Lawrence, KS Airbnb & Short-Term Rental Regulations 2026

Regulation Overview

College town (University of Kansas) with steady game-day and event demand; the city caps how many licenses any one owner can hold and bans non-owner-occupied STRs in most single-family zoning, though it temporarily loosened rules for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Non-owner-occupied short-term rentals are prohibited outright in RS (single-dwelling residential) and PD (planned development) zoning districts — the city's most common residential zoning — and any one owner/licensee is capped at three active licenses citywide.

Kansas State Law

State preemption: None identified — Kansas has no statewide short-term rental preemption law; regulation is fully local and decentralized, city by city and county by county.

Statewide rules: No statewide STR license. State collects 6.5% sales tax on STR bookings; localities may add a Transient Guest Tax (statutory cap generally 2%, though some charter cities can set higher rates by charter ordinance).

Taxes: 6.5% state sales tax + local Transient Guest Tax (varies; some charter cities exceed the 2% statutory default).

2025–2026 legislation: No statewide STR preemption bill identified as passed. Some cities (e.g., Lawrence) adopted temporary local STR rule changes to expand lodging supply during the 2026 FIFA World Cup window.

Lawrence Rules

Governing jurisdiction: City of Lawrence.

• Lawrence requires an annual Short-Term Rental License, applied for online through the city's Enterprise Permitting & Licensing (EPL) portal, at a low $17/year fee.
• Despite the cheap fee, zoning is the real constraint: non-owner-occupied STRs are prohibited in RS (single-dwelling residential) and PD (planned development) districts, which cover much of the city's housing stock.
• An exception allows a non-owner-occupied STR in RS/PD zones if it's an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or one half of a duplex on an otherwise owner-occupied lot.
• Any single owner or licensee is limited to three active short-term rental licenses citywide, capping how much an investor can scale within Lawrence.
• Occupancy limits are set by zoning district under Lawrence City Code Chapter 20 §20-601(d), rather than a single citywide number.
• For the 2026 FIFA World Cup period, the City Commission passed temporary amendments specifically to expand the city's STR lodging supply, since Lawrence's Rock Chalk Park was floated as a potential team training/recovery site — a sign of how event-driven demand can move Kansas STR policy.

Not confirmed

We could not verify the following against a primary source. Confirm each with the jurisdiction before you rely on it:

• Exact per-district occupancy numbers under §20-601(d)
• Minimum stay length
• Whether the license is transferable on sale
• Whether the 2026 World Cup temporary rule changes are still active at any given time

Buyer Due Diligence Checklist

Before you write an offer on a short-term rental here:

• Get a written determination from the governing jurisdiction for the specific parcel. Verbal guidance from anyone else is not diligence.
• Establish which jurisdiction governs — city, town, village and unincorporated county can differ sharply within a few miles.
• Ask whether an existing permit transfers on sale. In many markets it does not, and a listing marketed as a running short-term rental may convey nothing of the sort.
• Read the HOA or condo covenants during your inspection period. Private covenants bind even where the jurisdiction permits the use.
• Model revenue against the legal occupancy cap, not the bedroom count.

Frequently Asked Questions