Independence, MO Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

Section 14-424-03 of the Unified Development Ordinance requires every short-term rental to 'secure an occupation license in accordance with Article 1, Chapter 5 of the City Code of Independence, Missouri,' and that 'occupation license number shall be listed on all advertisements and online platforms.' The license sits on top of a use-eligibility test in Section 14-424-02: short-term rentals are limited to properties authorized under Sections 14-300 and 14-301, are barred from detached accessory dwelling units and multi-family buildings, and in residential districts are restricted to single-family and duplex dwellings.

Getting the license means clearing the application package in Section 14-424-22. An applicant submits owner and property-manager contact information, the bedroom count and total occupancy, the booking platforms that will be used, a floor plan showing every entrance, exit, bedroom, bathroom, smoke detector and fire extinguisher, an evacuation plan, a parking site plan, a trash and noise management plan, and a signed attestation that the property has no outstanding City liens or taxes, complies with the International Property Maintenance Code, and is not barred from short-term rental use by an HOA agreement or restrictive covenant.

Review then follows one of two tracks under Section 14-424-23. Applications for non-residential buildings in commercial districts go to the Community Development Director for administrative approval, appealable to the Planning Commission and then City Council. Applications in residential districts require mailed notice to owners within 185 feet, a posted public-hearing sign, and a Planning Commission public hearing that can be escalated to City Council if 25 percent of nearby owners file a legal protest. Operating without the license, or violating any part of Article 14-424, is enforced under Section 14-424-24 through the Unified Development Ordinance's general penalty provisions at Section 14-801, and can also trigger the separate suspension and revocation hearing process in Section 14-424-25.