Short-term rentals in Mountain Grove, explained properly.

Sec. 8-209(g)(1) says a fee of $350.00 or as set forth in the schedule of fees shall accompany the short-term rental application, in addition to the license and certificate of occupancy fee, for the costs of processing the application. The City's schedule of fees was not fetched and its date is not shown here, so the current amount is marked for review. The business license and certificate of occupancy fees are not shown here.

Sec. 8-209(d) says all sales, use, and bed taxes shall be collected and paid on all short-term rental property. No City rate or combined total is shown on this page; State sales tax rules appear in the Missouri section.

Sec. 8-209(f)(2) says a short-term rental shall only be located in the primary structure. Sec. 8-209(f)(3) allows no exterior alterations that would change the single-family character of the rental, other than those necessary to ensure the safety of the structure. Sec. 8-209(f)(4) says no residential structure shall be removed for parking or to expand the rental.

Sec. 8-209(f)(5) says a short-term rental shall not be rented solely for receptions, parties, weddings or any similar activities.

Sec. 8-208 (Short-term rentals) reads as a single phrase: renting sleeping rooms within the City to more than two persons, not members of the family occupying the dwelling unit, for less than 30 days provided an off-street parking space is provided for each person. The phrase has no operative verb in the text read, so how it fits with the permit requirements of Sec. 8-209 is not settled here and the entry is marked for review.

Section 4 of Ordinance 2018-24 (adopting the Code, effective September 11, 2018) says that, unless another penalty is expressly provided, every person convicted of a violation of any provision of the Code is punished by a fine up to the maximum required or permitted by state law, and that each day a violation continues or occurs is a separate offense. The board of aldermen may also pursue abatement, injunctive relief and revocation of licenses or permits. A penalty specific to Sec. 8-209 is not shown in the text read.

Section 144.020.1(6) of the Revised Statutes of Missouri imposes a tax equivalent to four percent on the amount of sales or charges for all rooms, meals and drinks furnished at any hotel, motel, tavern, inn, restaurant, eating house, drugstore, dining car, tourist cabin, tourist camp or other place in which rooms, meals or drinks are regularly served to the public. The Department of Revenue says the state sales and use tax is 4.225 percent in total, split among General Revenue (3.0 percent), Education (1.0 percent), Conservation (0.125 percent) and Parks/Soils (0.10 percent), and that cities, counties and special taxing districts may add their own sales taxes. The sources read do not say whether, or when, a privately owned home rented for short stays counts as a place in which rooms are regularly served to the public; check with the Department of Revenue. City and county taxes are shown on each place's page.

Section 144.752, in effect since January 1, 2023, requires marketplace facilitators that do business in Missouri to register with the Department of Revenue to collect and remit use tax on sales made through their marketplaces that are delivered into the state. The section's definition of a marketplace facilitator does not include a person with respect to the provision of travel agency services, which it defines as facilitating, for a commission, fee or other consideration, travel packages, travel reservations, tickets, or hotel or other lodging accommodations. The Department of Revenue pages read do not say whether booking platforms collect state sales tax on short-term rental stays; check with the platform and the Department of Revenue. City rules on platform collection of city taxes are shown on each place's page.

A word search of the Revised Statutes of Missouri found no section regulating the short-term rental of homes, so local rules apply. In the 2026 Regular Session, House Bill 1768 (combined with HB 2060), which modifies provisions relating to the classification of certain residential real property used for short-term rentals, was sent to the Senate, which adopted its own substitute; its last action, on May 15, 2026, was referral to the House Fiscal Review Committee, and the House bill page shows it was not truly agreed to and finally passed. In the 2025 Regular Session, House Bill 1086 on the same subject was last voted do pass by a Senate committee on May 1, 2025. A similar bill could be filed in a later session.