Nearly a year ago, the city of St. Louis became the last big city in the country to enact regulations on short-term rentals. The bill passed by the Board of Aldermen was a hard-fought compromise that sought to balance the interest of real estate investors with neighbors who considered Airbnb and VRBO a blight.
But just before the new rules were set to go into law this past May, Judge Joseph Whyte blocked them. That was supposed to be temporary, a chance to allow the judge to weigh the merits of a legal challenge filed by the owner of a short-term rental unit.
Five months later, however, the regulations remain on hold—but not for the reasons many people seem to think. The judge actually ruled in June that the city could begin enforcing almost all the regulations passed by the Board of Aldermen. It just needed to not charge the $150 annual fee on each short-term rental that triggered the lawsuit, and not block business entities from being permitted by the city. The problem is that city leaders either didn’t notice, or didn’t act upon, the ruling…