Short-term rentals in Lexington, explained properly.

The City's licensure page lists the Zoning Compliance Permit first among the requirements, and the code requires approval by the Division of Planning that the rental complies with the Zoning Ordinance as part of the license application. The City's main page says the process starts with a short-term rental zoning verification form, after which Planning staff reply by email. The fee for the permit was not found.

The code says every application and renewal comes with the fee set in section 13-13 of the Code, which was not read, and the licensure page gives no date or fee schedule for these amounts. The fee is held for review until the fee section is read.

Code Sec. 13-77 lists what an application and renewal must contain. The licensure page adds the online account at str.lexingtonky.gov, a current occupational business license, a sworn affidavit from the owner if someone else applies, and the type of septic evidence accepted (manufacturer's specifications, tank size or a septic professional's signed opinion), while the code asks for Health Department documentation that the septic tank is sufficient. The code and the page differ slightly on septic evidence; the page follows the code. After review the Division of Revenue contacts the applicant for details and payment.

Code Sec. 13-77. Each licensee gets a unique local registration number. The Director may refuse to issue or renew a license, for example for a false statement, an incomplete application, unpaid fees or fines, unsatisfied liens, a missing conditional use permit or non-compliance with other laws.

Code Sec. 13-80 applies to every advertisement, including those on hosting platforms.

Code Sec. 13-79(b). The form is set by the Director.

Code Sec. 13-81 sets the scale; citations are issued by citation officers in the Division of Revenue and appealed to the Administrative Hearing Board. Each day a violation continues after notice is a separate offense and the government has a lien on the licensee's property for the fines. The City's pages say unlicensed rentals can be fined up to $500 a day and that two or more citations can lead to revocation by the Director of Revenue; the code, which this page follows, sets $500 per offense and counts each day after notice separately. If a license is denied, revoked or not renewed, the licensee has 10 days to respond to the Director's show-cause letter, and the Commissioner of Finance holds a hearing within 30 days; the Commissioner's decision is final.

Zoning Ordinance Sec. 3-13 sets this for principal and accessory uses; the code (Sec. 13-79) repeats that the limit comes from the conditional use permit if there is one, otherwise from the Zoning Ordinance, and the applicant states the maximum on the license application. The maximum must be posted in the rental and shown in advertisements.

From both the Zoning Ordinance and Code Sec. 13-79. The City's community page repeats the rule.

Code Sec. 13-79(b). The code does not set a minimum or maximum stay other than the definition of a short-term rental as a tenancy under 30 consecutive days.

Code Sec. 13-79(b). A rental of the whole home with no primary resident present is an un-hosted rental under the definitions and follows the un-hosted zoning rules.

Code Sec. 13-79(a). The posted notice must show the licensee or operator's contact details, the registered emergency contact, police, fire and EMS numbers, trash and recycling information, a marked evacuation plan with exits and extinguisher locations, the maximum occupants, any conditional use permit and the website where guests can read the licensee's duties and file a complaint. The City publishes a contact-information sheet for this purpose. A rental may not become the place where assault, sexual offense, prostitution, controlled substance, weapon, gambling on the premises or any felony violations occur (with an exception where the licensee or resident is the crime victim and had no control).

Zoning Ordinance Sec. 3-13. The first group continues under the zoning code's article on existing conditional uses but follows the new occupancy, event, detached-structure and conditional use rules; the second continues under the non-conforming use article. The 600-foot spacing rule counts rentals that are legal non-conforming uses.

Code Sec. 13-78 refers to Sec. 2-172 of the Code for the transient room tax; that section and the rate were not read, so no rate is given here. Kentucky's sales tax and statewide transient room tax also apply (see state law below). This page does not total state and local taxes.

Section 139.200 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes imposes a 6% sales tax on retailers' gross receipts from the rental of any room or rooms, lodgings, campsites or accommodations furnished by any hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp or other place in which rooms, lodgings or accommodations are regularly furnished to transients for a consideration. The tax does not apply to rooms or accommodations supplied for a continuous period of 30 days or more to a person. The Department of Revenue says the statewide transient room tax is in addition to the 6% sales tax and any local transient room tax, and that for sales tax purposes the 1% statewide transient room tax is reported as part of taxable receipts, as local transient room taxes are. Local transient room taxes are shown on each place's page.

Section 142.400 imposes a statewide transient room tax of 1% of the rent for every occupancy of any suite, room, cabin, lodging, campsite or other accommodation charged by any place in which accommodations are regularly furnished to transients, or by any person that facilitates the rental by brokering, coordinating or otherwise arranging it. Rent does not include other state or local taxes, and stays supplied for a continuous period of 30 days or more to a person are excluded. Under section 142.402 the return and tax for each month are due to the Department of Revenue by the 20th of the next month. The Department of Revenue says this tax is in addition to the 6% sales tax and any locally assessed transient room tax and is reported separately each month.

The Department of Revenue says Airbnb and VRBO are collecting and remitting the 1% statewide transient room tax for all participating Kentucky hosts, that since January 1, 2023 these platforms must also report and pay local transient room tax on their total charges, including service fees, and that a business renting only through Airbnb or VRBO does not need its own state transient room tax account. Section 139.450 requires a marketplace provider whose own and facilitated sales of property or services delivered or provided in Kentucky exceed $100,000 to register for a sales and use tax permit and to collect the tax on each taxable retail sale it facilitates, and relieves the marketplace retailer of collecting tax on those sales. The sources read do not say which platforms collect the 6% sales tax on stays; check with the platform and the Department of Revenue.

No section of the Kentucky Revised Statutes regulating short-term rentals as such was found, so local governments' own rules apply. In the 2026 Regular Session, Senate Bill 112 would have barred local governments from requiring a conditional use permit for a short-term rental, imposing density-based limits, banning short-term rentals in residential zones or imposing a residency requirement on operators; its last action was referral to the Senate Committee on Committees on January 21, 2026. Senate Bill 54 (2026), which would have authorized local governments to regulate short-term rentals, was likewise last referred to the Committee on Committees on January 9, 2026. In 2025, Senate Bill 110 (no conditional use permits or density limits for short-term rentals) was last sent to the Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee. A similar bill could be filed in a later session.