Breaking a Lease in Missouri: Landlord/Tenant Guide 2024

Breaking a lease in Missouri is an important decision for landlords and tenants, and it can have serious implications if not handled properly. A lease agreement is a legally binding contract, and the process to break that contract isn’t always as straightforward as you’d think.

In this article, we’ll review the importance of lease agreements, how tenants can legally break a lease early and without penalty, and the consequences of breaking a lease illegally.

Read on to learn how to break a lease in Missouri.

Review Your Lease Before All Else

A lease agreement is the basis for renting property. It defines the relationship between the landlord and tenant and each party’s rights and responsibilities during the contract’s term. As a legally binding document, everyone must understand what the lease contains, meaning tenants should first look at it when deciding whether or how to break their Missouri lease agreement.

There are two main categories of lease agreements: fixed-term and month-to-month. Each type requires different elements for tenants or landlords to break out early.

• Landlords and tenants can end a month-to-month lease at any time, as long as 30 days’ written notice is given starting at the upcoming month’s rent due date.
• Some fixed-term leases contain an early termination clause, which describes how tenants can exit the lease early without penalty. If such a clause doesn’t exist, the lease expires on the last day of the lease period unless the tenant meets a qualifying condition to end it early.

In the next section, we’ll review the legally allowable reasons a tenant can end a lease early in Missouri.

Legal Reasons for Breaking a Lease in Missouri

While leases are legally binding, there are instances where tenants may be able to end the lease early and incur no penalty for doing so. Missouri’s landlord-tenant laws outline these lease-breaking reasons and explain why and how a tenant can leave a property before the term ends.

Entering into Active Military Duty

Under federal law, specifically the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act, Missouri tenants are legally allowed to end a lease early if they are active-duty service members who must move due to deployment or a permanent change of station.

This includes servicemembers in the following branches of service:

• Military
• Reserves
• National Guard
• Officers in the Public Health Service
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Tenants who intend to break their lease for active military duty must provide their landlord with their military ID and a copy of their orders in writing. The tenant can then terminate the lease within 30 days of delivering the notice.

Domestic or Sexual Violence

Missouri tenants who experience domestic or sexual violence can also end their lease early and without penalty, but the tenant must be able to provide proof to the landlord. To be considered an act of domestic violence, both of these conditions must be true:

• It is committed against the tenant or child of a tenant by a household member.
• It is meant to cause harm, injury, or sexual assault or to reasonably instill fear of imminent harm or assault in the victim.

Tenants can provide landlords with documentation of the situation from a licensed healthcare provider or law enforcement and a copy of a court order.

Uninhabitable Living Conditions

Breaking a lease in Missouri is possible due to uninhabitable living conditions if all of the following are true:

• The tenant must inform the landlord about the issue
• The unit does not meet minimum health and safety codes
• The landlord does not make the required repairs within a reasonable amount of time

Generally, minimum habitability requires landlords to provide working electrical and plumbing systems, heating, trash removal, running water, and working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. If these standards are not met and landlords do not make the necessary repairs within 14 days, tenants may be able to end their lease early and without penalty.

Landlord Harassment

Missouri tenants may be able to end a lease prematurely due to landlord harassment or privacy violations committed by the landlord. However, the tenant must prove harassment to a court before they can end the lease.

Landlord harassment can include:

• Excessive entry to the rental unit without providing proper notice
• Landlords removing windows or doors, changing locks, or turning off utilities — also called constructive eviction
• Refusing to make necessary repairs or keeping up with required maintenance
• Engaging in discrimination by treating tenants differently based on race, religion, national origin, or gender

Tenants who believe their landlord is harassing them must provide evidence to the court to decide if the behavior qualifies as harassment.

Unenforceable or Voidable Lease

If a lease is signed and later found to contain unenforceable clauses, if the tenant was underage when it was signed, or if the rental unit is illegal, the lease could be terminated early. A tenant must prove one of these factors for a court to allow them to break the lease.

Physical or Mental Disability

Because of both the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, tenants who can no longer operate in a standard rental unit and need specialized care are allowed to terminate a lease early and without penalty.

An individual is defined as having a disability if they possess a physical or mental impairment that significantly limits one or more major life activities.

