3 rules for unincorporated Shawnee County, Kansas.
Verified from official government sources
Rent control is illegal anywhere in Shawnee County. Kansas statute K.S.A. 12-16,120 bars every county, city, and township from any ordinance that controls the rent charged for privately owned property. Landlords set and raise rent at market.
K.S.A. 12-16,120
No political subdivision of this state, including, but not limited to, a county, municipality or township, shall enact, maintain or enforce any ordinance or resolution that would have the effect of controlling the amount of rent charged or the purchase price agreed upon between the parties to the transaction for the lease or purchase of privately owned residential or commercial property.
Kansas has no just-cause eviction law, and Shawnee County cannot add one. A landlord ends a month-to-month tenancy with 30 days' written notice under K.S.A. 58-2570, then files an eviction suit; only a judge can order a tenant removed.
Shawnee County does not license or register rental homes, and Kansas has no statewide landlord license. Topeka enforces a property-maintenance code and debated a landlord registry in 2025, but no citywide rental license is currently in force.
K.S.A. 58-2550
A landlord may not demand or receive a security deposit for an unfurnished dwelling unit in an amount or value in excess of one month's periodic rent.
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