Short-term rentals in Webster Groves, explained properly.

Licenses issued under the article are valid until December 31 of the year the short term rental permit was obtained, and after that for one year running January 1 to December 31. Renewal is permitted beginning December 1. No license is issued except for the full license period and the full license fee.

Section 41.285 ties the short-term rental license fee to the fee prescribed for a service occupation and the calculation method in Sec. 40.120(c). We haven't reviewed Secs. 40.110 and 40.120 or any fee schedule date, so no amount is given. Confirm the current fee with the City's finance department.

The packet covers the responsible contact's name and contact information, occupancy limits, housing-code noise restrictions including amplified sound, parking restrictions, the trash collection schedule, Americans with Disabilities Act information, and other guidelines the director of finance sets from time to time. Section 41.287 requires every permit holder to display the notification packet requirements prominently in each rental room, and says the requirements can be found in Chapter 53. The specific occupancy, noise and parking limits are not shown here.

Section 41.285 requires proof of general liability insurance in an amount adequate to protect guests and third party persons against property damage or bodily injury. A dollar minimum is not shown here.

This is a condition of the annual license under Sec. 41.285. An approved service list is not shown here.

Section 41.285 makes this proof a condition of the annual license.

The log is meant to show compliance with the zoning ordinance. Its format is set by the City and may be amended. The City may make copies of the logs.

Section 41.288 makes it unlawful for anyone other than the person to whom a license or permit was issued to use it.

Section 41.290 lists four grounds: fraud, misrepresentation or a false statement in the application; fraud, misrepresentation or a false statement by the permittee while conducting short term rental activities; conducting activities contrary to the permit; and conducting activities in a way that creates a public nuisance, breaches the peace or endangers public health, safety or general welfare.

Section 41.295 sends the penalty to Sec. 1.060 of the Code of Webster Groves, which we haven't reviewed yet.

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.