FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the match schedule reveal for the 2026 soccer World Cup in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

UPDATE 2 P.M. FEB. 9

While the FIFA 2026 World Cup is still months away, speculation on what teams could be visiting the greater Kansas City area has increased with the official base camps for national teams are expected to be announced soon.

Soccer powerhouses Argentina, England and the Netherlands — and their rabid fan bases — are expected to locate their base camps in the Kansas City area, there is speculation that suggests Algeria will be in Lawrence, according to various reports. Officials have said the World Cup is expected to bring more than 600,000 visitors to the Kansas City metro area this summer, and that figure was based on having just three base camps.

The higher number of visitors has led many communities, including Lawrence, to loosen certain restrictions to allow for an increase in short-term rental rules during the World Cup. As the Journal-World reported, the City Commission voted in January to allow for more short-term rentals from May 25 to July 26.

The surge in visitors can also be a potential boon for residents in Lawrence looking to host visiting fans as a short-term rental. According to an analysis from Deloitte, approximately 11,000 guests are expected to use the short-term rental service Airbnb in the Kansas City region. That analysis also found that Airbnb hosts are expected to be able to earn an average of roughly $3,500 during the tournament window.

The high demand and looser restrictions for short-term rentals could mean an extra bedroom in your house or spare unit could turn into a nice chunk of change — and help welcome the world to the World Cup. Here is a deeper dive into the changes in the regulations and what the city would require to set up a temporary short-term rental this summer.

WHAT ARE THE CHANGES DURING THE WORLD CUP

The changes the Lawrence City Commission made in January changed where short-term rentals could be in the city and how many someone could offer.

The city’s short-term rental regulations, which were created in 2018, normally say that non-owner-occupied short-term rentals can’t be in certain residential areas, namely the R-1 and R-2 zoning districts — generally dedicated to single-family housing. Come May 25, those restrictions will be removed temporarily during the World Cup.

The regulations normally also would not allow property owners to have more than three short-term rental units within the city limits at one time. That cap will be lifted under the temporary guidelines.

Another key temporary change deals with the inspection requirements for certain properties. Properties that have been inspected under the city’s separate long-term rental code — units rented out for 30 days or more — will be able to use those inspections to satisfy the short-term rental inspection requirements, meaning they won’t have to get another inspection. Other units that could be temporary short-term rental properties would still have to undergo a city inspection and get a license from the city.

City staff previously said these changes benefit multiple types of property owners: someone who owns a 20 or 30-unit apartment complex could get its vacant units licensed for short-term use and rent them out during the World Cup, or someone who owned multiple homes could also potentially get a short-term rental option.

Other units that could be temporary short-term rental properties would still have to undergo a city inspection and get a license from the city. Treni Westcott, a code compliance manager with the city’s Planning and Development Services department, told the Journal-World via email that the costs for applying for a temporary short term rental are the same as the costs for a regular short term rental — which is a $17 application fee and a $50 inspection fee per unit.

WHAT TO DO TO LIST A UNIT

Residents interested in providing a short-term rental would have to apply with the city for a license.

Treni Westcott, a code compliance manager with the city’s Planning and Development Services department, told the Journal-World via email that the costs for applying for a temporary short term rental are the same as the costs for a regular short term rental — which is a $17 application fee and a $50 inspection fee per unit. The application to get a short-term rental license — both a temporary or regular one — are at the City of Lawrence online customer portal at lawrenceks.gov/epl.

As outlined above, if the unit was already recently inspected as a long-term rental property in the past inspection cycle, the unit would not need another inspection. Other units not in that category would still have to undergo a city inspection.

Once the applications are reviewed, the city said it would officially issue the temporary short-term rental licenses when the ordinance takes effect on May 25. If you plan to list the unit online on a site like Airbnb or VRBO, you would have to include the short-term rental license number “in the listing title for the advertised property.”

When the temporary changes go away on July 26, anyone with a temporary short-term rental license will need to remove the listing from all online platforms that advertised its availability. Regular short-term rentals will not need to be taken down.

Options aren’t just limited to getting an official short-term temporary license. Westcott said a homeowner could decide to rent out a spare bedroom — like a guest bedroom — “within their home for rent without a rental license.” She said that’s because that situation would be considered more “like a roommate than a true rental.”

On Monday, however, city officials said they were mistaken in their previous analysis of what would be required for people to rent a single room in their home. City officials on Monday afternoon said homeowners would need to apply for a temporary short-term rental license in that situation as well.

“We were incorrect when we said a TSTR license was not required when a homeowner rents out a room in their home during the World Cup,” Maureen Brady, communications manager for the city, said via email. “Any short-term rental situation, regardless of World Cup, requires a license to operate a short-term rental. Our team confused this with how we handle the renting of rooms for a long-term rental, where a license is not required if the homeowner resides in the home and rents out a bedroom or portion of the dwelling.”

Owners for any of the rental options would still be bound by the occupancy standards in the city’s Land Development Code, Westcott said. That means any rental would allow a maximum of four adults of any relationship in the R-1 and R-2 districts, and a maximum of five adults of any relationship in all other residential zoning districts.

WHAT IMPACT WILL VISITORS HAVE ON LAWRENCE

While Lawrence leaders have said the true impact on the region won’t be fully known until the base camp sites are officially announced, the World Cup is an event where people who don’t have tickets go to the area for just the experience.

Ruth DeWitt, the community relations director at Explore Lawrence, previously told the City Commission the “visitation ratio” — the rate of fans actually going to a match versus people there to be in the atmosphere — is about 1 in 20 for World Cup matches. And Kansas City will be hosting six different matches, including two matches in the knockout round.

Even if some visitors are staying closer to Kansas City, the impact on the region is expected to be far reaching. According to an analysis from Airbnb, about 70 percent of the non-US travelers visiting for the World Cup use the tournament “as a launching pad for further travel.”

Those spill-over impacts have led to planning for additional events ahead of the World Cup. Local officials have previously said they plan on hosting some large gatherings like match watch parties, while the city’s public art exhibition for 2026 encourages artists to create international and soccer-themed pieces.

Along with potentially serving as a base camp location, Lawrence is one of 15 sites included as part of a regional transportation plan that will have a direct connection to downtown Kansas City during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as the Journal-World reported. Visitors to the region are anticipated to bring an estimated “$105 million in total economic output,” according to a Deloitte analysis, and that same analysis noted that hosts using just Airbnb are expected to make nearly $6 million from visitors.

Although there are still details to be ironed out ahead of the World Cup, Lawrence officials reiterate the global spotlight will turn to the United States and the Kansas City area for four weeks this summer. The looser restrictions for short-term rentals can help Lawrence residents take advantage of the mega-event.