Lawrence, KS Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

Section 6-1303 of the Lawrence City Code requires any owner renting or letting a dwelling unit long-term (30 days or longer) to first obtain a rental license from the department of planning and development services and to keep that license current; where a dwelling has multiple owners, one licensed owner satisfies the requirement for all. Section 6-1304 sets an annual rental license fee per dwelling unit, due at application or renewal, never prorated and never refunded even if the license is later denied, suspended, or revoked.

Applications under section 6-1305 must disclose the unit's address and approximate construction date, the owner's contact information, and, if the owner's address is more than 40 miles from the city, a mandatory local resident agent with actual authority to accept legal service on the owner's behalf. Licenses expire on a staggered schedule tied to the first letter of the registrant's name, from January 31 (A, B) through December 31 (X, Y, Z), and must be renewed annually with proof the unit passed its most recent required inspection.

Exemptions under section 6-1326 include owner-occupied units, bed and breakfasts, group homes, hotels/motels, university and Haskell Indian Nations University property, and religious assembly-use premises, though subsidized Section 8 units still must register even though they are exempt from the fee and routine inspection cycle.