Security Deposit Law
What Missouri landlords must do with security deposits — the cap, interest, return deadline, account rules, and penalties — with citations to the statute itself.
Verified as of June 11, 2026
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Deposit cap
Maximum of two months' rent.
Interest
No interest owed to the tenant — any interest earned belongs to the landlord.
Return deadline
30 days after the tenancy ends.
Missouri caps residential security deposits at two months' rent: "A landlord may not demand or receive a security deposit in excess of two months' rent." Note that the statute's definition of "security deposit" expressly excludes money denominated as a pet deposit, so a separately labeled pet deposit falls outside this section.
Missouri law resolves this explicitly in the landlord's favor: "Any interest earned on a security deposit shall be the property of the landlord." You do not owe tenants interest on deposits anywhere in Missouri.
Within 30 days of termination of the tenancy the landlord must either return the full deposit or furnish "a written itemized list of the damages for which the security deposit or any portion thereof is withheld, along with the balance of the security deposit." The statute deems the landlord compliant by mailing the statement and any payment to the tenant's last known address.
Missouri does NOT require a separate, segregated, or trust account. It does require that deposits be "held by the landlord for the tenant... in a bank, credit union, or depository institution which is insured by an agency of the federal government" — a holding-location rule, not a segregation rule. H.B. 1862 (2016) had briefly imposed a no-commingling trust-account mandate, but S.B. 581 (2018) repealed it while keeping the federally-insured-institution requirement; keeping deposits in a dedicated account remains a sensible best practice for bookkeeping and dispute defense, just not a statutory mandate.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300.2 · S.B. 581, 99th Gen. Assemb., 2d Reg. Sess. (Mo. 2018)
If a landlord wrongfully withholds any portion of the deposit in violation of § 535.300, "the tenant shall recover as damages twice the amount wrongfully withheld." The flip side: the statute preserves the landlord's right to recover actual damages exceeding the deposit, and tenants may not apply the deposit toward rent.
Missouri's security deposit rules in RSMo § 535.300 apply uniformly statewide; no Kansas City or St. Louis ordinance imposing different deposit caps, interest, or return deadlines was identified. Kansas City's 2019 Tenant Bill of Rights focuses on screening and notice rather than deposit handling; verify current municipal codes if operating there.
Deposits must be "held by the landlord for the tenant... in a bank, credit union, or depository institution which is insured by an agency of the federal government." No separate or trust account is required (S.B. 581 repealed that 2016-2018 mandate), but the funds must sit in a federally insured institution. Housing authorities and other government landlords are exempt.
Before deciding what to withhold, you must give the tenant reasonable written notice (to the last known address, or in person) of the date and time of the move-out inspection, hold it at a reasonable time, and honor the tenant's "right to be present at the inspection."
You may withhold only amounts "reasonably necessary" to (1) cover unpaid rent, (2) restore the unit to its move-in condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, or (3) cover actual damages from the tenant's inadequate termination notice — and for category (3) you must make reasonable efforts to mitigate.
You may withhold actual carpet-cleaning costs only if the rental agreement both sets the cleaning charges and notifies the tenant of potential liability for costs exceeding ordinary wear and tear — and you must give the tenant a receipt for the actual carpet-cleaning costs within 30 days of the end of the tenancy.
The statute deems you compliant with the 30-day return/itemization requirement "by mailing such statement and any payment to the last known address of the tenant" — so collect a forwarding address at move-out, but mail to the last known address you have either way.
Withholding in violation of § 535.300 exposes you to liability for twice the amount wrongfully withheld.
Demanding or receiving more than two months' rent as a security deposit violates § 535.300.1; the excess is wrongfully held and bolsters a tenant's double-damages claim on any later withholding dispute.
The inspection notice and the tenant's right to be present are statutory prerequisites to determining the withholding; skipping them makes any deduction vulnerable as a wrongful withholding, with double-damages exposure.
Restoration deductions must except ordinary wear and tear, and carpet-cleaning withholdings are valid only with the lease provision and a receipt for actual costs within 30 days — otherwise the deduction is wrongful and doubles.
That breaches § 535.300.2's holding rule. Note the rule is about WHERE the money sits, not account segregation: since S.B. 581 (2018) repealed the trust-account mandate, a landlord's own account at a federally insured institution satisfies the statute — though a dedicated deposits account remains best practice for clean records in a withholding dispute.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300.2 · S.B. 581, 99th Gen. Assemb., 2d Reg. Sess. (Mo. 2018)
At most two months' rent. RSMo § 535.300.1 says a landlord "may not demand or receive a security deposit in excess of two months' rent." A separately denominated pet deposit is excluded from the statute's definition of security deposit, so it sits outside this section — but label it clearly as a pet deposit in the lease.
30 days from termination of the tenancy. Within that window you must either return the full deposit or send a written itemized list of damages along with the remaining balance. Mailing the statement and payment to the tenant's last known address satisfies the requirement.
No. Missouri requires the deposit to be held for the tenant in a federally insured bank, credit union, or depository institution, but it does not require a separate, segregated, or trust account — the 2016 trust-account mandate was repealed by S.B. 581 effective August 28, 2018. A dedicated deposits account is still smart bookkeeping, just not the law.
No. The statute states that "any interest earned on a security deposit shall be the property of the landlord," so you keep the interest and owe the tenant nothing on it.
The tenant can recover "twice the amount wrongfully withheld" as damages. That penalty applies to any withholding that violates § 535.300 — including blowing the 30-day deadline, skipping the itemized list, or deducting for ordinary wear and tear. The statute still lets you sue for actual damages exceeding the deposit when the harm is real.
Only if the lease specifically sets carpet-cleaning charges and notifies the tenant they may be liable for actual costs beyond ordinary wear and tear — and you must give the tenant a receipt for the actual carpet-cleaning costs within 30 days of the end of the tenancy. Without the lease clause, carpet cleaning falls under ordinary wear and tear and is not deductible.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Statute facts on this page were verified against the cited official sources on June 11, 2026.
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