While it has been common practice for many Homeowners Associations to prevent their members from raising chickens, the Missouri General Assembly has now given HOA members the freedom to choose. Based on a new law signed last month by Governor Mike Parson, HOA members will be able to have their chickens and eat them too, starting on August 28 — as long as the homeowner in question is sitting on at least one fifth of an acre. They may have up to six chickens, if they wish. 

Opponents of the law say that the new provision infringes on the rights of individual communities. Elia Ellis, an attorney and the chair for the CAI Missouri Legislative Action Committee, stated: “And those communities that don't want to have those should be allowed to not have chickens.” Lawmakers anticipated the pushback, including language that provides for each community to “adopt reasonable rules, subject to applicable statutes or …