Kalamazoo

Short-term rentals are allowed in Kalamazoo, but the city treats them as a commercial lodging use rather than an ordinary home use, so they are only permitted in certain zoning districts.^[1] There is no citywide ban and no numeric cap, but a single-family house on a quiet residential street is not automatically eligible — the parcel’s zoning district decides it.

Kalamazoo’s zoning is mid-transition. The governing rules currently sit in both Appendix A of the Code of Ordinances (the legacy ordinance) and the newer Chapter 50 chapters being phased in under the Imagine Kalamazoo update, so confirm which standard applies to your district.^[8] Kalamazoo’s zoning code also caps the number of unrelated adults who may occupy a dwelling in many residential districts — a college-town rule that directly affects how a short-term rental can be marketed and occupied — so verify that limit for your specific district.^[8]

Before you buy with an STR plan, look the parcel up on the city’s interactive zoning map and confirm the permitted uses with CPED.

There is no short-term-rental-specific permit in Kalamazoo — you register an STR exactly the way you register any rental, through the city’s Rental Registration and Certification Program.^[1] Submit the Application for Rental Registration online through the city’s OpenForms portal, or download the PDF and mail or deliver it to CPED at 245 N. Rose Street, Suite 100, Kalamazoo, MI 49007.^[6]

Registration must be in place before the unit is offered for rent, and you must keep it current — the registration is billed annually on an April 1 to March 31 cycle.^[4] Once registered, the property is placed in the inspection queue; you cannot legally rent until the unit also holds a Certificate of Compliance.^[1] You can confirm whether any address is already registered through the city’s BS&A rental-property search before you buy.

The annual rental registration fee is $123 per property plus $1.75 per unit, set by the City Commission-approved 2026 CPED fee schedule.^[3] Inspection fees are separate and charged per unit: $61 per unit for an inspection completed before the existing certificate expires, or $88 per unit once the certificate has lapsed.^[3] Lodging-type operations — hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, rooming houses — are inspected at $121 per building plus $16 per room instead.^[3]

Penalties escalate quickly. Operating an unregistered rental carries a $234 violation fee, failing to update a registration is $78, and a property that is expired or uninspected draws a series of code-enforcement letters running from $78 up to $255 as the delinquency lengthens.^[3] Renting a dwelling with no valid Certificate of Compliance is a misdemeanor, and a unit left occupied more than four months past certificate expiration can be hit with an order to vacate.^[4][2]

Every Kalamazoo rental must pass a housing-code inspection and hold a Certificate of Compliance, and the city is entitled to inspect at least once every 28 months.^[2] A clean inspection earns a 28-month certificate; landlords who renew on time and maintain a good record can earn a longer 40-month certificate, and exceptionally well-managed properties with a track record can reach 52 months — while properties with a documented noncompliance history, or that are more than a year past expiration, are limited to a 16-month certificate.^[2] For buildings with 30 or fewer units every unit is inspected; in larger complexes inspectors check 30 units plus 25 percent of the remainder.^[2]

Inspectors look for working smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors, safe egress, sound electrical and plumbing, and no deteriorated paint or structural hazards.^[7] Kalamazoo does not require lead-paint testing as part of rental inspection, but the city funds a separate, no-cost lead-hazard remediation program for pre-1978 homes through a partnership with KNHS that landlords can opt into.^[9] Schedule inspections through CPED’s rental program.^[5]

The two operating rules most likely to catch a short-term-rental host off guard in Kalamazoo are occupancy limits and lodging tax. Kalamazoo’s zoning code limits how many unrelated adults may occupy a dwelling in many residential districts, which constrains how a short-term rental can be advertised and booked — confirm the limit for your specific district before you list a headcount.^[8]

Short-term stays may also be subject to Kalamazoo County’s accommodations (lodging) excise tax, which is administered at the county level rather than by the city; confirm the current rate and registration process with the Kalamazoo County Treasurer before you take bookings. Beyond that, an STR is bound by the same housing-code, nuisance, and noise expectations as any rental, and the city actively monitors online listings for unregistered units.^[1] There is no city-imposed owner-occupancy requirement and no numeric cap on the number of STRs.

Yes — if you do not live near Kalamazoo, you must designate a responsible local agent for the property as part of registration.^[4] Under the city’s rental program (Code of Ordinances Chapter 17, Section 17-17) the agent must live or maintain an office within roughly an hour’s drive of Kalamazoo, and the program rules specify the approved ZIP-code ranges that satisfy that distance.^[2][4]

The local agent is the city’s point of contact for inspections, code-enforcement notices, and tenant or neighbor complaints, so for a short-term rental this person effectively functions as your on-the-ground manager. Name the agent on the Application for Rental Registration; if your agent changes, you must update the registration or face the $78 failure-to-update fee.^[4][3]

The biggest moving piece is zoning, not the rental program. Kalamazoo is rewriting its Zoning Ordinance through the Imagine Kalamazoo process, and as of May 2026 the code is split across two documents — the legacy ordinance in Appendix A and the updated chapters migrating into Chapter 50 of the Code of Ordinances — so the district rules that govern whether an STR is permitted on a given parcel can read differently depending on which document you check.^[8]

The rental registration program itself is stable, but its fees are reviewed and re-approved by the City Commission every year; the amounts in this guide are from the 2026 schedule.^[3] As of May 2026 the city has not adopted a standalone short-term-rental ordinance, so STRs continue to be governed by the general rental program plus zoning.^[1] If you are underwriting a deal that depends on STR income, confirm both the parcel’s zoning district and the current fee schedule directly with CPED before closing.