Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Missouri

Unreasonable Landlord agreement

My sons landlord came to his door tonight & asked why a person who was a former tenant (who may owe him rent from past, not too sure)was there. My son did not feel this was his business (the visitor in question is a friend of his girlfriend) so he asked his landlord if he wanted to talk to her since he felt it was not his business. The landlord refused & told my son he wanted him & his room-mate out by end of month. This is only 11 days & their rent has always been paid on time. His landlord is also my husband's grandfather. I am divorcing his granson. He rarely works & is now living in a motel. I think he (my husband) is pressuring the grandfather in order to move into this duplex my son & his friend now occupy. My son & I agree my husband is behind this and it is best for him & the room-mate to move. However, they do need a reasonable amount of time to do so. I feel we need to put this carefully into writing to the landlord that they will agree to move, but we need to know what time frame the law allows them so this can also be stated they know their rights. They have a month to month verbal agreement & it was simply the rent is this amount & it was due on the 1rst of each month. No other stipulations were discussed.


Asked on 4/19/04, 11:42 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Anthony DeWitt Bartimus, Frickleton Robertson & Gorny, PC

Re: Unreasonable Landlord agreement

Sounds like quite a tangled web. But chin up, the law is good for you in this instance.

When tenancy is suffered month to month (that is a legal term of art that means when you rent by the month -- but lawyers can never say anything simply), a notice to quit, to be effective, must be delivered on or before the begining of the rental period.

If I understand you correctly, this occurred 11 days into the rental month. The landlord demanded that your son "get out by the end of the month" meaning, of course, that he had another 19 days to leave.

The law tacks another 30 days onto the 19, because the notice to quit must allow thirty days. So even if the landlord were to go to court for unlawful detainer (which means holding over on someone's property without legal basis) he could not prevail until the end of the full thirty days from the beginning of the next rental period.

Suppose rent is due from the first of the month, and you pay rent on January 1. On January 11, eleven days into the rental period, the landlord says "get out by the end of the month." The law presumes that the notice does not become effective until the first of February, and you have to be out of the property by February 28. You do not have to be out on January 31.

This is true if you do not have a written lease. If you have a written lease, your son may have rights in the lease that are greater than those of the common law.

Hope this helps you.

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Answered on 4/20/04, 9:08 am


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