you. Missouri law calls this an unlawful detainer (a court case to remove someone who stayed too long).
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Your landlord can give you 10 days' notice to leave if drugs were illegally kept, sold, or handed out in your rental. After that, your landlord can start a court case to remove you, but must prove in court that the rental was used this way.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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To start a court case over unpaid rent, your landlord must file a sworn written statement with the court. This statement must list the rent you owe and say the rent was asked for and not paid. The court clerk then sends you a summons, a paper ordering you to appear on a set court date.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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You must be given the summons at least 4 days before your court date. Your court date must fall within 21 business days of the summons being issued. But it can be later if your landlord or their lawyer agreed in writing to that later date when they filed the case.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Your landlord can ask the court to have an officer post a copy of the summons on your door and mail you a copy. This can happen at the same time as an officer trying to hand you the summons in person. The officer must do this, if requested, at least 10 days before the court date. If the officer cannot find you, and your landlord files proof of the posting and mailing, the court can still decide the case. This is true even if you do not appear in court. But the court cannot order you to pay money that way, only order you to leave.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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In this kind of case, the court's ruling is called a judgment (the court's final decision in your case). You have 10 days from the date of the judgment to ask the court to cancel it. Instead, you can ask for a trial de novo (a new trial). If you miss this 10-day deadline, the judgment becomes final and you can be removed with no more notice.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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At your court hearing, you can stop the eviction by paying the judge all the rent you owe plus court costs. You must pay this before the judge decides your case, not after.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If you do not pay the rent and costs at the hearing, the judge rules against you. This ruling is called a judgment (the court's final decision in your case). The judgment gives your landlord the home back and, in most cases, orders you to pay the rent owed plus court costs. Sometimes the summons is posted on your door and mailed to you instead of handed to you in person. But if you were served that way and did not appear, the judgment orders you to leave, not to pay money. The court then sends an order to a sheriff or other officer to carry out the judgment.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Once the officer gets the court's order, the officer must give your landlord back the home within 5 days. The officer also works to collect the rent and costs the judge ordered you to pay.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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You can appeal or ask for a trial de novo (a new trial). This does not stop the eviction right away. To stop it, you must give the court a bond (money held by the court). You must do this within 10 days of the judgment (the court's final decision in your case). This bond must be enough to cover the rent owed, court costs, and any damage to the home.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Your appeal is also called a trial de novo (a new trial). While it is pending, you must keep paying rent into the court, not to your landlord. Each rent payment is due in court within 10 days after your regular rent due date. You must also not damage the home during this time.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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