Is Airbnb Legal in Louisville? 2026 Rules, Permits & Taxes

Permit required

Yes

Taxes on a stay

15.5%

Fine for hosting without a permit

$1,000

Listings showing a permit number

84%

Latest rule change

Sep 28, 2023

Listing figures: AirROI, 12 months to September 2026. A number on a listing doesn't prove the permit or license is valid, and a missing one doesn't prove there is none.

The rules in brief

Who needs it

Every host renting a dwelling, or part of one, for fewer than 30 consecutive days in Louisville Metro, whichever platform or channel is used. Hosts also register with the Louisville Metro Revenue Commission for tax.^2,3,6,7

Issued by

Louisville Metro Office of Planning; conditional use permits are decided by the Board of Zoning Adjustment

Valid for

A registration expires one year after it is issued and is renewed every year. A renewal application is accepted from 30 days before expiry, a late renewal is treated as a new application, and a change of host or owner voids the registration.

Processing

A registration-only application is approved administratively; a conditional use permit typically takes 4 to 5 months, depending on circumstances and the hearing docket.

On listings

The number must appear on every listing

Platform checks

The Director of Planning can ask a platform to remove a listing whose registration number is invalid, expired or revoked, and the platform must remove it within ten business days of the notice.

Fees

Who qualifies

• Owner who lives in the home as a primary residence in a residential or office-residential zone: annual registration only, approved administratively, with two documents proving residency
• Home that is not the owner's primary residence in a residential or office-residential zone: conditional use permit and annual registration
• Old Louisville and Limerick neighborhoods: conditional use permit and annual registration even for an owner's primary residence
• Non-residential zones: registration only; industrial and planned development zones are likely prohibited
• Multi-family buildings are generally prohibited unless the zoning is CR, CN, C1, C2, C3, OR3, OTF or EZ1
• Lease terms, homeowner association rules and deed restrictions still apply on top of the city's rules

How to apply

1. 1 Check the address on the city's interactive eligibility map, confirm the zoning, and confirm the home is in Louisville Metro and not one of the nine suburban cities with no rules.
2. 2 Register with the Louisville Metro Revenue Commission to get a Tax Reporting Number; a host does this once for several rentals.
3. 3 If the zoning requires a conditional use permit, file a $200 pre-application (staff conference and neighborhood meeting), then the formal application ($560 owner occupied, $1,260 non-owner occupied) and attend the public hearing of the Board of Zoning Adjustment.
4. 4 Submit the annual registration form to the Office of Planning with the $250 fee, the tax number and, for a primary residence, two documents proving residency; after a permit is approved, register within 30 days.
5. 5 Put the registration number in every listing, post the host and emergency-contact details inside the home, and renew each year.

Permit rules

Annual registration, $250 per property

Every short-term rental must be registered each year with the Office of Planning, for a $250 fee per property, after the host gets a Tax Reporting Number from the Revenue Commission.^2,6 In force since September 28, 2023

Registration lasts one year

A registration is valid for one year from the date it is issued and must be renewed on a new form. A renewal is accepted from 30 days before expiry, and a change of host or owner ends the existing registration.^2,7

Conditional use permit costs and timeline

A conditional use permit costs a $200 pre-application fee plus $560 (owner occupied) or $1,260 (non-owner occupied), and the city says the process typically takes 4 to 5 months.⁶

Public hearing, then register within 30 days

The formal application goes to a public hearing before the Board of Zoning Adjustment. If the permit is approved, the rental must be registered with the Revenue Commission and the Office of Planning within 30 days.⁶

Registration number in every listing

A host using a hosting platform must include the valid Louisville Metro registration number in the advertisement; advertising an unregistered rental is prohibited.^2,3,6

Platforms remove invalid listings within ten business days

The Director of Planning can ask a hosting platform to remove a listing whose registration number is invalid, expired or revoked, and the platform must remove it within ten business days.^2,3

Owner's primary residence: registration only

An owner who lives in the home as a primary residence in a residential or office-residential zone can usually operate with the annual registration alone, which is approved administratively.⁶

Two documents prove primary residency

A registration claiming a primary residence needs at least two supporting documents, a Kentucky-issued identification card plus a voter registration card, vehicle registration or tax record. In some cases the owner must show six months of residence before applying.⁶

Second homes in residential zones need a conditional use permit

A short-term rental that is not the owner's primary residence in a residential or office-residential zone is allowed only with a conditional use permit and the annual registration. The permit is discretionary and decided by a public board.^6,16

Old Louisville and Limerick need a permit even for a primary residence

In the Old Louisville and Limerick neighborhoods an owner's primary residence also needs a conditional use permit as well as the annual registration.⁶ Applies to: Old Louisville and Limerick

Non-residential zones: registration only

A property in a non-residential zone is likely allowed to operate with the annual registration alone, approved administratively.⁶

Industrial and planned development zones are likely barred

A short-term rental in an industrial zone or a planned development district is likely prohibited.⁶

600 feet from another permitted rental

To win a conditional use permit, a short-term rental must be at least 600 feet from another rental that received a conditional use permit.⁶

Multi-family buildings are generally barred

A short-term rental in a multi-family building is generally prohibited unless the zoning is CR, CN, C1, C2, C3, OR3, OTF or EZ1.⁷

Condominiums need association approval

A conditional use permit application for a condominium unit must include evidence that the condominium association has approved short-term rental of that unit; the unit must be the host owner's primary residence.³ Applies to: Condominiums

Leases, HOA rules and deeds still apply

Louisville's rules do not override leases, homeowner association bylaws, covenants or deed restrictions that prohibit subletting or short-term rental use, although the city does not enforce those agreements itself.⁶

