- Kansas City, Mo. prohibits non-resident (investor) short-term rentals in residentially zoned areas, unless the property was permitted before the June 15, 2023 ordinances. A resident STR requires the host to live there 270 days a year, which makes it owner-occupied, not a DSCR rental.
- In Kansas City, Mo. every STR needs a $200 yearly registration and an inspection, and guests owe a 7.5% transient tax plus $3.00 per room night, filed quarterly.
- St. Louis's 2023 permit ordinance has been on hold since an April 22, 2025 court order, and the city has not resumed enforcing it. Since February 23, 2026, operators need a city STR business license and owe 3% of the rent.
- Suburbs vary city by city. Leawood, Gladstone and Belton prohibit STRs, Prairie Village banned stays under 30 days from November 1, 2025, Kansas City, Kan. requires a special use permit, and Overland Park requires its rental license.
- Size the loan on long-term rent. If you'll stay in the property more than 14 days a year, federal lending rules don't treat it as non-owner-occupied, and a business-purpose loan doesn't fit.
The rules come before the rent
Short-term rental rules in Kansas City and St. Louis decide whether nightly income exists at all. A rental loan can only count income the property can legally earn, so start with the city's rules, then the lender's. Kansas City, Missouri defines a short-term rental as a dwelling unit rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days. St. Louis's 2026 fee law uses 30 days or less. Anything longer is an ordinary lease.
Kansas City, Missouri: the zoning map decides
Kansas City, Mo. sorts every short-term rental into two types, according to the city's KC BizCare office, and the type decides where it can operate.
| Item | Resident STR | Non-resident STR |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is | The applicant lives on the property as a primary residence 270 days a year | The owner or applicant doesn't live there 270 days a year |
| Residential zones | Allowed | Prohibited, unless grandfathered |
| Density limits | None | Not within 1,000 feet of another non-resident STR (one- and two-unit buildings); no more than 12.5% of units in buildings with three or more |
| City incentives | — | Not allowed on a property receiving incentives such as tax abatement |
| Grandfathered | — | Properties permitted before the new ordinances of June 15, 2023 are exempt from the zoning, density and incentive limits |
| Registration | $200 a year, plus inspection | $200 a year, plus inspection, a business license and a notarized management affidavit |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
For an investor, the table comes down to two questions: is the parcel zoned residential, and is it grandfathered? If it's residential and not grandfathered, a new investor STR isn't allowed. The resident type doesn't help a DSCR borrower either: living on the property 270 days a year makes it your home, and a home calls for a residential mortgage, not a business-purpose rental loan.
Buying a grandfathered STR? The city requires a new registration when a property changes hands. Before you pay a premium for a grandfathered house, ask the city's short-term rental office (shorttermrental@kcmo.org) in writing whether the exemption will carry over to you.
What it costs to operate in Kansas City, Mo.
- Registration: $200 a year, renewed annually. The city aims to call within 7 to 10 business days of an application to schedule the inspection, and the registration number must appear on every listing before the unit is listed.
- Guest taxes: a 7.5% Transient Boarding and Accommodation Tax on gross receipts plus an occupancy fee of $3.00 per room night, in effect since August 1, 2023 and filed quarterly on Form RD-306. On a $150 night, that's $11.25 plus $3.00, or $14.25 the guest pays and you remit.
- One unit per lot: a parcel with only one principal dwelling unit can have only one STR registration.
The 2023 rules have survived a court challenge. Hosts sued in federal court, and on July 7, 2025, Judge Greg Kays of the Western District of Missouri dismissed the case with prejudice. For the 2026 World Cup, the city offered a $50 "major event" registration valid May 3 to July 31, 2026. That window has closed, and the standard rules apply again.
