Two Boundaries, Not One
Owners arriving from elsewhere assume a single county authority. There are two questions here rather than one.
First, this is St. Louis County, which is a wholly separate government from the City of St. Louis. Nothing about city procedures, city records or city departments applies. Second, within the county, the great many individual municipalities largely run their own building departments and ordinances, with unincorporated territory administered by the county itself. The full position is on our page covering historic credits, brick and condemnation.
How Do I Find out Which Municipality I Am In?
Which Means Contractors Vary in Usefulness
Housing here spans the 1920s through the 1970s across many separate municipalities. Missouri's rehabilitation credit is 25 percent of qualified expenditures within St. Louis and Kansas City and 35 percent outside them, subject to conditions, and the federal adds 20 percent on income-producing property. Credits carry back 3 years and forward 10.
In a metro with one department, any competent contractor knows the process. Here a builder who works constantly in one municipality may have never filed in the next one, and the fee schedules, review times and inspection requirements differ.
That is worth asking about directly rather than assuming. A contractor who has worked in your specific municipality recently is materially more useful than one with more general experience, and it is a fair question to put to anyone quoting.
Does the Municipality Affect What I Can Rebuild?
We publish no municipal requirements, fees or timelines for the north county municipalities. There are too many and they differ substantially. The municipality your parcel sits in will quote its own, and that is the only reliable source.
The Historic Question Still Applies
Missouri's rehabilitation credits are a state programme and they do not stop at the city line. A certified historic structure in a county municipality qualifies on the same basis as one in the city, though the 25 percent rate applies within St. Louis and Kansas City while properties elsewhere in the state may fall under different treatment.
That is worth confirming for your specific address rather than assuming either way, because the rate difference is meaningful and the boundary that matters is the city limit rather than the county line.
Mixed Construction Changes the Shell Question
Unlike the city, north county housing includes substantial frame construction alongside brick. That matters because the masonry logic that dominates city files does not apply uniformly here.
On a brick building the shell may survive and carry most of the value. On frame construction there is no shell, and once fire reaches the framing the answer moves toward a rebuild. Establishing which you have is the first structural question rather than an afterthought.
North County in Context
Where a single city authority applies and the stock is uniformly brick, see our page about the city's north side neighbourhoods. Where the county's newer suburban stock predominates, see our page for the southern county suburbs.
North County Questions
My Address Says St. Louis. Am I in the City?
Almost certainly not if you are in north county. The city and the county are separate governments and a postal address does not distinguish them. The assessor's record does.
Do the Historic Credits Apply out Here?
The state programme is not confined to the city, though the rate that applies depends on the location. Worth confirming for your parcel with the State Historic Preservation Office.
Will You Buy in Any North County Municipality?
Yes. The municipal differences affect the process and therefore the figure, and none of them stops us buying.