Housing · Rent control
Does Missouri Have Rent Control?
Whether Missouri caps how much rent can rise, whether cities can set their own limits or are barred from it, and the exemptions. Rent control is separate from the notice a landlord must give before an increase. Cited to the statute.
What the rent control law says in Missouri
Whether rent increases are capped, who sets the limit, and the housing the rule does not reach.
A 2025 amendment, effective 28 August 2025, expanded section 441.043 well beyond rent. It now also bars local ordinances that protect a tenant’s lawful source of income, that limit tenant-screening criteria, that cap security deposits, or that grant an automatic right of first refusal. If you are checking a local ordinance passed before that date, confirm whether it survives the wider preemption.
| What the law says | What it means |
|---|---|
| Local rent control is barred statewide | Under Revised Statutes of Missouri section 441.043.1, no county or city, and no county or city with a charter form of government, may enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance or resolution that regulates the amount of rent charged for privately owned, single-family, or multiple-unit residential or commercial rental property. The word maintain reaches an ordinance already on the books. |
| Counties, cities, and charter governments all covered | The statute names counties, cities, and charter forms of both expressly, so every layer of general-purpose local government in Missouri is inside the ban. There is no local unit left with the power to cap private rent. |
| No statewide cap | Missouri sets no statewide limit on rent. With local caps blocked and no state ceiling, the rent amount is governed by the lease and the market, subject only to the notice a change requires. |
| What is exempt | What it means |
|---|---|
| Locally owned and subsidized housing | The ban does not stop a county, city, or authority from regulating property it owns, or from entering voluntary agreements with private owners that set rent for subsidized rental property. Those are the local government acting on its own property or under a contract. |
| Federal block-grant housing | A local government may still restrict rent for properties assisted with federal Community Development Block Grant funds. This narrow limb follows the federal program rather than allowing a general local cap. |
| Veterans’ benefit protection stays local | Nothing in the section stops a county or city from banning discrimination against a tenant simply because that tenant receives veterans’ benefits. The 2025 legislature removed local source-of-income protection generally but wrote this single protected class back in. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps if you are facing a rent increase in Missouri. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Know that no cap applies
Missouri has no rent limit, and no county or city may create one. A landlord may raise the rent by any amount at renewal or when a month-to-month tenancy continues. Plan around the lease, not a legal ceiling.
- Read the increase terms in your lease
Your protection comes from the lease. During a fixed term the rent is locked at the agreed figure. Check when your term ends and what notice the lease requires before an increase can take effect.
- Confirm the notice and effective date
No cap applies, but an increase still cannot start mid-term on a fixed lease, and a month-to-month change needs the notice your tenancy requires. Confirm the date the higher rent is allowed to begin.
- Get Missouri tenant help
If an increase or a notice looks improper, the Missouri Attorney General landlord-tenant guide explains your options and where to turn. The dispute will turn on the lease and notice, since there is no rent limit to enforce.
If you think an increase breaks a cap or a local ordinance, a legal aid office or the state consumer-protection unit can tell you whether a limit applies to your unit.
→ Missouri Attorney General (Landlord-Tenant Law)This is general legal information, not legal advice. Caps, local ordinances, and exemptions turn on the specific unit and city, so confirm your situation against the statute.
What renters in Missouri get wrong about rent control
Missouri has one of the broadest local-preemption sections in the country, and it has just grown broader. Revised Statutes of Missouri section 441.043 bars every county and city, including charter governments, from enacting, maintaining, or enforcing any ordinance that regulates the amount of rent charged for private residential or commercial rental property. Because it names charter counties and cities by hand, no layer of general-purpose local government is left with the power to cap rent. What sets Missouri apart is a 2025 amendment, effective 28 August 2025, that turned this from a rent-control section into a general landlord-tenant preemption. Alongside the rent bar, local governments may no longer protect a tenant’s lawful source of income, limit how a landlord screens applicants, cap security deposits, or require an automatic right of first refusal. Kansas City and St. Louis had ordinances that the change reaches. The legislature then wrote one protected class back in: a county or city may still ban discrimination against a tenant who receives veterans’ benefits. The older carve-outs remain for locally owned housing, subsidized-housing agreements, and federal block-grant properties. There is still no statewide cap, so for an ordinary renter the lease and the market set the rent.
Common questions
Does Missouri have rent control?
No. Missouri has no statewide rent cap, and section 441.043.1 bars every county and city, charter governments included, from enacting or keeping an ordinance that regulates the amount of private rent.
Can my rent be raised any amount in Missouri?
Yes, at renewal or when a month-to-month tenancy continues. Because no rent cap applies, the increase is governed by the lease and the market, not a legal ceiling, as long as proper notice is given.
Did Missouri change its rent law in 2025?
Yes. A 2025 amendment effective 28 August 2025 widened section 441.043 beyond rent to also preempt local rules on source-of-income protection, tenant screening, security deposit limits, and right of first refusal.
Can a Missouri city cap rent?
No, other than on housing the local government owns or contracts over, or on federal block-grant properties. The state law reaches counties, cities, and charter governments alike.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.