St. Louis city: rules on paper, enforcement on hold
St. Louis passed a permit system for short-term rentals in 2023, Ordinance 71729. As reported by Avalara and St. Louis Magazine, it requires a permit for each unit, caps non-occupied permits at four per person, issues permits only to individuals rather than LLCs, requires conditional-use hearings in single-family zones, and sets a two-night minimum stay. Here's where it stands:
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Nov. 6, 2024 | Permit applications open; operators given until May 6, 2025 to get a permit |
| Nov. 2024 | Voters approve Proposition S, a 3% fee on short-term rentals |
| Apr. 22, 2025 | A court order bars the city from enforcing Ordinance 71729; the city pauses applications, inspections and permits, and says unpermitted rentals may keep operating |
| June 9, 2025 | A ruling lets the city enforce most of the ordinance except the $150 fee and the bar on business entities; the city still doesn't resume enforcement |
| Feb. 23, 2026 | Ordinance 72095 takes effect: every operator needs a short-term rental business license and pays a license fee of 3% of the rent, quarterly |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
So in St. Louis city today, the 3% fee and the business license are live, while the permit rules sit in limbo and could return. Guests also pay state sales and lodging taxes and the city's hotel-motel room tax. Avalara reports that Airbnb collects those for St. Louis listings and Vrbo doesn't, so on Vrbo you collect and remit them yourself. Avalara also reports fines of up to $500 under the fee law, with each day a separate violation.
The suburbs: city by city
| City | Rule |
|---|---|
| Kansas City, Kan. (Unified Government) | Special use permit required |
| Overland Park | No STR ban, but the standard rental license applies: $120 for two years, plus an inspection. Some homeowners associations ban STRs |
| Prairie Village | Stays under 30 days banned from Nov. 1, 2025; fines up to $500 a day |
| Leawood, Gladstone, Belton | Listed as prohibiting STRs |
| Lee's Summit | Business license |
| Independence | Permits reviewed by the planning commission |
| Webster Groves (St. Louis County) | The owner must live on the premises whenever a guest is registered |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Two things this table can't tell you: whether your homeowners association allows nightly rentals, and whether a rule has changed since these sources were published. Check both before you write an offer.
What this means for a DSCR loan
Lenders don't all count nightly income the same way. Kiavi, for example, sizes its DSCR loans on the lower of your lease and 110% of the appraiser's market rent, a long-term rent test. Easy Street Capital's EasyRent program says it covers short-term rentals. Whatever the program, the safest deal is one that qualifies on long-term rent and treats nightly income as upside.
Here's that test on a house in Kansas City, Mo. bought for $200,000 that would lease long-term for $1,500. An 80% loan of $160,000 at an example 7.5% over 30 years is $1,118.74 a month. Add $186.19 of tax (Jackson County's rough 1.12% effective rate from Census 2020–2024 medians) and $195.93 of insurance (NerdWallet's March 2026 Missouri sample rate for $200,000 of coverage, scaled to its Kansas City average). The payment is $1,500.86, and the DSCR on long-term rent is about 1.00. If that house sits in a residential zone without a grandfathered registration, nightly income isn't an option, and 1.00 is the whole story.
United Lending's DSCR rental loans are qualified on the property's rent, with loans from $75,000 and a choice of prepayment terms from none up to five years. If you plan to rent nightly, say so when you apply and include the zoning or registration status. They're business-purpose loans for investment property only. If you or a relative will be living in the house, a residential lender is the right call.
Before you buy for nightly rentals
- Look up the zoning on the city's parcel map. In Kansas City, Mo., a residential zone rules out a new investor STR.
- Ask whether the property is grandfathered or already registered, and whether that survives a sale. Get the answer in writing.
- Check the HOA covenants for rental-term minimums.
- Price the taxes and fees: registration, license, transient and room-night taxes, and any percentage-of-rent fee.
- Run the DSCR on long-term rent. If it fails there, the deal depends on rules you don't control.
- Get an insurance quote for short-term rental use, and tell the agent how you'll operate.
For the long-term numbers, see the Kansas City DSCR guide and the St. Louis DSCR guide.