2026-09-10 · Kentucky · Legislation · Did not pass

What happened. Kentucky's 2026 Regular Session produced the most serious land-use preemption push in the Commonwealth's recent history. Four separate bills would have stripped local governments of powers over short-term rentals, lot sizes, parking, occupancy and by-right approvals. All four died.

And every one of them contained a clause saying it did not touch private community-association restrictions. In three of the four the wording is word for word identical.

The sentence

From Senate Bill 112 (short-term rental preemption, Sen. C. Richardson), House Bill 617 (small-lot and qualifying-residential-development preemption, Rep. S. Witten and others), and Section 18(8) of the House Committee Substitute to Senate Bill 9, the housing omnibus:

“This section shall not be construed to affect, prohibit, preempt, or render unenforceable any property or use restrictions contained in the properly enacted rules or regulations of a homeowners association, condominium association, or other similar property owner association or cooperative.”

House Bill 530 (by-right permit approvals, Reps. R. White, K. Banta, T. Roberts, W. Williams and S. Witten) reached the same result in its own words, providing that the section does not prevent monitoring by the planning unit or “affect restrictions in rules or regulations of a homeowners association, condominium association, or other property owners association.”

What each bill would have done, and how each died

• SB 112 — barred local governments from requiring conditional use permits for short-term rentals, imposing density or spacing rules, banning them from residential zones, limiting how many a person may operate, or imposing residency requirements. Introduced 21 January 2026; never left Committee on Committees.
• HB 617 — created “qualifying residential development” and “small lot” categories, restricted what a planning unit could require of them, barred certain parking minimums, and gave developers a cause of action with attorney's fees. Would have taken effect 1 July 2027. Introduced 11 February 2026; taken from committee for a first reading on 13 March and returned; no further action.
• HB 530 — by-right approval for conforming housing projects. Died in House Local Government, last action 13 March 2026.
• SB 9 — the omnibus. Passed the Senate 35-2 and the House 71-21, then died in conference on 15 April 2026 on a report marked “Cannot agree.”

None is law. Nothing in Kentucky's zoning statutes changed as a result of any of them.

1. SB 112 (2026) — full text, including the association savings clause at subsection (6) ↩
2. HB 617 (2026) — full text, including the identical savings clause ↩
3. SB 9 House Committee Substitute 1 — Section 18(8) carries the same sentence ↩
4. HB 530 (2026) — bill record and summary, with its own association carve-out ↩
5. HB 276 (2026) — backyard hens; passed the House 72-22 and died in the Senate ↩
6. 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 32 (HB 27) — the contrasting statute that voids contrary provisions of existing governing documents ↩