Fees and Costs for Landlord-Tenant Matters
Scott Law Firm strives to make the cost of its landlord-tenant legal services predictable and economical by using a flat-fee system for most services. Our current fee schedule is summarized in the table below. Fees are subject to change after December 31, 2010. Court costs are summarized in a separate table after the fee schedule. We invoice established clients for fees and costs, usually on a monthly basis. First-time clients may be asked for advance payment.
Fee Schedule for Landlord-Tenant Legal Services
| Uncontested residential or commercial landlord-tenant lawsuit. (This fee includes preparing and filing lawsuit, arranging for service of lawsuit, making first court appearance, preparing judgment, and communicating with client and tenant as necessary. The fee is the same for one defendant or multiple defendants.) | $100.00 |
| Surcharge if lawsuit information is not provided on SLF's Form 5. | $20.00 |
| Surcharge if signed verification must be obtained and filed with court after lawsuit is filed. | $10.00 |
| Trial of contested residential or commercial landlord-tenant lawsuit. (The trial fee will be billed if the tenant contests the lawsuit and we must prepare for trial, even if the case is later resolved by default, settlement or dismissal. At our discretion, we may elect to reduce this fee if the case is settled before we begin trial preparation, depending on the time involved in settlement negotiations and preparing settlement documents. Services include trial preparation, conducting the trial, preparing judgment, and communicating with the client as necessary. This fee assumes no discovery procedures, no jury trial and no necessity to defend a claim or counterclaim by the tenant. Discovery, jury trials and defense of tenant claims will be billed at our normal hourly rate of $200/hour.) | $125.00 |
| Minimum flat fee for extra court appearances (preparation, appearance, and report to client). | $25.00 |
| Preparing or responding to discovery requests, correspondence with tenants or attorneys representing tenants, defense of tenant claims or counterclaims, and jury trials. | $200/hour |
| Preparation of witness subpoenas, if needed, and arranging service of subpoenas. | $25/subpoena |
| Customization of all recommended notice forms for a particular landlord. | $85.00 |
| Modification of recommended notice form or special notice not included in recommended forms. | $25/page |
| Prepare and filing request for execution for possession. | $20.00 |
| Prepare and file request for garnishment (service no longer provided as of mid-March 2010) | $40.00 |
| Transmit garnishment proceeds to client (will apply to garnishments issued before mid-March 2010) | $10.00 |
| Training session to teach landlord to issue garnishments, including provision of necessary forms. | $100.00 |
| Preparation of leasing forms package (paper copies only). | $100.00 |
| Preparation of leasing forms package (paper and electronic copies on CD or sent by email. | $120.00 |
| File judgment revival and coordinate service of show-cause order. | $100.00 |
| Prepare for and appear at show-cause hearing on judgment revival. | $50.00 |
Costs Schedule for Landlord-Tenant Lawsuits
The following costs apply only for Boone County, Missouri. For service by the sheriff, the sheriff's fee of $30/defendant is included in the following table.
| Boone County Filing Fees | Basic Filing Fee* | Service by
posting (Add $10 per defendant) |
Service by
sheriff (add $30 per defendant) |
| 1 defendant | $33 | $43 | $63 |
| 2 defendants | $33 | $53 | $93 |
| 3 defendants | $33 | $63 | $123 |
| 4 defendants | $33 | $73 | $153 |
| 5 defendants | $33 | $83 | $183 |
| 6 defendants | $33 | $93 | $213 |
* The basic filing fee is the only filing fee to be paid to the court when the case is filed if a special process server is used. However, you will also be billed for the special process server's fee (usually $35/defendant within the Columbia city limits). Because we get prompt and reliable service from our special process servers, we will opt for service by a special process server unless you specifically instruct us to use the sheriff.
Note: Each person liable on the lease (i.e., who signed the lease) should be named as a defendant, as well as all other adults residing in the leased premises whether or not they signed the lease, because you cannot evict a person you did not name as a defendant in the lawsuit.