KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After August 8, if you run short-term rentals in Kansas City without registration, you will be fined.
With more events coming to Kansas City, that means more people and a need for more places to stay.
“The short-term rental industry has emerged, and homeowners see it as an opportunity to bring in some additional income and revenue,” said Jeffrey Williams, director of City Planning, Development.
You could book a hotel, but recently services like Airbnb have grown in popularity.
“I think a lot of people are looking for a great experience embedded in a neighborhood with easy access to all the great things this city has to offer,” said Elizabeth Bejan.
Bejan lives near the Country Club Plaza and just started being an Airbnb host. She said many of her friends are hosts as well.
“It made a lot of money, and they have been able to do some upgrades to their home,” Bejan said.
Kansas City recently passed an ordinance to regulate short-term rentals. It costs about $100 to register; so far only 25 people have done that. The city believes there are 800 short-term rental locations in town.
If you don’t register by August 8, you could be fined $200 for the first violation.
“We are going to take complaints in, but we will also be proactive with enforcement, so people have to, if they want to have this operation in Kansas City, they need to register by August 8,” said Williams.
Bejan said she will pay the registration but is not sure it’s needed.
“The jury is out on that, yes, that is a wait and see, but I am coming into this late in the game, so I have to pony up the fee and I know I will get that back quickly,” said Bejan.
Click here to learn more about Kansas City's short-term rental application process.
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