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SB112 • 2026

AN ACT relating to short-term rentals.

AN ACT relating to short-term rentals.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
C. Richardson
Last action
2026-01-21
Official status
01/21/26: to Committee on Committees (S)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

AN ACT relating to short-term rentals.

AN ACT relating to short-term rentals.

What This Bill Does

  • AN ACT relating to short-term rentals.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-21 Kentucky Legislative Research Commission

    introduced in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)

Official Summary Text

AN ACT relating to short-term rentals.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1389
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AN ACT relating to short-term rentals. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 100 IS CREATED TO 3
READ AS FOLLOWS: 4
(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: 5
(a) "Local government" means a city, county, urban -county government, 6
charter county government, unifie d local government, consolidated local 7
government, or planning unit that is engaged in planning and zoning under 8
this chapter; 9
(b) "Owner" means a person that has an interest in title or a present possessory 10
interest in property that is offered to the publ ic as a short -term rental, and 11
includes a tenant that has received permission from his or her landlord to 12
offer the rented property as a short-term rental; and 13
(c) "Short-term rental" means the rental of a dwelling unit or part of a 14
dwelling unit, other living or sleeping space, an accessory dwelling unit, or 15
any other space made available for rent for terms of less than thirty (30) 16
consecutive days at a time. 17
(2) A local government shall not adopt or enforce any ordinance or regulation that: 18
(a) Requires a conditional use permit or other similar permit to be obtained to 19
use a property as a short-term rental; 20
(b) Imposes density -based restrictions on short -term rental s, including any 21
requirement that short-term rentals: 22
1. Be spaced any distance apart from other short-term rentals; or 23
2. May not exceed a specified percentage or number of housing units in 24
a given building, zoning district, or other geographical boundary; 25
(c) Prohibits the operation of a short-term rental in a residential zone; 26
(d) Regulates the time, including the duration, frequency, or time of year, that a 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1389
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property is used as a short-term rental; 1
(e) Limits the number of properties used as short -term rentals by any person or 2
entity; 3
(f) Imposes a residency requirement of any kind to operate a short -term rental, 4
including a requirement that: 5
1. A person be present when a property is used as a short-term rental; 6
2. The property serves as a primary residen ce of the short -term rental 7
operator; or 8
3. The operator of the short -term rental be present or reside in the 9
primary residence on the property if an accessory dwelling unit is used 10
as a short-term rental; 11
(g) Restricts or imposes requirements on any short -term rental platform or the 12
use of a short-term rental platform for the listing of short-term rentals; or 13
(h) Prohibits or restricts a tenant from offering a leased property as a short -14
term rental, so long as the tenant has received permission to do so fr om his 15
or her landlord. 16
(3) (a) Subject to the preemptions set out in subsection (2) of this section, a local 17
government may require an owner to obtain a permit for each property used 18
as a short -term rental by adopting an ordinance containing the 19
requirements set out in this subsection. 20
(b) A local government that requires permits shall require only one (1) permit 21
for each single family home, two (2) family or multifamily dwelling, 22
condominium, cooperative, or timeshare that an owner uses as a short -term 23
rental. A permit shall cover all dwelling units and detached accessory 24
structures located on the permitted property. 25
(c) An owner shall submit a permit application for each property for which a 26
permit is sought. The permit application shall require the owner to provide 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1389
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only the following information for each property: 1
1. a. If the owner is an individual, the owner's name, mailing address, 2
email address, and telephone number; 3
b. If the owner is a corporation or partnership: 4
i. The owner's state of incorporation or organization; and 5
ii. Names, business addresses, and telephone numbers of the 6
owner's principal officers or partners; and 7
c. If a property manager is used, in addition to the information in 8
subdivisions a. and b. of this subparagraph, the property 9
manager's name, mailing address, email address, and telephone 10
number; and 11
2. A short description of how each of the owner's short -term rentals on 12
the property are marketed or advertised, including the following: 13
a. The advertised occupancy limits of each short-term rental; and 14
b. Whether the short-term rental is a: 15
i. Single family home; 16
ii. Dwelling unit in a single family home; 17
iii. Dwelling unit in a two (2) family or multifamily dwelling; 18
or 19
iv. Dwelling unit in a condominium, cooperative, or 20
timeshare. 21
(d) A permit application shall be made by an owner. If the owner is a 22
corporation, partnership, or other legal entity, the permit application shall 23
be made by an officer or agent of the owner. 24
(e) If an owner submi ts a permit application under this subsection that meets 25
the requirements set forth in the ordinance adopted by the local 26
government, the unit shall issue a permit to the owner within thirty (30) 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1389
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days of receipt of the application. 1
(f) If any information p rovided by an owner to a local government in the 2
permit application changes, the owner shall provide the updated 3
information to the local government in writing within thirty (30) business 4
days of the change. 5
(g) Permits issued under this subsection shall b e valid for one (1) year from the 6
date of issuance. 7
(h) A local government unit may charge a permit fee, not to exceed one 8
hundred fifty dollars ($150), for: 9
1. An initial permit issued to an owner for the permitted property; and 10
2. A subsequent permit to an owner for the permitted property after the 11
owner's previous permit was revoked pursuant to paragraph (j) of this 12
subsection. 13
(i) A local government shall not charge a permit fee for the renewal of a 14
permit, including the renewal of a permit that has expired. 15
(j) If three (3) or more citations for ordinance violations are issued to an owner 16
for a permitted property within a calendar year, the local government may 17
revoke the permit for that permitted property for a period of not more than 18
one (1) year after the date the permit is revoked. The local government shall 19
provide notice and a hearing for revocation in accordance with the 20
procedures for revocation of other permits issued by the local government. 21
(k) An application for a permit shall not be approved following a revocation 22
until any outstanding fines are paid for the ordinance violation citations 23
issued to the owner. 24
(l) If an owner sells all or part of a permitted property, the permit shall not be 25
transferred to the new owner. The new owner may apply for a new permit 26
pursuant to this subsection. 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1389
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(4) This section shall not be construed to prohibit a local government from adopting 1
or enforcing ordinances or regulations that are applicable to all dwellings and 2
are necessary for public health or safety, p rovided that those ordinances or 3
regulations do not treat short -term rentals differently from other residential uses 4
of property. 5
(5) This section shall supersede and render void and unenforceable any local 6
ordinance or regulation to the contrary. The perm itting system set out in 7
subsection (3) of this section shall be the exclusive means by which a local 8
government may issue permits in relation to the use of property as a short -term 9
rental. If a local government is found by a court to have violated any pro vision of 10
this section, the court may award attorney's fees and costs to a party aggrieved by 11
the action of the local government. 12
(6) This section shall not be construed to affect, prohibit, preempt, or render 13
unenforceable any property or use restrictions contained in the properly enacted 14
rules or regulations of a homeowners association, condominium association, or 15
other similar property owner association or cooperative. 16