Short answer: You can't rent out a whole house nightly in Kirkwood or Webster Groves. Both cities allow short-term rentals only when the owner lives in the home and is there while guests stay, with each guest capped at 14 days in a row. Furnished stays of 30 nights or more fall outside those rules, and YourSTRManagement can set up and run that kind of rental for you.
Kirkwood's rules
Kirkwood's zoning code defines a short-term rental as a stay of less than 30 consecutive days, and it names Airbnb and VRBO homes in that definition (Article XIV). The use standards in Section 25-36(k) then set these limits:
- Short-term rentals are allowed only in owner-occupied, detached single-family homes.
- The owner has to live there as a permanent residence and be on site while a guest is present.
- In the R-1 and R-2 districts, up to four bedrooms and eight guests. In R-3, R-4 and R-5, up to two bedrooms and four guests.
- No guest can stay more than 14 days in a row or more than 30 days a year.
- Only one short-term rental per block, counting both sides of the street.
- Before you advertise, you need zoning approval, a 12-month occupancy permit, a city business license and a local contact who can respond to complaints within 45 minutes, any hour.
- One on-site parking space per rented room, and no rooms rented to unaccompanied minors.
Short-term rentals are listed as a special use in the city's use table, so expect a review before approval.
Webster Groves' rules
Webster Groves allows two types of short-term rental under Section 53.044 of its zoning code, and both require the owner to live in the home and be there whenever a guest is registered.
- Type one (bed and breakfast): needs a conditional use permit. The owner keeps at least half the home for their own use, with up to eight guests.
- Type two: up to two rooms and four guests, with a business license.
- Guests can stay no more than 14 days in a row and 30 days a year.
- One off-street parking space per guest room plus one for the owner, and an annual occupancy inspection.
- The city mails your contact details to properties within 300 feet, at your cost.
The city's license application repeats these rules. Questions go to Customer Service at 314-963-5300.
What works instead: furnished stays of 30+ nights
If you want to rent the whole house while you live somewhere else, a furnished rental with stays of 30 nights or more is the practical path in both cities. We set a 30-night minimum on every listing.
Each new occupant still triggers a city inspection:
- Kirkwood: the city says all changes in occupancy need a permit and an inspection, and that applies to landlords. Inspections are booked through the city portal or at 314-822-5823.
- Webster Groves: when a rental changes occupant, you need an inspection, a Certificate of Compliance and an occupancy permit. The city lists the inspection at $75 and the permit at $30.
Longer stays mean fewer turnovers, so you go through that inspection a few times a year instead of every week.
Lodging tax
St. Louis County charges a 3.75% Convention and Tourism Tax and a 3.5% Convention and Sports Tax on room sales at lodging inside the county, filed each quarter (county hotel tax page). The county lists guests who stay more than 31 days in a calendar quarter as a possible exemption. Check with each city about any local tax.
Who books here
Webster University's main campus is on East Lockwood Avenue in Webster Groves (Webster University). Visiting faculty, graduate students and families moving to the area often want a furnished place for a term. Kirkwood has an Amtrak stop on the Missouri River Runner, the line between St. Louis and Kansas City (Amtrak). Families visiting relatives, people between homes and workers on temporary assignment round out the demand for monthly stays.
How we help
We check your address against the city rules first. Then we furnish and photograph the home, list it with a 30-night minimum, screen guests, sign stay agreements, schedule the occupancy inspections, and handle cleaning and repairs. You get a monthly statement. Our standard fee is 15% of booking revenue.
We've hosted 8,000+ stays over 5 years with a 4.8 star average rating, and we carry $1M in liability coverage and $100K in damage coverage. See our St. Louis page for the rest of the metro, our services for what's included, or contact us and we'll reply within one day.