Franklin County, KY Short-Term Rentals: Primary-Residence-Only Rule (2026)

The zoning chapter, Chapter 155 of the Franklin County Code, contains no rule that a short-term rental must be the host's primary residence. Section 155.010 defines SHORT-TERM RENTAL - NON-OWNER OCCUPIED as a residential dwelling unit that is not owner-occupied and is rented, leased, or otherwise assigned for a tenancy of less than 30 consecutive days for transient guests, where no meals are served. The definition excludes hotel or motel rooms, bed and breakfast inns, and boarding and lodging houses. The permitted use table in § 155.085 lists Short term rental non-owner occupied as a conditional use, so the Board of Zoning Adjustments must approve each one.

The residence question appears in § 155.089, note (27)(f): if the short-term rental is not the primary residence of the host, the host must provide information on how to be contacted by phone, email, and address, in a conspicuous location within the short-term rental. Other conditions in note (27) apply to every rental regardless of where the host lives: a maximum stay of 29 consecutive days for the same occupant, a single short-term rental contract at a time, no food or alcoholic beverages prepared for or served to guests by the host, no outdoor signage, an evacuation plan and smoke detectors, parking under Article 10 of the Zoning Ordinance, annual registration, and a Franklin County business license.

Under § 155.048(E), an approved permit covers only the specific use and location approved and only the person to whom the Board issued it. This applies in unincorporated Franklin County. Frankfort has its own code.