WICHITA, Kansas (KWCH) – The Wichita City Council is recommending changes to the short-term rental ordinance and will discuss the issue at its Aug. 20 meeting.

The proposed changes come after shootings and short-term rentals were rented out for underage parties. On Sept. 12, the City Council passed new rules for how the city will license owners of short-term rentals. Under these changes, short-term rentals will be subject to inspections by the city based on complaints.

The changes followed an April 2021 shooting at an east Wichita rental property that was reportedly being used as an Airbnb, in violation of city regulations. One man died and three others were injured in the shooting at the corner of 2nd Street and Battin.

The proposed regulations, which will be discussed Tuesday, are intended to give law enforcement additional tools to deal with properties used for short-term rentals where a nuisance party is taking place – a social gathering of five or more people on a residential property where “disturbing activities” such as illegal possession of alcohol, illegal gambling, fireworks, property damage, trespassing and exhibitionism occur.

Under the proposed changes, law enforcement can demand that party activities cease. If people on the property do not leave, the property owner can be served with a summons and those who do not leave can be charged with violating the ordinances. The short-term rental licensee and the renter can also be summoned.

If convicted, the first penalty for violating the ordinance is a maximum of $500. For a second conviction, the minimum penalty is $1,000, the maximum penalty is $2,500 and one year in jail. If the defendant has a short-term rental license, the license may be suspended for up to 10 days.

Changes to the short-term rental regulations are intended to impose additional obligations on tenants. Prohibited are, among other things, noise pollution, the use of amplifiers after 10 p.m. and renting the property for events open to the public. Renting the property to people under the age of 18 is also prohibited unless the tenant is present.

The City Council recommends an ordinance prohibiting the accommodation of minors. The penalties for these violations are the same as those listed above.

These ordinances do not replace existing procedures that allow police to declare a property a nuisance due to excessive police deployment under city ordinance.

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