St. Louis does not regulate cash-for-keys negotiations between landlords and tenants, so payment-to-vacate agreements are private contracts governed by general Missouri contract law and ordinary court enforcement.
Unlike Los Angeles, where the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance imposes specific written-disclosure and rescission rules on cash-for-keys offers, St. Louis treats these arrangements as private contracts. A landlord may offer money for a tenant to surrender possession before a court eviction, and the tenant may accept, reject, or counter-offer. Best practice is a written, signed agreement that specifies the payment amount, move-out date, condition of the unit, and a mutual release of claims. Missouri §441.043 blocks local rent-control rules but does not block these voluntary buyouts, which remain enforceable as ordinary contracts in associate-circuit court.
There is no city violation for offering or accepting cash-for-keys, but coercive offers tied to threats, lockouts, or utility shutoffs can convert the deal into actionable harassment and fraud.
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See how St. Louis's cash-for-keys agreements rules stack up against other locations.
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