6 rules for unincorporated Shawnee County, Kansas.
Verified from official government sources
Topeka regulates short-term rentals under zoning Title 18, sorting them into three types and requiring a two-year special use permit. Unincorporated Shawnee County has no STR-specific ordinance; those rentals fall under county zoning administered by Land Use & Development.
Short-term rental guests in Shawnee County follow the same noise rules as residents: Topeka's code (TMC 9.45.170) and K.S.A. 21-6203. In Topeka, repeated nuisance complaints can also jeopardize the property's special use permit.
Topeka Municipal Code § 9.45.170
It shall be unlawful for any person to make, continue or allow to be made or continued any excessive, unnecessary, unusual or loud noise which injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, or safety of any person of reasonable sensibilities, or which interferes with the use or enjoyment of property of any person of reasonable sensibilities.
Short-term stays owe Kansas's 6.5% state sales tax plus Shawnee County and Topeka local sales taxes, and Topeka levies a 7% transient guest tax on top. Combined lodging tax in Topeka runs to roughly 16%.
Topeka Municipal Code § A15-17
a transient guest tax of seven percent shall be levied in the City of Topeka, Kansas, upon the gross rental receipts derived from or paid directly or through an accommodations broker by transient guests for lodging or sleeping accommodations in any hotel, motel, or tourist court
Topeka's short-term rental code sets a specific parking formula: one off-street space for the primary resident plus one space for every two guests. Unincorporated Shawnee County has no STR parking rule beyond general county zoning.
Topeka caps short-term rentals by bedroom count rather than a flat headcount, sorting them into Type I and II (up to five guest bedrooms) and Type III (six or more). Listings must match the permitted type.
Neither Kansas nor Topeka's short-term rental code sets a mandatory liability-insurance minimum, but standard homeowner policies often exclude rental activity. Hosts are strongly encouraged to carry commercial or short-term rental coverage.
See every category we cover for Shawnee County — parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.
Shawnee County Ordinance Hub →