Missouri landlord tenant law provides very few “outs” for a landlord or tenant to terminate a lease early. Of course, a landlord can always grant approval of a tenant’s request for early termination of the lease agreement, but by law the options are limited and are outlined below. As with all provisions of the lease, make sure to review these lawful reasons for termination with your tenant at lease signing.
Termination by Landlord
- Tenant, guests, or invitees fail to comply with any term of the rental agreement.
- Tenant misrepresents any material fact on their rental application.
- Tenant permits any prohibited gaming table, bank or device to be set up or be kept or used upon the premises, for the purpose of gaming, or keeping in the same a bawdyhouse, brothel or common gaming house, or allowing the illegal possession, sale or distribution of controlled substances upon the premises (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.020).
Termination by Tenant
- If the premises is destroyed by an act of God, including but not limited to fire or a tornado, or other natural disaster or man-made disaster, so long as the tenant was not the person who caused the disaster.
- Landlord breaches the warranty of habitability.
