Short-term rental permit rules in Louisville, KY β also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration β list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Louisville Metro requires annual STR registration with the Office of Planning. Owner-occupied primary residences need only registration approval; non-owner-occupied STRs require a Conditional Use Permit (4β6 months). The 2023 ordinance (effective Sept. 28, 2023) tightened rules, requiring owners to have lived on the property 6+ months and raised the fee to $250/year.
Under LMCO Β§ 115.516 and the 2023 STR Ordinance, no person may own or operate a short-term rental (rental of fewer than 30 consecutive days) in Jefferson County without annual registration with the Louisville Metro Department of Develop Louisville / Office of Planning. Owner-occupied primary residences in residential or office-residential zones may be approved administratively. Non-owner-occupied STRs require a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) through the Planning Commission β a process requiring neighborhood meetings, public hearings, and 4β6 months. Non-owner-occupied STRs must also be at least 600 feet from another CUP-required STR. Owners must have resided on the property for at least 6 months before applying. Maximum 12 adult occupants. STRs approved under the ADU provision may not be used as short-term rentals. Some suburban jurisdictions within Jefferson County (Anchorage, Douglass Hills, Graymoor-Devondale, Hurstbourne, Indian Hills, Jeffersontown, Prospect, Shively, St. Regis Park) have not adopted STR regulations and STRs are not permitted there.
First offense: $125 fine. Second offense: $250. Third: $500. Additional offenses: $1,000 each. Advertising without registration: $125/day. Properties with violations in the past 12 months cannot obtain new registration. CUP may be revoked after two substantiated complaints in one year.
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