Georgetown, KY Short-Term Rentals: Repeat Violator Strikes (2026)

The strike rule sits in Section 24-61(4) and (5) of the short-term rental article. It is triggered when a property is subject to two or more civil violations, or the host is found to have twice violated or failed to comply with any applicable provision of Sections 24-60 through 24-67 for a given property, within a 12-month period. The code defines a civil violation for this purpose as a final, unappealable code enforcement order, so a citation still under appeal does not count. The section adds that civil violations include, but are not limited to, violations of building, safety, property maintenance, nuisance, health and sanitation, fire, electrical, plumbing and mechanical codes. Violations of unrelated codes can therefore count toward revocation of a short-term rental registration.

Revocation is discretionary: the text says the director may revoke the registration. The director is the Director of the Georgetown-Scott County Revenue Commission under Section 24-60. When revocation happens, the owner and host must be notified and have 30 days to request an appeal. Appeals are heard under Chapter 2, Article VI, the code enforcement provisions. If no appeal is requested, the revocation becomes final on the 31st day after the director's initial action.

Section 24-61(5) sets the consequence: when any owner or host has a registration revoked, they are ineligible to receive any new short-term rental registrations for one calendar year from the date of revocation. That bar follows the owner or host, not just the one address.

Short of revocation, Section 24-61(1) through (3) let the director refuse to issue or renew a registration while penalties, fines or liens remain unpaid, or for failure to comply with the article. Section 24-69(c) waives penalties only if the same or similar violation has not occurred on the property in the same calendar year and is remedied within seven days of the citation or within the time set by the code enforcement officer.