Overland Park, KS Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)
Rent control rules in Overland Park, KS, also known as rent stabilization or rent cap ordinances, limit annual rent increases and protect tenants from displacement.
Key Facts
- Governing statute
- K.S.A. 12-16,120
- Last amended
- L. 2016, ch. 104, § 4, eff. July 1, 2016
- Scope
- Every political subdivision statewide
- Local ordinance
- None; Overland Park has no rent-control code
- Exception
- City-owned property management, subsection (b)
- Exception
- Voluntary grant/incentive deals, subsection (c)
- Permit leverage barred
- No rent condition on permits/zoning, subsection (d)
Summary
Kansas law flatly bars Overland Park, and every city, county or township in the state, from enacting rent control. K.S.A. 12-16,120(a) prohibits any local ordinance or resolution that controls the rent charged, or the purchase price agreed upon, for privately owned residential or commercial property, so landlords here set rents with no local ceiling.
(a) 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. (b) This section shall not impair the right of any political subdivision to manage and control commercial or residential property in which such political subdivision has an ownership interest. ... (d) No political subdivision shall require any owner of privately owned property to agree to any requirements 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 property, as a condition for consideration or approval of: (1) Any building permit or plat; or (2) any request for a zoning regulation, boundary, classification or a conditional use permit, or for a change or variance in a zoning regulation, boundary, classification or a conditional use permit.
Full Breakdown
A. 12-16,120 is a blanket state preemption, not a local Overland Park ordinance, and the Municipal Code contains no rent-control chapter because the city has no legal authority to write one. Subsection (a) prohibits any political subdivision, including a county, municipality or township, from enacting, maintaining or enforcing an ordinance or resolution that controls the rent charged or the purchase price agreed upon between the parties to a lease or purchase of privately owned residential or commercial property. Three carve-outs qualify that bar. Subsection (b) leaves untouched a political subdivision's right to manage and control rent on commercial or residential property it actually owns, so city-owned housing programs are unaffected.
Subsection (c) allows an owner to voluntarily agree with a political subdivision to rent or price restrictions in exchange for grants or incentives the subdivision provides, meaning a developer can trade rent caps for a tax abatement or similar deal without the statute being violated. Subsection (d) closes a workaround: no political subdivision may require an owner to accept rent or price controls as a condition of approving a building permit, plat, zoning regulation, boundary or classification change, or a conditional use permit or variance.
The statute traces to L. 2001, ch. 134, § 2, and was last amended by L. 2016, ch. 104, § 4, effective July 1, 2016. Because the prohibition runs statewide, Johnson County and neighboring Olathe, Lenexa and Shawnee are equally barred; this is a state-law fact, not an Overland Park policy choice.
Violations & Fines
K.S.A. 12-16,120 carries no fine or penalty schedule because it is not a conduct rule for landlords or tenants; it restrains the city itself from acting. Overland Park cannot adopt, maintain or enforce a rent-control measure in the first place, so there is no local violation process, no citation and no enforcing department for tenants or landlords to contact over rent levels. The only exposure runs the other way: if the city ever tried to condition a permit, plat or rezoning on a rent or price concession outside the voluntary-incentive carve-out in subsection (c), that condition would exceed the city's authority under subsection (d) and would not be enforceable against the property owner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Overland Park have a rent control ordinance?
Can the city cap how much my landlord raises rent each year?
Are there any exceptions to the Kansas rent control ban?
Can Overland Park require affordable rents as a condition of a rezoning or building permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Overland Park
Compare Overland Park to another location·View the Kansas rental property rules overview
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