Lawrence City Commission interested in overhaul of permitting process for certain Airbnb rentals

Lawrence city commissioners indicated Tuesday that they are interested in making significant changes to the way the city handles certain Airbnb properties and other short-term rentals.

As part of its work session Tuesday, the commission discussed replacing the recently established permitting process for whole-home short-term rentals, where the property owner lives elsewhere. As currently set up, the permits run with the land and could remain in place permanently, even when ownership of the property changes.

The short-term rental regulations were created last year, but in March of this year, the commission expressed concerns about the permitting process and voted to defer action on the whole-home permits on their agenda in order to consider major questions about how the properties should be regulated and how they might affect the city’s affordable housing shortage.