Negative linear compressibility (NLC), the increase in a unit cell length with pressure, is a rare phenomenon in which hydrostatic compression of a structure promotes expansion along one dimension. It is usually a consequence of crystal structure topology. We show that the source of NLC in the Co(ii) citrate metal-organic framework UTSA-16 lies not in framework topology, but in the relative torsional flexibility of Co(ii)-centred tetrahedra compared to more rigid octahedra.