HOUSE BILL NO. 2996 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE MOSLEY.
5860H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To amend chapter 441, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to residential lease renewals, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 441, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be 2 known as section 441.305, to read as follows: 441.305. 1. The provisions of this section shall be known and may be referred to 2 as the "Missouri Housing Predictability and Transparency Act". 3 2. For any residential lease renewal issued on or after January 1, 2027, a 4 landlord shall not increase the rent charged to a tenant by more than seven percent plus 5 the annual change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers for the 6 United States as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or its successor index, or ten 7 percent, whichever is less, in any twelve-month period. 8 3. A landlord shall provide a tenant with written notice of any rent increase at 9 least ninety days prior to the effective date of the increase. Such notice shall include: 10 (1) The current rent amount; 11 (2) The proposed new rent amount; 12 (3) The percentage increase; and 13 (4) A statement of the tenant's right to request documentation supporting the 14 calculation. 15 4. The limitations of this section shall not apply to: 16 (1) Newly constructed residential units during the first fifteen years after 17 issuance of the certificate of occupancy;
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 2996 2
18 (2) Units that are newly created due to substantial rehabilitation where the 19 landlord has invested an amount equal to or greater than twenty-five percent of the 20 property's assessed value within the preceding twelve months; 21 (3) Units owned or operated by nonprofit housing providers receiving 22 government subsidies where rent calculations are set by federal or state programs; and 23 (4) Tenants who are delinquent on rent at the time of renewal, provided that 24 delinquency fees are in compliance with existing law. 25 5. A landlord shall not refuse to renew a lease, terminate a tenancy, or otherwise 26 retaliate against a tenant for asserting rights under this section. 27 6. (1) A tenant may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction if a 28 landlord violates this section. If the court finds that a landlord has willfully imposed a 29 rent increase in excess of the allowed maximum, the tenant may be entitled to: 30 (a) Actual damages; 31 (b) Reasonable attorney's fees; and 32 (c) A civil penalty not to exceed three times the unlawful portion of the rent 33 increase. 34 (2) The attorney general may enforce this section and seek civil penalties for 35 pattern or practice violations. 36 7. The department of economic development may promulgate all necessary rules 37 and regulations for the administration of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as 38 that term is defined in section 536.010, that is created under the authority delegated in 39 this section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the 40 provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter 41 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly 42 pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove and annul 43 a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority 44 and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void. ✔
Statutes affected: