Missouri Landlord Selling the House

Missouri rules on landlord selling the house for renters and landlords, with the statute or official page behind each answer. Last verified: 2026-10-23.

Short answer: After a foreclosure sale, the new owner must give the residential tenant written notice (certified/registered mail, plus posting on the door) that the sale happened, who the new owner is, and that the tenant has at least 10 business days to leave. RSMo 534.030.2-.3

The rules in Missouri

Tenants in foreclosure	After a foreclosure sale, the new owner must give the residential tenant written notice (certified/registered mail, plus posting on the door) that the sale happened, who the new owner is, and that the tenant has at least 10 business days to leave. No eviction case can be filed within those 10 business days. The notice does not create a tenancy with the new owner. Federal PTFA rights are separate. Added by 2009 H.B. 836/753. Only covers tenants not in violation of RSMo 441.020 (illegal use). Source: RSMo 534.030.2-.3

Tenants in foreclosure

After a foreclosure sale, the new owner must give the residential tenant written notice (certified/registered mail, plus posting on the door) that the sale happened, who the new owner is, and that the tenant has at least 10 business days to leave. No eviction case can be filed within those 10 business days. The notice does not create a tenancy with the new owner. Federal PTFA rights are separate.

Added by 2009 H.B. 836/753. Only covers tenants not in violation of RSMo 441.020 (illegal use).

Source: RSMo 534.030.2-.3

Missouri vs. neighboring states

Landlord Selling the House: Missouri vs. neighboring states
State	If the landlord sells the property	Tenants in foreclosure
Missouri	Not verified yet	After a foreclosure sale, the new owner must give the residential tenant written notice (certified/registered mail, plus posting on the door) that the sale happened, who the new owner is, and that the tenant has at least 10 business days to leave. No eviction case can be filed within those 10 business days. The notice does not create a tenancy with the new owner. Federal PTFA rights are separate. RSMo 534.030.2-.3
Arkansas	Arkansas's security-deposit law binds whoever holds the landlord's interest when the tenancy ends: a transferee, assignee or other successor landlord is bound by the security-deposit subchapter. The statutes reviewed do not set a notice the seller or buyer must give the tenant about the sale. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-302	No state statute found protecting tenants when a rental is foreclosed or sold. Tenants rely on the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (90-day notice). Ark. Code Ann. Title 18, Ch. 17 (checked)
Illinois	Not verified yet	Yes, beyond the federal PTFA. A new owner after foreclosure (mortgagee, receiver, certificate or deed holder, or sale purchaser) may end a bona fide residential lease only at the end of its term, with at least 90 days' written notice. Month-to-month or week-to-week bona fide leases also require at least 90 days' written notice. An individual buyer who will live in the unit may end the lease on 90 days' notice. For occupants not named in the foreclosure: if the occupant is current on rent, was never told in writing where to pay, or made good-faith efforts to pay, any eviction order must let them stay for the shorter of 120 days after notice of the hearing or the rest of the lease (at least 30 days). Records of these eviction cases are sealed. 735 ILCS 5/9-207.5; 735 ILCS 5/15-1701(h)
Iowa	When a landlord's interest ends (for example, by sale), the landlord must within a reasonable time either transfer the rental deposit (minus lawful deductions) to the successor and tell the tenant the new owner's name and address, or return the deposit to the tenant. The successor then has the landlord's rights and duties for the deposit; if the tenant does not object within 20 days after written notice of the amount transferred, the successor's duty is limited to that amount. A landlord who sells in good faith to a bona fide buyer is released from liability under the lease for events after giving the tenant written notice of the sale, unless otherwise agreed. Iowa Code §§ 562A.12(5)-(6), 562A.16(1)	Not verified yet
Kansas	Unless otherwise agreed, a landlord who sells rental property in good faith to a bona fide buyer is released from liability under the lease for events after the landlord gives the tenant written notice of the sale. The selling landlord still remains liable to the tenant for any part of the security deposit the tenant is owed. Whoever holds the landlord's interest when the tenancy ends is bound by the security deposit rules. K.S.A. 58-2554(a), 58-2550(f)	Not verified yet
Kentucky	When a landlord sells or transfers the property, the tenant does not have to 'attorn' (formally accept the new owner) for the transfer to be valid, and a tenant who pays rent to the old owner before getting notice of the sale is not penalized for it (KRS 383.100(2)). In areas that have adopted Kentucky's landlord-tenant act, the landlord must give the tenant in writing the name and address of the manager and of the owner or owner's agent for notices, must keep that information current, and the duty extends to any successor landlord or owner (KRS 383.585). Kentucky's security-deposit statute (KRS 383.580) does not say who must hold or return the deposit after a sale. KRS 383.100(2); KRS 383.585; KRS 383.580	Not verified yet
Nebraska	When a landlord sells a rental in a good-faith sale to a genuine buyer, the selling landlord is released from liability under the lease and the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act for events after the tenant gets written notice of the sale, unless otherwise agreed. The seller stays liable for the tenant's security deposit and prepaid rent unless the seller assigns them to the buyer with written notice to the tenant. Whoever holds the landlord's interest when the tenancy ends is bound by the deposit-return rules. Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 76-1420(1), 76-1416(5)	No Nebraska statute was found that protects residential tenants in foreclosure beyond federal law (federal PTFA). Under the Act, the disclosure duty applies to successor owners (§ 76-1417(2)). The person holding the landlord's interest when the tenancy ends is responsible for returning the security deposit (§ 76-1416(5)). Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 76-1416(5), 76-1417(2)
Oklahoma	A landlord can sell the rental without the tenant's agreement (attornment). Rent the tenant pays to the old owner before getting written notice of the sale counts against the buyer. Once the tenant gets written notice that the owner's interest has ended (by sale, assignment, death or otherwise), the tenant pays future rent to the new owner; the old owner is released from obligations for later events, and the successor owner is liable for all obligations under the rental agreement and the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. 41 O.S. §§ 114, 119(A), (C)	No foreclosure-specific statute. The Act's general rule for any end of the owner's interest (sale, assignment, death, bankruptcy, receivership or otherwise) applies: rent paid to the old owner before the tenant gets written notice of the transfer counts against the new owner; after written notice, the tenant pays future rent to the successor, who is liable for the landlord's obligations under the rental agreement and the Act (§ 119). Alienees of landlords have the same rights and duties as the landlord (§ 114). The federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act also applies (90-day notice; existing leases honored with limited exceptions). 41 O.S. §§ 114, 119; 12 U.S.C. § 5220 note (PTFA)
Tennessee	When a landlord sells a rental in good faith to an unrelated buyer, the seller stays responsible under the lease and the landlord-tenant law until the tenant gets written notice of the sale and the security deposit is transferred to the buyer. After both happen, the seller is released for later events, unless the parties agreed otherwise. The statute does not say the sale ends the lease. Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-305	Not verified yet

City rules that may add to state law

More Missouri rental law

Compare landlord selling the house in all 50 states and DC →