Causes

• Missouri evictions are restricted to specific causes, and the landlord must prove that the eviction is taking place for one of these reasons. Nonpayment of rent and violating one of the lease terms are common eviction causes, while the landlord may also choose to evict for property damage, illegal activity, illegal gambling and staying in the property after a lease term.
  
  

Filing

• The eviction court case is called an Unlawful Detainer lawsuit, and it allows a landlord to seek possession of the home and any monetary damages due to rent owed. This lawsuit is filed through the local Missouri court that has jurisdictional over the property in question. The landlord fills out the Unlawful Detainer form along with summons paperwork. A sheriff serves the summons to the tenant, informing him of the landlord's eviction filing as well as the impending court date.
  
  

Hearing

• The tenant can choose to defend himself or bring a lawyer to defend him. If the tenant does not choose to attend the hearing, the Missouri landlord gets a default judgment of eviction. The landlord needs to bring paperwork and witnesses to back up her eviction reason, and the tenant can do the same to defend against the eviction.
  
  

Eviction

• When the Missouri court grants an eviction order, it also sets a specific amount of time for the tenant to leave the property. The tenant may ask for additional time under special circumstances, although the court is not obligated to extend the time. If the tenant is not gone from the Missouri landlord's property once the time is up, he can request that the sheriff physically evict the tenant from the property.