Mobile home lot rent rules in Missouri

Missouri has no dedicated mobile home park statute. A lot tenancy is governed by Missouri's general landlord-tenant law (chapters 441 and 535) and the written lease, and there is no rent control or rent cap. This page compiles the general law that applies; because nothing is mobile-home-specific, a specific increase is best reviewed with a licensed attorney in Missouri.

What the statute says

Missouri's general landlord-tenant law sets how a tenancy without a fixed term is ended. Mo. Rev. Stat. §441.060 provides:

A tenancy at will or by sufferance, or for less than one year, may be terminated by the person entitled to the possession by giving one month's notice, in writing, to the person in possession, requiring the person in possession to vacate the premises.

An oral lease is treated as a month-to-month tenancy that either party may end on one month's written notice. But for the situation most park residents are in, subsection 4(2) sets a longer floor: where the tenant "occupies and has an ownership interest in a mobile home and is leasing the land or the lot," the landlord may terminate a less-than-one-year tenancy only on notice that it "shall terminate not sooner than sixty days from the date the rent payment next becomes due, notwithstanding any written lease provision regarding earlier lease termination to the contrary." There is no statute capping the amount of rent or requiring a mobile-home-specific increase notice.

How it works in general

Because there is no cap and no dedicated park law, the written lease controls the rent. A lot lease with no fixed term is month-to-month, and either party ends it with at least one month's written notice — though when the landlord ends a mobile-home owner's lot tenancy the notice must run at least 60 days (§441.060(4)(2)). A fixed-term lease controls the rent for its term. None of this limits the amount of an increase, so the lease's rent and renewal terms are the place to look.

Common scenarios

General examples Missouri park residents commonly encounter:

• A notice raises the lot rent. The questions are what the written lease says and, for a month-to-month tenancy, whether one month's written notice was used to change terms.
• A resident looks for a statewide cap or special mobile-home notice. Missouri has neither.
• A resident expects a mobile-home park law. There is no dedicated act; the general landlord-tenant statutes and the lease govern.

Other authorities that may apply

The written lease supplies the rent and any increase terms, and chapters 441 and 535 of the Revised Statutes govern the tenancy and eviction. Federal law such as the Fair Housing Act can apply to how increases are administered, and local ordinances may add requirements in some cities. Reading the lease closely is the most important step in Missouri.