Most Missouri residents have heard at least one horror story relating to a dispute between a landlord and tenant. While there can be problems from both ends, few hear about the realities behind the scenes of renting out a property. Realizing that a tenant is not the right fit — or, worse, has caused damage — can be a frustrating discovery. Fortunately, there are a number of strategies one can turn to in these trying predicaments.
Money Crashers first highlights an age-old problem that landlords often face when renting a property to tenants: failure to pay rent. Above all else, this should be the tenant’s first priority, and Money Crashers continues by noting that communication can make all the difference. For instance, a tenant may fail to pay rent simply due to financial struggle, such as a recent job loss. Depending on the length of time the problem has persisted, a landlord may decide to work out a payment plan with struggling tenants. Dovetailing with this issue comes the common problem of bad tenants. Money Crashers recognizes that they can slip through the cracks all too often, and the financial resource encourages landlords to not only conduct a credit check, but a background check, as well.
If the situation has become serious, landlords may look to Missouri’s landlord-tenant laws for further clarification. The website for Missouri’s attorney general shares in a brochure on these laws that, first and foremost, a landlord can only evict a tenant with a court order. Activities that can lead to the eviction process include: damaging property, failing to pay rent, allowing drug-related activity on the property or violating the terms of the lease. There are other activities that can pave the way to eviction, after which tenants will receive an eviction lawsuit notice in the mail. Matters are hardly black and white, and landlords with additional inquiries may want to review the details of the state’s landlord-tenant laws.