Kansas Month-to-Month Lease Agreement

Required Landlord Disclosures (4) 

1. Landlord and Agents’ Identity: The rental agreement must include the name and information of the landlord and/or that of any agents authorized to act on the landlord’s behalf (Kan. Stat. § 58-2551).

2. Move-in Checklist: Within five days of the tenant moving in, the landlord and tenant must conduct a walkthrough and sign a checklist with an inventory of the property’s condition (Kan. Stat. § 58-2548).

3. Utilities: Unless the tenant pays the utility company directly, the landlord must provide a written explanation of all utility rates, charges, and services (Kan. Stat. § 58-25,109).

4. Lead-based Paint: Federal law requires landlords in all 50 states to disclose the known presence of lead-based paint and associated hazards in dwelling units constructed before 1978.

Required Notice to Terminate Month-to-Month Agreement

Required notice for the landlord: At least 30 days (Kan. Stat. § 383.695)

Required notice for the tenant: At least 30 days (Kan. Stat. § 383.695)

Rent Increase Laws

Notably, Kansas month-to-month rental agreements give residential landlords more opportunities to increase rent. Kansas has banned rent control (Kan. Stat. § 12-16,120), so landlords can raise rent by any amount at the end of a rental period. Furthermore, Kansas landlord-tenant laws do not require landlords to give tenants a defined amount of notice before increasing rent.

However, landlords must still adhere to any terms in the rental agreement that address required notice periods for rent increases.

Rent Payment Laws

Grace period: Unless specified in the rental agreement, Kansas state law does not provide a minimum grace period for tenants to pay late rent.

Late rent fees: Landlords may charge late rent fees of $20 per month or 20% of the monthly rent payment, whichever is greater. If the landlord wishes to charge a higher late rent fee, they must be able to prove that the higher fee is reasonable (Kan. Stat. § 58-816a).

Tenant’s right to withhold rent: Tenants in Kansas do not have the right to withhold rent for repairs. However, if the landlord fails to make a necessary repair to remedy an issue that materially affects health and safety, the tenant may notify the landlord that the tenancy will terminate in 30 days unless the landlord makes a good faith effort to complete the repair within 14 days (Kan. Stat. § 58-2559).

Pet rent laws: Kansas landlord-tenant laws do not directly address pet rent; landlords may charge additional monthly fees for tenants’ pets.

Security Deposit Rules

Maximum security deposit: Landlords in Kansas can charge a security deposit of no more than one month’s rent for an unfurnished dwelling unit and 1.5 months’ rent for a furnished dwelling unit (Kan. Stat. § 58-2550).

Security deposit receipt: Currently, Kansas landlord-tenant law does not require landlords to provide tenants with a receipt for the security deposit, nor do landlords have to store security deposits in any particular manner.

Deduction tracking: If landlords must remove funds from the security deposit to cover unpaid rent and/or damages to the unit that exceeds normal wear and tear, they must track all deductions and provide an itemized statement to the tenant with the remainder of the deposit (Kan. Stat. § 58-2550).

Returning a tenant’s security deposit: The landlord must return the security deposit to the tenant within 30 days of the tenancy’s end if they make no deductions. If they make deductions for repairs, landlords must return the remainder of the deposit and the required itemized statement within 14 days of the termination of the tenancy (Kan. Stat. § 58-2550).

Pet deposit rules: Kansas state law caps pet deposits at half of one month’s rent (Kan. Stat. § 58-2550).

Property Access Regulations

Advance notice: Landlords in Kansas must provide tenants with reasonable advance notice before entering the dwelling unit and may only enter at reasonable times (Kan. Stat § 58-2557).

Immediate access: In the case of an emergency that could cause loss of life or damage to the property, the landlord may enter the dwelling unit without giving advance notice to the tenant (Kan. Stat. § 58-2557).

Landlord harassment: If the landlord repeatedly fails to provide advance notice of intent to enter the unit or abuses the right to entry, this could constitute landlord harassment, and the courts could consider it a violation of the tenant’s right to privacy (Kan. Stat. § 58-2557). Landlord harassment may allow the tenant to break their rental agreement legally and could lead to additional civil penalties for the landlord.

Rental Agreement Violations

Missed rent payment: If the tenant fails to pay rent, the landlord may issue a 3-day Notice to Pay or Quit (Kan. Stat. § 58-2564).

Lease violation: If the tenant violates other terms of the rental agreement, the landlord may issue a 30-day Notice to Cure or Quit. The tenant must correct the violation(s) within 14 days of receiving the notice, or the landlord can terminate the rental agreement on the 30th day (Kan. Stat. § 58-2564).

Self-help evictions: Kansas law strictly prohibits illegal self-help evictions, including lockouts and utility shutoffs.

Lease abandonment: Tenants in Kansas may legally break a rental agreement to start active-duty military service (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act 50 U.S.C. App. §§501-597b), in the case of landlord harassment (Kan. Stat. § 58-2557), and if the unit is uninhabitable (Kan. Stat. § 58-2559). Outside of these circumstances, the tenant must typically pay rent according to the original rental agreement term should they abandon the lease agreement.