Kansas City, MO short-term rental registration

What Kansas City asks of you

• Ordinance No. 250965, passed November 13, 2025, rewrote Chapter 56, Article VIII of the city code on short-term rental registration.^[4]

• Any dwelling unit offered to paying guests for stays under 30 consecutive days counts as a short-term rental under the code.^[4]

• A resident registrant keeps a primary residence on the parcel, occupied at least 270 days per calendar year, for the next 12 months.^[4]

• Proof of residence takes two documents, from a list that includes a vehicle registration, a tax return and a utility bill.^[4]

• A non-resident registrant needs a city business license. That person must also inspect the unit inside and out at least once a month.^[4]

• Non-resident short-term rentals are prohibited in residentially zoned areas. They can operate only in commercially zoned areas.^[5]

• In a building with one or two units, a non-resident rental cannot register within 1,000 feet of another registered one.^[4]

• In a building with three or more units, registration stops once 12.5% of the units are registered short-term rentals.^[4]

• A non-resident rental on property receiving city incentives, such as a tax abatement, cannot register while the incentive lasts.^[4]

• Rentals approved as Type 2 under the earlier Chapter 88 rules keep their exemption from these limits. The exemption ends if the approval lapses or is revoked.^[4]

• A parcel with one principal dwelling unit may hold only one short-term rental, in the main house or in an accessory dwelling unit.^[4]

• A unit may host two guests per rented bedroom plus one more, up to eight guests in all.^[4]

• The unit needs smoke and carbon monoxide detectors plus a working fire extinguisher. A battery-powered flashlight or other emergency light is also required.^[4]

• Hosts may not prepare food for guests. The unit cannot be rented as reception, party or meeting space.^[4]

• The code also lets the director designate a major event of up to 90 days, with a $50 registration for that period.^[4]

• Booking platforms keep five years of transaction records, the registration number and the price paid included, for the city on request.^[4]

• Violations that impair public health or safety bring a one-year deregistration. A present and pervasive threat brings three years.^[4]

• A conviction carries a fine of $200 to $1,000, or up to 180 days in jail. Each day of an unlawful act is a separate violation.^[4]

What Missouri asks wherever you host

These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.

• The Department of Revenue's vacation rental guidance makes nightly stays in homes, condos and cabins taxable. Cleaning and service fees are taxed with the stay. Stays contracted for 31 days or more are exempt.^[1]

• Missouri's state sales tax is 4.225%. Cities, counties and special districts can stack local sales taxes on top. The combined rate follows the address.^[2]

• Sellers who collect sales tax need a Missouri retail sales license before their first sale. Under RSMo 144.083 the license costs nothing.^[3]