The owner is the primary host

Unless a conditional use permit says otherwise, the owner must act as the primary host and the main contact for the city, neighbors and guests; co-hosts and property managers may assist.³

Nine Jefferson County cities do not permit rentals

Anchorage, Douglass Hills, Graymoor-Devondale, Hurstbourne, Indian Hills, Jeffersontown, Prospect, Shively and St. Regis Park have adopted no short-term rental rules, so rentals there are not permitted; Lyndon, Middletown and St. Matthews have their own rules.⁶ Applies to: Jefferson County cities

Rules apply to stays under 30 nights

Louisville Metro defines a short-term rental as a dwelling rented or leased for fewer than 30 consecutive days, so stays of 30 nights or more fall outside the registration rules.^6,16

Guests: two per bedroom plus two

No more people may stay than two times the number of bedrooms plus two, or two times the bedrooms plus six on a lot of more than two acres, with a cap of 12 guests over age 16 where the formula allows more.³

One booking at a time

A dwelling may have only a single short-term rental contract at a time, and a guest's stay is capped at 29 consecutive days.^2,3

Smoke, carbon monoxide and fire safety

Each rental needs smoke alarms to the city standard, a working carbon monoxide detector, a charged fire extinguisher on each habitable floor, an emergency escape opening in every sleeping room and a posted evacuation plan.^2,3

Emergency contact within 25 miles

The registration names the host and an emergency contact who must be within 25 miles of the rental while it is rented; the contact details and maximum guest numbers must be posted inside the home, and the host answers for guest behavior at any hour.^3,7

Revoked registrations bar a new one for a year

The city can revoke a registration after repeated substantiated complaints or violations within 12 months, and an owner or host whose registration is revoked cannot register again for one calendar year.^2,3

Accessory dwelling units: permit needed

A new accessory dwelling unit cannot be used as a short-term rental without a conditional use permit.¹⁵ Applies to: Accessory dwelling units

Median nightly rate, booked nights

$195

Taxes on that night (15.5%)

$30

Guest pays, before Airbnb and cleaning fees

$225

What the host still handles

• A Tax Reporting Number with the Louisville Metro Revenue Commission, required of every host whatever the booking method, with an annual Occupational License Net Profit Tax return on rental income
• A Louisville transient room tax account and monthly returns, only for rent received directly rather than through Airbnb or another registered platform
• A Kentucky Department of Revenue transient room tax account, only if some rent is received directly; a host booking only through Airbnb or VRBO needs none^{1,4,5,8,9,10,17}

• Operating a short-term rental without a registration draws a civil fine of $125 for a first offense, $250 for a second, $500 for a third and $1,000 for a fourth or later offense. Each day may be considered a separate offense.^3,6
• Advertising an unregistered short-term rental on a platform draws an additional fine of $125 per day.^3,6
• After a registration is revoked, the owner or host cannot register again for one calendar year, and a new registration is not issued for a property cited in the prior 12 months.^2,3
• Late Louisville transient room tax carries a 5% penalty on the unpaid amount, plus simple interest of 12% a year.^8,9

1. April 15, 2026 Lapsed
   Kentucky Senate Bill 9 dies, leaving city rules intact

   The 2026 omnibus housing bill, whose House version barred many local short-term rental restrictions, ended in a conference committee that could not agree before the General Assembly adjourned on April 15, 2026.^13,14

2. September 28, 2023
   Updated short-term rental ordinance takes effect

   Metro Council's 2023 review of the short-term rental rules took effect on September 28, 2023, including the rise in the annual registration fee from $100 to $250.^3,6

3. July 1, 2023
   Revenue Commission transient tax regulations and e-filing

   The Louisville Metro Revenue Commission's Transient Room Tax Regulations took effect on July 1, 2023, with returns filed electronically through its portal.⁸

4. January 1, 2023
   Platforms pay state and local transient room taxes

   Under House Bill 8, from January 1, 2023 platforms such as Airbnb must report and pay the 1% state and the local transient room taxes on the full rental charge, and stays of 30 days or more are exempt.^4,5

Estimate what a Louisville home could earn

1. 1. KRS 142.400 Statewide transient room tax -- Rate -- Exclusions from tax · Kentucky Legislative Research Commission
2. 2. Louisville Metro Code of Ordinances, Chapter 115: Short Term Rentals (sections 115.515 to 115.522) · Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government (American Legal Publishing)
3. 3. Ordinance amending the Land Development Code and LMCO Chapter 115 relating to short term rentals (as amended September 14, 2023) · Louisville Metro Council
4. 4. Transient Room Tax · Kentucky Department of Revenue
5. 5. Transient Room Tax (Tax Answers) · Kentucky Department of Revenue
6. 6. Short Term Rental Information · Louisville Metro Office of Planning
7. 7. Short Term Rental Annual Registration Form (October 2025) · Louisville Metro Office of Planning
8. 8. Transient Room Tax · Louisville Metro Revenue Commission
9. 9. TR1M Transient Room Tax Electronic Form Instructions, Tax Year 2025 · Louisville Metro Revenue Commission
10. 10. Tourism Improvement District Assessment (TID) · Louisville Metro Revenue Commission
11. 11. Short term rental registration (open data feature service) · Louisville Metro Government (LOJIC open data)
12. 12. Louisville Metro KY - Short Term Rental Conditional Use Permits (open data feature service) · Louisville Metro Government (LOJIC open data)
13. 13. 26RS SB 9 (AN ACT relating to housing districts) · Kentucky Legislative Research Commission
14. 14. 2026 Regular Session Legislative Record · Kentucky Legislative Research Commission
15. 15. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) · Louisville Metro Office of Planning
16. 16. Louisville, KY · Airbnb Help Center
17. 17. Occupancy tax collection and remittance by Airbnb in Kentucky · Airbnb Help Center