If you only remember one point about getting a security deposit back in Missouri, remember this: The cap is 2 months' rent. The return deadline is 30 days after termination of the tenancy / surrender of possession, with an itemized list of deductions. Interest: No statewide interest requirement. Procedure, examples, and the opinions below hang off Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300. Wrongful withholding can support damages of up to twice the deposit amount wrongfully withheld.
Interest and accounting
No statewide interest requirement.
Walking through Missouri facts
Use this walkthrough to see which Missouri authority does the work at each step.
A residential tenant moves out of a Missouri rental and the landlord has not returned the deposit.
- Check the cap that applied when the deposit was collected: 2 months' rent.
- Calendar the return deadline: 30 days after termination of the tenancy / surrender of possession, with an itemized list of deductions
- Interest, if any: No statewide interest requirement.
- If the landlord keeps money without the required accounting: Wrongful withholding can support damages of up to twice the deposit amount wrongfully withheld.
Missouri caps most residential security deposits at two months’ rent and requires return with itemization within 30 days. Double damages can apply for wrongful withholding. Associate circuit / small claims is the usual forum.
Penalties for wrongful withholding
Wrongful withholding can support damages of up to twice the deposit amount wrongfully withheld.
Practical process for tenants and landlords
Missouri caps most residential security deposits at two months’ rent and requires return with itemization within 30 days. Double damages can apply for wrongful withholding. Associate circuit / small claims is the usual forum.
Document the unit with dated photos or video at move-in and move-out, keep the lease and any inspection checklist, and send a dated written demand if the deadline passes without a lawful accounting.
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Case law: security deposits in Missouri
Jerome L. HOWE, Jr., Appellant, v. ALD SERVICES, INC., Et Al., Respondent
…there was evidence that landlord was still holding a $2,500 security deposit in an escrow account. The $2,500 security deposit and the $2,500 verdict returned by the jury approximates the damages landlord was seeking for the damages to the premises. In light of the discretion in which the jury is invested in determining damages and the disputed amount of damages, we cannot conc…
On security deposits, Jerome L. HOWE, Jr., Appellant, v. ALD SERVICES, INC., Et Al., Respondent speaks to the Missouri dispute in this passage: "The $2,500 security deposit and the $2,500 verdict returned by the jury approximates the damages landlord was seeking for the damages to the premises." The surrounding opinion shows how the court applied that language to the record.
SCHNUCKS CARROLLTON CORPORATION, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. BRIDGETON HEALTH AND FITNESS INC., D/B/A Body Builders
…ase. Pursuant to the lease Bridgeton gave Schnucks a $4,000 security deposit. . Bridgeton paid the monthly lease charges through November, 1991. At the end of the lease term, Schnucks and Bridgeton agreed that Bridgeton could remain as a month to month tenant at a rent of $500 per week. After November, 1991 and before this action was filed Bridgeton made no further payments und…
SCHNUCKS CARROLLTON CORPORATION, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. BRIDGETON HEALTH AND FITNESS INC., D/B/A Body Builders is worth reading on Missouri security deposits because the court put the point in its own words: "Pursuant to the lease Bridgeton gave Schnucks a $4,000 security deposit. . Bridgeton paid the monthly lease charges through November, 1991. At the end of the lease term, Schnucks and Bridgeton agreed that Bridgeton could remain as a month to month tenant at a rent of $500 per week." Use that passage as the starting point, then read the facts that precede it.
PARAGON GROUP, INC., Respondent, v. Noel AMPLEMAN, Appellant
PARAGON GROUP, INC., Respondent, v. Noel AMPLEMAN, Appellant, 1994 Mo. App. LEXIS 1066 (1994)
…yable in monthly installments of $460. Tenant placed a $100 security deposit on the apartment. Tenant took possession of the premises that day and paid her rent for May, June, and July. The lease in question provided in paragraph 11 that Tenant could terminate the lease by giving thirty days’ written notice. However, the lease further stated: If the effective date of such termi…
On security deposits, PARAGON GROUP, INC., Respondent, v. Noel AMPLEMAN, Appellant speaks to the Missouri dispute in this passage: "Tenant placed a $100 security deposit on the apartment. Tenant took possession of the premises that day and paid her rent for May, June, and July. The lease in question provided in paragraph 11 that Tenant could terminate the lease by giving thirty days’ written notice." The surrounding opinion shows how the court applied that language to the record.
