Kirkland, WA Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)
Key Facts
- Continuous owner presence
- Unlimited rental days (7.02.300(1))
- Owner absent path
- Manager required within 15 miles
- Manager availability
- Continuously available to guests and city
- No absentee rentals
- Presence or manager always required
- Governing section
- KMC 7.02.300(1)-(2)
Summary
Kirkland ties short-term rental legality to someone being on hand: an owner living there continuously gets unlimited rental days, while an owner who is away part of the time must line up a property manager within fifteen miles who stays reachable to guests and the city.
(1) Short-term rentals are freely permitted as they relate to frequency and total number of days per year when an owner or authorized agent of an owner continuously occupies a portion of a short-term rental as his or her primary residence. (2) Short-term rentals not exceeding a total of one hundred twenty days per year are permitted when ... (B) a property manager identified to both the city and all short-term renters is continuously available and located within fifteen miles of the short-term rental whenever the owner or an authorized agent of the owner is not occupying all or a portion of the short-term rental as his or her primary residence.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 4945, passed July 21, 2026).
Full Breakdown
300 builds Kirkland's whole short-term rental system around presence. Under subsection (1), short-term rentals are freely permitted with no limit on frequency or total days per year whenever an owner or the owner's authorized agent continuously occupies a portion of the unit as a primary residence, meaning the host is effectively on site throughout. Subsection (2) covers the alternative for owners who are not always there: rentals are still allowed, capped at one hundred twenty days a year, but only if a property manager identified to both the city and every short-term renter is continuously available and located within fifteen miles of the property whenever the owner or agent is not occupying it.
In other words, Kirkland never allows a fully absentee, unmanaged short-term rental; there must always be either the owner physically living there or a nearby manager on call. 02, and the director of finance and administration may add further conditions under subsection (7) as necessary to protect public health, safety and welfare in issuing short-term rental licenses.
Violations & Fines
Operating a short-term rental without a continuously present owner or a qualifying, reachable property manager falls outside both permitted paths in KMC 7.02.300(1)-(2) and exposes the business license to suspension or revocation under 7.02.260. Continuing to operate after revocation is a misdemeanor and civil violation under Chapter 1.12, charged separately for each day of operation (KMC 7.02.050).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to be home while my Kirkland short-term rental is occupied?
Can a property manager stand in for the owner at a Kirkland short-term rental?
What happens if a Kirkland short-term rental has no one available, owner or manager?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kirkland
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Host Presence Rule in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle host presence rule.