Short-term rentals in Shawnee, explained properly.

Sec. 5.71.050(A) says no Short-Term Rental licenses are transferable, separate or divisible, and that the authority a license confers is conferred only on the licensee named in it. Under Sec. 5.71.050(B), fees paid and licenses obtained under the chapter are in addition to, and not in place of, any other fees or licenses required by other City ordinances.

Sec. 5.71.060(A) allows a maximum of two (2) adults per bedroom plus an additional one (1) adult, with a maximum of ten (10) persons total, in a registered Short-Term Rental.

Sec. 5.71.060(F) bars use of a short-term rental as a reception space, party space, meeting space, or for other similar events open to nonresident guests.

Sec. 5.71.060 makes the operation of any short-term rental subject to these regulations: noise restrictions in Chapter 9.70, parking restrictions in Chapter 10.20 (with the added term that a rental that has onsite parking shall require onsite parking), health and safety regulations in Chapter 8, and public peace, morals and welfare regulations in Chapter 9, and the egress door must be marked by an exit sign. Chapters 8, 9, 9.70 and 10.20 were not read, so their contents (for example the quiet hours) are not stated here. Sec. 5.71.020 also requires the chapter's regulations to be listed in the public listing and displayed in the home.

Sec. 5.71.020 requires each short-term rental to provide, at the time of application, an agent located within forty (40) miles to accept service on the owner's behalf.

Sec. 5.71.040 lets the Governing Body revoke or suspend a short-term rental license after a public hearing where it is found to be in violation of any provision of the chapter or the Code. Before doing so it must give the licensee at least ten (10) days' written notice of the charges, which must be specific and in writing, and the opportunity for a public hearing at which the licensee may present evidence. If a license has been revoked, the rental is not eligible for a new license for twenty-four (24) months.

Sec. 5.71.080 makes any owner who violates the chapter guilty of a misdemeanor, fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) but not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or six (6) months jail time, or both. A penalty does not excuse a violation or an obligation to remedy it, and does not prevent the Public Officer from enforcing compliance or imposing liens or assessments necessary to remedy a violation of the Title. Each day a violation occurs or is permitted to continue is a separate offense.

The Kansas Department of Revenue guide for hotels, motels and restaurants (KS-1540) gives the current state sales tax rate as 6.5% and says counties and cities may add a local sales tax; retailers collect the combined rate. For sales tax, the guide counts a bed and breakfast, cabin camp, hotel, motel, tourist cabin or court, and any other lodging unit with at least four sleeping rooms available for rent to the general public as a hotel, and it counts a business that keeps an inventory of two or more rooms in one or more locations offered for pay as an accommodation broker. It says sales tax applies to the rental of sleeping rooms regardless of the length of stay, including stays of more than 28 consecutive days. Which of these descriptions fits a particular host depends on how many rooms are offered and on how the rental is run; confirm with the Department of Revenue. The saved copy of the guide ends with the revision mark 02-21 and a newer revision was not found, so the rate and room counts are marked for review. Local sales tax rates and the treatment of booking platforms were not read for this layer.

Some Kansas cities and counties charge a transient guest tax on top of sales tax. The Department of Revenue says it applies when more than two bedrooms are furnished for guests and the room is rented for 28 consecutive days or less, and that the local rate comes from the city or county clerk. Kansas law lets counties impose the tax, and lets cities impose it if the county has not; the guide says a county and a city in it are generally barred from both imposing it. The tax is collected by the lodging operator and remitted to the Department of Revenue, which returns 98% to the city or county for promoting tourism and keeps 2% for its costs. Accommodation brokers with two or more rooms must also collect it. The guide lists only two exemptions: a direct purchase by the federal government, and a room rented to the same guest for more than 28 consecutive days. Whether and at what rate a given city or county has imposed the tax was not read for this layer.

K.S.A. 12-1693 lets the governing body of a county with a population of more than 300,000, or of a city in such a county, levy a transient guest tax at a rate of not more than 2% on gross receipts from transient guests for sleeping accommodations in a hotel, motel or tourist court. The tax may not be levied until a resolution calling for an election has been passed, the county has notified the cities in it, notice of the election has been given, and a majority of the votes cast favor it; a repeal, reduction or increase in the rate follows the same steps. Collection starts on the first day of the calendar quarter after the 30th day following a primary or general election, or after the 60th day following any other election. The Department of Revenue guide gives other examples of local rates, so this statute is one of the authorizations and is not the only one. Which authorization covers a particular city or county was not read for this layer.

The guide says a lodging business must have its tax registrations before opening, applies through the Department of Revenue's Customer Service Center, and receives an account number and a Certificate of Registration. How often returns are filed depends on the amount of tax collected; the guide says most hotels and restaurants remit sales and transient guest taxes monthly, and that monthly sales and transient guest tax returns are due on the 25th of the month following the close of the reporting period. A return is due for every reporting period even when there are no taxable sales (a zero return, which can be filed online). A retailer that files sales tax quarterly or annually can choose to file the transient guest tax return at the same time. Transient guest tax uses Form TG-1 and the Department's electronic filing.