St. Louis Could Fine Developers For Multi-Family Conversions

St. Louis aldermen are drafting legislation aimed at maintaining affordable housing in the city, according to an article by Corinne Ruff. As more developers flip multi-family units into single-family homes, some aldermen want to institute a fee that could discourage the loss of units––or, at the very least, create a new revenue stream that could fund affordable housing and help residents displaced by new development and rising rents stay in their homes or find new housing.

According to Ruff, research conducted by Cecilia Boyers using city assessor and Census data shows that the city lost close to 400 units in multi-family buildings in the past five years, and that these conversions tracked closely with displacement of Black and low-income households. The conversions are concentrated in just a few areas of St. Louis, but represent a significant factor in rising rent costs.

The proposed bill is inspired by a Chicago rule that imposes a fee for reducing the number of units in a building. While the fee(proposed at $5,000 per lost unit) may not deter developers, Ruff quotes Alderwoman Megan Green as saying that the program could "funnel that money into a program, potentially the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, that would create more affordable housing for longtime residents in neighborhoods experiencing the most conversions."