Free Missouri Cash for Keys Agreement Template

Last reviewed September 2026

Written by LawLease Editorial

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Missouri Cash for Keys Agreement

This Cash for Keys Agreement is built with Missouri as the governing state. These are the Missouri landlord-tenant rules that most often bear on it, with the statute for each.

Missouri rules at a glance

Missouri rules for a Cash for Keys Agreement
Security deposit limit	2 months’ rent (a pet deposit falls outside the cap)RSMo §535.300
Deposit return	30 days — full refund, or an itemized list of damages plus the balanceRSMo §535.300.3
Deposit rules	The two-month cap, 30-day return and double-damages penalty apply regardless of what the lease says (§535.300).
Month-to-month termination	Written notice ending on a rent-paying date at least one month after receiptRSMo §441.060.4
Nonpayment eviction	No fixed notice period; rent must be demanded before filingRSMo §535.020
Nonpayment	Once rent is due and has been demanded, the landlord may file a rent-and-possession action; no fixed waiting period and no §441.060 notice is required first (§535.020). Other unpaid charges can be joined, but they don’t count as rent and can’t by themselves support an order for possession.

Security deposits in Missouri

A Missouri landlord may not demand or receive a security deposit of more than two months’ rent (§535.300.1). The statute defines a “security deposit” broadly — any money or property, however labeled, that secures the tenant’s performance — but expressly excludes a deposit for a pet, so a pet deposit sits outside the two-month cap (§535.300.8).

Where it’s held — Deposits must be kept in a federally insured bank, credit union or depository institution. Any interest earned belongs to the landlord, so Missouri requires no interest to be paid to the tenant (§535.300.2).
Allowed deductions — Only amounts reasonably necessary for unpaid rent, restoring the unit to its move-in condition less ordinary wear and tear, and actual losses caused by the tenant’s failure to give proper notice to end the tenancy — and the landlord must make reasonable efforts to mitigate that last one (§535.300.4).
Carpet cleaning — A lease may set carpet-cleaning charges that can be taken from the deposit, but only if the lease also tells the tenant they may be liable for actual carpet-cleaning costs beyond ordinary wear and tear; the landlord must provide a receipt within 30 days (§535.300.4(2)).
Move-out inspection — The landlord must give reasonable written notice of the date and time of the move-out inspection, and the tenant has the right to be present (§535.300.5).
Return — Within 30 days after the tenancy ends, the landlord must either return the full deposit or send a written itemized list of damages with the balance. Mailing it to the tenant’s last known address satisfies the rule (§535.300.3).
Wrongful withholding — A landlord who wrongfully withholds any part of the deposit owes the tenant twice the amount wrongfully withheld (§535.300.6). The tenant, in turn, can’t use the deposit in place of the last month’s rent (§535.300.7).

Ending a Missouri tenancy

Missouri ties month-to-month notice to the rent calendar rather than a flat day count: the notice must name a periodic rent-paying date at least one month after it is received (§441.060.4). Notice handed over mid-month therefore runs to the next rent day that is at least a month out. Any rental of a house or apartment that isn’t in a signed writing is treated as month-to-month (§441.060.3).

Notice to end a Missouri residential tenancy
Month-to-month	Written notice ending on a rent-paying date at least one month after receiptRSMo §441.060.4
At will, by sufferance, or under one year	One month’s written noticeRSMo §441.060.1
Fixed term	Ends on the date stated in the lease

Nonpayment — Once rent is due and has been demanded, the landlord may file a rent-and-possession action; no fixed waiting period and no §441.060 notice is required first (§535.020). Other unpaid charges can be joined, but they don’t count as rent and can’t by themselves support an order for possession.
Lease violations — Assigning or subletting without written consent, violating the written lease, committing waste, or allowing illegal gambling or drug activity lets the landlord recover possession after a 10-day notice to vacate (§§441.020–441.040).
Abandonment — A unit is deemed abandoned only if rent has been unpaid 30 days, the landlord reasonably believes the tenant has left, and a statutory notice is posted and mailed (first-class and certified) without a response within 10 days (§441.065).

Tenant protections you can’t waive

No self-help eviction — Lockouts, removing a tenant’s belongings, or cutting essential utilities without a court order is forcible entry and detainer (§441.233).
Repair-and-deduct — No lease may waive the tenant’s statutory repair-and-deduct rights (§441.234.2).
Deposit rules — The two-month cap, 30-day return and double-damages penalty apply regardless of what the lease says (§535.300).
Court process only — Possession is recovered through a court judgment and the officer’s execution of it; only if the officer fails to deliver possession within seven days of receiving the writ may the landlord take possession, in the presence of law enforcement (§441.060.5). Removal without judicial process is forcible entry and detainer (§441.233).

Missouri Cash for Keys Agreement FAQs

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

No more than two months’ rent (§535.300.1). A deposit specifically labeled as a pet deposit isn’t counted toward that cap, because the statute excludes pet deposits from the definition of a security deposit (§535.300.8).

How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Missouri?

30 days after the tenancy ends. The landlord must either return the full deposit or send a written itemized list of damages with the remaining balance; mailing it to the tenant’s last known address counts. Wrongfully withholding any part exposes the landlord to twice the amount withheld (§535.300.3, .6).

How do you end a month-to-month lease in Missouri?

Either party gives written notice stating that the tenancy ends on a periodic rent-paying date at least one month after the notice is received (§441.060.4). If rent is due on the 1st and notice is received on the 15th, the earliest end date is the 1st of the month after next.

How much notice is required to evict for nonpayment in Missouri?

Missouri sets no fixed pay-or-quit period. Once rent is due and the landlord has demanded it, the landlord can file a rent-and-possession case, and the one-month notice under §441.060 isn’t required first (§535.020).

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