2026-09-10 · Kansas · Legislation

For ten weeks this summer, no Kansas city could cap short-term rentals. That period ended on July 25, 2026, and the ordinary rules are back. House Bill 2481, passed in the 2026 session ahead of the FIFA World Cup matches at Arrowhead, was a deliberately temporary preemption — and for community associations its most important feature was what it left out.¹

What the statute did, and for exactly how long

New Section 1(a) provided that “no municipality shall adopt, administer or enforce any ordinance, resolution, regulation or other code or law that limits the number of issuances of permits or other municipal authorizations required by such municipality for the operation of short-term rentals or vacation units or properties during the period commencing on May 15, 2026, and continuing through July 25, 2026, or that limits the duration of any short-term rentals or vacation units or properties during such period.”²

It also imposed a decision deadline with teeth. During the window, “all completed applications to a municipality required for authorization to operate a short-term rental or vacation unit or property shall be processed by the municipality and a response issued to the applicant within 15 calendar days.” If the municipality failed to respond in time, “the application shall be deemed approved and no additional regulation or code requirement by the municipality as a condition of approval of the application shall be permitted.”

“Municipality” was defined as “any city, county or unified government or agency, department or other division of a city, county or unified government.” The act also expanded the transient guest tax definition for the same period and authorized extended alcohol sales, and it amended K.S.A. 12-1692.

The word that never appears

Nowhere in HB 2481 do the words covenant, declaration, homeowners association or common interest community appear. The act reached municipal permitting only. A Kansas declaration that required a minimum lease term, or barred transient occupancy outright, was as enforceable on June 15, 2026 as it was on May 1.

1. HB 2481 bill history, Kansas State Legislature ↩
2. House Bill No. 2481, enrolled text, 2026 Kansas Legislature ↩
3. K.S.A. 58-4621, Enforcement of rights — Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes ↩
4. K.S.A. 58-4608, Association powers and duties — Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes ↩