Hi,

I own a home in St. Louis, MO and I currently have someone doing a lease purchase. Her current contract ends today and I've requested an extension until she qualifies for financing through NACA which will be September. I've also requested a copy of the letter from NACA stating that she will qualify at that time.

I emailed her today as a final attempt to get the extension contract and also advised her that she has 10 days to vacate the premises. She wants to extend the contract but can't get into her agent's office until tomorrow at which time she will be without a lease.

My question is, how long do you allow someone to be there without a lease until you evict them? I told her 10 days. Can I stick with that? I want to follow the law so that nothing comes back to bite me.

Thanks,

Any agreement between a tenant and
Landlord allowing the tenant to stay after the
Lease ends should be in writing.

http://ago.mo.gov/publications/landlordtenant.pdf

A landlord may not evict a tenant without a court order. The landlord may begin eviction proceedings if a tenant
Fails to vacate at the end of the lease term. So if you give her a notice in writing stating for her to leave, and she doesn't then you have to file through the court.

http://ago.mo.gov/publications/landlordtenant8.htm

I am missing something here.

Why does it have to be eviction because she can't see her agent until tomorrow?
If you are the landlord couldn't you give her a grace period where she pays the rent but doesn't have a lease and start a new lease after her finance thing is cleared?