Short-Term Rental Laws in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis City regulates STRs through Ordinance 70748 + zoning code. The framework distinguishes owner-occupied (permitted broadly in residential zones with registration) from non-owner-occupied (requires Conditional Use Permit + neighborhood notification + Planning Commission approval in single-family residential districts). The CUP process runs 60-120 days with public hearing. Tourism + Cardinals/Blues game weekends drive demand; Soulard, Lafayette Square, Central West End, The Hill, and Forest Park-adjacent neighborhoods are the densest STR markets.

Owner-occupied STRs permitted in A (single-family), B (two-family), C (multi-family), and F (mixed-use) districts with registration. Non-owner-occupied in A/B districts requires CUP from the Planning Commission with public notice + Alderman concurrence. C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K districts permit non-owner-occupied with registration. The Local Historic Districts (Soulard, Lafayette Square, Compton Heights, Benton Park, etc.) layer design-review overlays through the Cultural Resources Office. Many condos in Downtown / Central West End buildings have HOA STR prohibitions — verify separately.

Operators must hold a short-term rental permit before listing. See the official permit portal.

St. Louis Department of Public Safety + St. Louis Development Corporation administer the STR Permit program. Annual renewal. Application requires designated local 24/7 contact, proof of property insurance, life-safety inspection (smoke + CO + fire extinguisher + posted occupancy), parking plan. Collector of Revenue collects the hotel/motel + tourism taxes monthly. Operating unpermitted: $500+ first violation, escalating to $2,000+ for repeats. Code Enforcement cross-references Airbnb/Vrbo listings against the permit registry.

Combined short-term lodging tax in St. Louis is approximately 18.360% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

Missouri State sales tax 4.225% + St. Louis City sales 4.954% + St. Louis Hotel/Motel Sales Tax 3.5% + Convention Tourism Tax 3.75% + Tourism District assessment ~2% — combined ~18.36% on transient lodging; confirm at St. Louis Collector of Revenue

Verify the current combined rate via the Utah State Tax Commission before remitting — rates drift quarterly.