Short-term rentals in St. Louis, Missouri: permits, hearings and limits

St. Louis runs on a mix of reasons to visit: Cardinals baseball, Forest Park and its free museums, conventions at America's Center, Mardi Gras in Soulard, and a large medical and university sector around Washington University, Saint Louis University and the hospital campuses. That last group matters for owners, because it produces steady weekday and multi-week demand. Rentals are mostly brick rowhouses, two-family flats and condos in Soulard, Lafayette Square, the Central West End, Tower Grove, Benton Park and The Hill.

Two permits, two sets of limits

The City of St. Louis has required a short-term rental permit since November 6, 2024, with existing operators given until May 6, 2025 to comply. The permit depends on how you use the property:

• Owner-occupied: for your principal residence, one permit per person, no business license needed.
• Non-owner-occupied: for an investment property, up to four permits per person, a business license required, and commercial property tax rates apply.

If the property is in a single-family residential zone, a conditional use hearing comes before the permit, and neighbors can speak. Every permitted rental must respect a two-night minimum stay, and occupancy follows the ordinary residential limits. Three violations within 24 months lead to revocation and a one-year wait before reapplying; municipal court fines run to $500 per offense.

The tax-abatement trap

No permit can be issued for a parcel that benefits from tax abatement or tax increment financing. In a city where many rehabbed homes carry multi-year abatements, this single rule can rule out a property that looks perfect. Ask the seller, and check the parcel record, before you make an offer.

Taxes

Stays are subject to Missouri and city sales taxes and to local lodging taxes. Platforms collect state-administered taxes on their bookings. The commercial property tax rate on non-owner-occupied permits is a running cost many buyers forget to model.

Also check

• St. Louis City and St. Louis County are separate governments; this page covers the city only.
• Condo declarations may ban short stays regardless of the permit.
• Two-family flats work well when one unit is your home and the other is rented, which can keep you in the owner-occupied track for one unit.

Our advice

Choose zoning first, abatement status second, and the neighborhood third. A non-owner-occupied rental outside single-family zoning, with a clean parcel record and a medium-stay strategy for hospital and university visitors, is the profile that holds up. We study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.