Key Takeaways
- St. Louis is using revenue from a 3 percent short-term rental fee to help fund legal representation for tenants facing eviction
- The fee also directs money toward affordable housing and assistance for impacted tenants
- The city’s eviction-defense program is getting roughly $1 million in fiscal 2027, allowing it to significantly expand its legal staff
Governments are using short-term rental fees in some pretty creative ways.
Each city seems to have a different idea for where that money should go, and St. Louis has one of the more unexpected ones.
Short-term rental guests in St. Louis are helping pay for something that has little to do with their stay.
A portion of each guest’s fees is going to fund the legal fees for renters facing eviction.
The city is putting roughly $1 million toward its “Housing Eviction Law Project” in fiscal 2027, with part of that money coming from a 3 percent fee charged on short-term rental stays.
It’s an interesting use of money collected from Missouri vacation rentals.
St. Louis voters approved the short-term rental fee through Proposition S in November 2024. City officials finalized the collection process this year.
The revenue is split among several housing programs. Half goes to an affordable housing fund, 25 percent goes to the city’s Impacted Tenants Fund and the remaining 25 percent supports the Right to Counsel Fund used for eviction defense.
That money will help St. Louis expand a legal-aid program that has struggled to keep up with demand.
According to St. Louis Public Radio, the Housing Eviction Law Project has been operating with just two attorneys and limited support staff since launching in 2024.
The new budget is expected to support five full-time attorneys, two paralegals and a social worker.
The demand is already there.
Legal Services of Eastern Missouri attorney Dan Buran told the outlet that the program’s phone line can run out of capacity within hours of opening each week.
“On Monday this week, I called eight people to tell them that unfortunately, we don’t have resources to take your case,” Buran said.
Short-term rental fees are becoming part of a bigger housing conversation
St. Louis is not simply collecting the fee and putting it into its general budget.
The money is being tied directly to housing programs, including affordable housing and legal assistance for renters.
That makes the policy worth watching for STR owners outside Missouri too.
As cities look for new ways to address housing affordability, enforcement and neighborhood concerns, short-term rentals are increasingly being treated as a source of dedicated revenue.
In St. Louis, that revenue is now helping expand a program that has served thousands of renters but has only been able to provide full legal representation to a fraction of them.
The Housing Eviction Law Project launched in September 2024 with about $360,000 in funding.
During an early reporting period, 1,352 people received some form of assistance while 343 received full legal representation. By April 2026, the program had served 2,266 people since launch, with 502 receiving representation.
City officials say the caseload is much larger than the program has been able to handle.
St. Louis Department of Human Services Director Adam Pearson said roughly 500 people enter a new eviction process in the city every month.
St. Louis is looking to Kansas City
City officials are also watching what happened after Kansas City put more money behind a similar right-to-counsel program.
Kansas City currently spends about $2.6 million a year on its program.
Research from Washington University found tenant representation increased from 6.4 percent to 20 percent after the program launched, while eviction judgments fell by nearly 10 percent.
St. Louis officials hope additional funding will allow their own program to serve more people as it moves closer to the $2.5 million funding level originally envisioned under the city ordinance.
Related: Airbnb sends cease-and-desist letter to Salt Lake City over enforcement
The guest may see a small percentage added to the bill. The city may see a new way to pay for housing programs.
MORE STR NEWS:
- Florida Panhandle beach authority moves toward short-term rental registry
- Riverside, California tightens short-term rental rules after 5-0 vote
- Miami condo tower faces cease-and-desist over more than 300 short-term rentals
- South Carolina cities tighten short-term rental rules as Folly Beach fights court loss
- Los Angeles city attorney sues over alleged 30-property illegal short-term rental ring
