ST. LOUIS — City officials gathered Monday to finalize new rules for short-term rentals they said will rein in bad actors hosting raucous parties that have turned violent in recent years.
Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said provisions in bills she signed Monday, including a ban on single-night stays and a new permitting system, will discourage fly-by-night revelers, hold owners accountable and allow public safety officials to quickly intervene when things go awry.
“These bills keep our neighborhoods safe,†she said.
Monday’s event, where Jones was flanked by Alderman Bret Narayan, the bills’ lead sponsor, and Alderman Michael Browning, of Forest Park Southeast, followed five years of debate at City Hall over how to deal with the issue. The rentals, advertised as homey alternatives to hotels, host thousands of travelers to the city every year and bring people to neighborhoods they might not otherwise see. But they have also generated some ugly headlines:
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A teenage boy was killed last year while letting people into a party at a rental in a downtown St. Louis condo. A man was shot in June. And last month, a teenage boy was killed at a party hosted at a rental near Gravois Park in south city.
Residents have also complained that the unchecked proliferation of rentals is turning residential areas into tourist traps.
Narayan’s bills will require operators to apply for annual permits, which include building inspections and generally limit people to renting out four units citywide.
ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ will also require rentals that rack up three code violations or nuisance instances within 24 months to be shut down. And thanks to a last-minute compromise among aldermen, people looking to rent out a room in areas zoned for single-family homes will have to go through a hearing process where neighbors could voice concerns and officials could impose more rules.
Still, some have been fighting for even stricter rules.
Michelle Pona, a Southwest Garden resident who organized against Narayan’s bills, said on Monday that the city should ban the rentals in residential areas except in cases where a homeowner is renting out room in a house in which they live.
She said she and her husband are living the alternative. There are six rental properties within 500 feet of their home that bring in scores of raucous partiers and clog up street parking, she said.
“They just keep putting Band-Aids on disasters,†she said. “If interest rates weren’t so high, we’d be gone.â€
The new regulatory scheme is expected to be up and running by the end of 2024.