Some of these impairments include:

• HIV
• Heart Disease
• Diabetes
• Epilepsy
• Autism
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Cerebral Palsy

Tenants can prove their disability to the landlord if it is obvious and apparent or with verification from a licensed medical professional.

Landlord Retaliation

If a tenant exercises their rights regarding a conflict with their landlord and the landlord retaliates by increasing rent, reducing services, or attempting eviction proceedings, the tenant may be allowed to end their lease early. The tenant must prove their case in court, and the judge will decide if the behavior justifies an early lease termination.

Breaking a Lease Without Legal Justification

Breaking a lease in Missouri without legal justification can result in serious penalties for tenants and landlords. If you’re a tenant attempting to break a lease and do not meet any of the abovementioned conditions, it likely cannot be done without facing some consequences.

However, if you’re wondering how to break a lease in Missouri without penalty due to job relocation or medical reasons, here are some things you can consider.

• Negotiate an agreement with the landlord: Sometimes, landlords will be willing to allow a tenant to part early for an agreed-upon cash settlement.
• Find a subletter: Finding someone to take over your lease for the duration of the term is also an acceptable solution for some landlords.
• Cash-for-Keys: Tenants could offer the landlord a lump sum payment for an early lease termination.
• Early termination clause: Check your lease to see if the landlord has included an early termination clause.

Consequences of Tenants Breaking a Lease in Missouri

If a tenant cannot identify a legally valid reason to break their lease and does not negotiate a solution with the landlord, breaking a lease could result in serious consequences.

• Rent payments: Tenants could be liable for the entire rent remaining on the lease term.
• Loss of security deposit: Landlords can claim the entire security deposit to cover unpaid rent or to repair damage made by the tenant.
• Additional fees and penalties: Some lease agreements might include additional penalties for breaking the lease early.
• Credit score damage: Breaking a lease early can cause a tenant’s credit score to fall due to unpaid debt obligations.

Landlord/Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

The state legislature establishes the laws around renting property as landlord-tenant law. This set of regulations establishes the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants, and all parties should be as familiar with them as possible.

Landlords Have the Right to:

• Collect rent as outlined in the rental agreement.
• Withhold the security deposit if the tenant causes damage to the unit beyond normal wear and tear.
• Pursue legal action if the tenant breaks the lease agreement.

Landlords are Responsible for:

• Providing the tenant with a habitable unit that meets basic health and safety standards.
• Returning the security deposit after the tenant vacates within 30 days.
• Making a reasonable effort to re-rent the unit if the tenant leaves early, as Missouri law requires.

Tenants Have the Right to:

• Privacy in their home. Landlords must provide reasonable notice before entering the unit.
• Timely repairs. Landlords must make essential repairs in a timely fashion.
• A written lease agreement. Both the landlord and tenant must follow the lease agreement.
• Fair treatment. Landlords cannot discriminate against tenants because of their sex, religion, national origin, or disability.

Tenants are Responsible for:

• Paying rent on time to avoid penalties or eviction.
• Maintaining the property for anything less than large repairs.
• Following the lease terms, as long as the lease is enforceable.
• Giving proper notice when moving out to avoid any early termination penalties.

Legal Help for Landlords and Tenants

Since there can be many moving parts when a tenant wants to break a lease, it can be helpful to consult legal advice to ensure that nothing goes wrong during the process.

• Missouri Attorney General’s Office: Offers advice and guidance on local landlord-tenant laws
• Missouri Legal Aid Services: Provides low-income tenants with housing services and legal aid
• Missouri Bar Lawyer Referral Service. Landlords and tenants can connect with low or no-cost legal counsel to help navigate lease-breaking scenarios

Avoid Lease Breaking with TurboTenant

Landlords everywhere are consistently impressed with how TurboTenant can help in all rental situations, especially complicated ones like lease breaking. As a best-of-class property management software, TurboTenant gives landlords immediate (and free) access to several important and helpful tools, such as:

• Tenant screening
• Rental applications
• Online lease agreements
• Tracking tools for repairs and maintenance

When tenants approach you about breaking a lease in Missouri, navigate the process as prepared as possible with TurboTenant. Sign up for a free account today to see how TurboTenant can help you!

Breaking a Lease in Missouri FAQs