Missouri Bans Local Rent Control (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.043)

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.043(1) provides that "no county or city... may enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance or resolution which regulates the amount of rent to be charged for privately-owned, single-family, or multiple-unit residential or commercial rental property." This statewide preemption bars Missouri municipalities, including charter cities such as St. Louis and Kansas City, from adopting general rent control. Narrow exceptions in § 441.043 permit a city or county to regulate rent on property it owns, to enter voluntary agreements covering subsidized rental property, and to restrict rent on property assisted with community development block grant funds. Outside those carve-outs there is no percentage cap on rent increases; the amount and timing of increases are governed by the lease and the notice required to terminate or modify a periodic tenancy.

There is no statutory penalty for a rent increase, because Missouri sets no rent ceiling and bars local rent caps. A local ordinance attempting to impose rent control would be preempted and unenforceable under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.043.