Sidney GEE and Margaret Gee, Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. Marvin C. NIEBERG, Defendant-Appellant
…5.00 and plaintiffs paid to defendant one month’s rent as a security deposit which was to be returned by defendant at the expiration of the lease, provided plaintiffs had discharged all the lease covenants required of them. *544 On July 28, 1970, after having paid eleven months’ rent in addition to the security deposit, plaintiffs moved. In support of their claim for the return…
Practitioners open Sidney GEE and Margaret Gee, Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. Marvin C. NIEBERG, Defendant-Appellant when Missouri security deposits turns on the distinction in this sentence: "On July 28, 1970, after having paid eleven months’ rent in addition to the security deposit, plaintiffs moved." Do not lift it out of the facts the court was deciding.
PROPERTY EXCHANGE & SALES, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Joseph KING, Et Al., Defendants-Respondents
…ing fraud, unlawful practices, wrongful failure to return a security deposit, breach of contract and prima facie tort. PESI appeals the trial court’s dismissal of Counts I, II, IV and V. We affirm. This case comes to us on appeal for the third time. The litigation leading to these appeals involves PESI’s claim that the defendants failed to return a security deposit for a townho…
Missouri opinions such as PROPERTY EXCHANGE & SALES, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Joseph KING, Et Al., Defendants-Respondents are cited where security deposits is disputed. The court stated: "PESI appeals the trial court’s dismissal of Counts I, II, IV and V. We affirm. This case comes to us on appeal for the third time." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.
PDQ TOWER SERVICES, INC., Respondent, v. Dennis and Bonnie ADAMS, Appellant
…ding PDQ Tower Services, Inc. (PDQ) twice the amount of its security deposit. We reverse and remand to the circuit court to modify the award of damages. Factual and Procedural Background PDQ leased a commercial building from the Adamses for two years. At the end of the lease term, the Adamses refused to return the security deposit. PDQ sued the Adamses for its security deposit,…
On security deposits, PDQ TOWER SERVICES, INC., Respondent, v. Dennis and Bonnie ADAMS, Appellant speaks to the Missouri dispute in this passage: "PDQ Tower Services, Inc. (PDQ) twice the amount of its security deposit. We reverse and remand to the circuit court to modify the award of damages. Factual and Procedural Background PDQ leased a commercial building from the Adamses for two years." The surrounding opinion shows how the court applied that language to the record.
Carolynne M. KIEFFER, Appellant, v. Patrick D. NIEMEYER, Respondent
Carolynne M. KIEFFER, Appellant, v. Patrick D. NIEMEYER, Respondent, 2003 Mo. App. LEXIS 1353 (2003)
…breach of lease and granting tenant’s counterclaim for his security deposit. We dismiss the appeal. I. BACKGROUND Landlord filed a petition in the associate division of the circuit court for damages for breach of lease, property damage, charges relating to rent and consequential damages totaling $10,535. Tenant counterclaimed for his security deposit. After a judgment denying…
Missouri opinions such as Carolynne M. KIEFFER, Appellant, v. Patrick D. NIEMEYER, Respondent are cited where security deposits is disputed. The court stated: "We dismiss the appeal. I. BACKGROUND Landlord filed a petition in the associate division of the circuit court for damages for breach of lease, property damage, charges relating to rent and consequential damages totaling $10,535. Tenant counterclaimed for his security deposit." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.
Andrew CHIODINI, Appellant, v. Genia FOX and James Winkler, Respondent
…lied warranty of habitability and awarded Fox-Winkler their security deposit as damages. We affirm. Chiodini owns a house in Wildwood, Missouri with a partially finished basement. The unfinished portion of the basement contains a room that Chiodini was in the process of turning into a billiard room, but, as of May 2003, the construction was not completed. Chiodini wished to lea…
Practitioners open Andrew CHIODINI, Appellant, v. Genia FOX and James Winkler, Respondent when Missouri security deposits turns on the distinction in this sentence: "Fox-Winkler their security deposit as damages. We affirm. Chiodini owns a house in Wildwood, Missouri with a partially finished basement." Do not lift it out of the facts the court was deciding.
Key takeaways
- Maximum deposit: 2 months' rent
- Return deadline: 30 days after termination of the tenancy / surrender of possession, with an itemized list of deductions
- Interest: No statewide interest requirement.
- Penalties: Wrongful withholding can support damages of up to twice the deposit amount wrongfully withheld.
- Primary authority: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300.
Deposit limits in Missouri
2 months' rent
When the deposit must be returned
30 days after termination of the tenancy / surrender of possession, with an itemized list of deductions
Frequently asked questions
How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Missouri?
2 months' rent
How long does a landlord have to return my deposit?
30 days after termination of the tenancy / surrender of possession, with an itemized list of deductions
What if my landlord keeps the deposit without an itemized list?
Wrongful withholding can support damages of up to twice the deposit amount wrongfully withheld.
This guide covers Missouri residential security-deposit law as of 2026. Commercial leases and local ordinances can differ — verify the statute that applies to your unit.