Short-term rental permit rules in Shawnee County, KS — also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration — list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Topeka regulates short-term rentals under zoning Title 18, sorting them into three types and requiring a two-year special use permit. Unincorporated Shawnee County has no STR-specific ordinance; those rentals fall under county zoning administered by Land Use & Development.
Topeka carries the county's real STR framework, adopted in 2021 under Title 18 of the municipal code. Rentals are classed as Type I (owner-occupied, up to five guest bedrooms), Type II (non-owner-occupied, up to five) or Type III (six or more bedrooms). Owner-occupied means living at the address at least 182 days a year. Hosts obtain a special use permit valid for two years and renewable on a finding of compliance; the city notifies adjacent owners, and Type II and III rentals in residential districts need 500-foot separation. Unincorporated Shawnee County has no STR ordinance, so those rentals answer only to county zoning.
Operating a Topeka short-term rental without the required permit is a code violation carrying fines of roughly $200 to $1,000 per day until the rental is registered or shut down.
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