What a Landlord Cannot Do in Kansas
The main limits Kansas law puts on landlords — lockouts and utility shutoffs, entering without notice, retaliation, deposits, fees and discrimination — each with the statute or official source.
In short: a Kansas landlord cannot evict without a court order, cannot punish a tenant for asserting legal rights where state law protects them, and must follow the state's rules on entry, deposits and fees shown below.
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | If the landlord unlawfully removes or excludes the tenant or willfully interrupts electric, gas, water or other essential services, the tenant may recover possession or terminate the lease and recover the greater of 1.5 months' rent or actual damages. Landlord may not recover or take possession except through court action, abandonment, or surrender (K.S.A. 58-2569, not fully reviewed). Source: K.S.A. 58-2563 |
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| Landlord entry notice | Landlord may enter at reasonable hours after reasonable notice to inspect, repair, supply services, or show the unit; may enter without consent in an extreme hazard involving potential loss of life or severe property damage; may not abuse access to harass. No specific number of hours is set. Remedies for unlawful entry or refused access are in K.S.A. 58-2571. Source: K.S.A. 58-2557 |
| Landlord retaliation | Landlord may not retaliate by increasing rent or decreasing services after a tenant complains to a code-enforcement agency about a health/safety violation, complains to the landlord about a K.S.A. 58-2553 violation, or organizes or joins a tenants' union. Remedies: those in K.S.A. 58-2563 (recover possession or terminate, plus the greater of 1.5 months' rent or actual damages) and a defense to eviction. No statutory presumption period. Good-faith rent increases to cover higher taxes, utility rates or operating costs are allowed; landlord may still evict for rent default or tenant-caused code violations. Source: K.S.A. 58-2572 |
| Security deposit limit | Unfurnished unit: one month's rent. Furnished: 1.5 months' rent. If pets are allowed, an additional pet deposit of up to one-half month's rent. Federally subsidized municipal housing authorities may use a bedroom-size schedule with a deferred payment plan. Source: K.S.A. 58-2550(a) |
| Penalty for withholding | The deposit due plus damages equal to 1.5 times the amount wrongfully withheld. Source: K.S.A. 58-2550(c) |
| Late fees | No statutory cap or grace period. Rental agreement terms are set by the parties within the Act's limits (K.S.A. 58-2545); no section of the Act regulates late fees. |
| Rent control / increase limits | Preempted: no county, city, township or other political subdivision may enact, maintain or enforce rent control on privately owned residential or commercial property (voluntary incentive agreements excepted). Amended 2016. Local governments may not require rent-control agreements as a condition of building permits or zoning approvals. Source: K.S.A. 12-16,120 |
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | No. The Kansas Act Against Discrimination's housing section covers race, religion, color, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, and ancestry only; source of income and housing vouchers are not protected statewide. Source: K.S.A. 44-1016 |
| Cameras & privacy | No landlord-specific statute. Kansas' breach-of-privacy law makes it a crime to enter to secretly listen to or observe people in a private place, to install or use inside or outside a private place a device to hear or record sounds not ordinarily audible there without the occupants' consent (class A misdemeanor), and to use a camera to record a person who is nude, in a state of undress, or under clothing without consent where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy (felony). Landlords may enter only at reasonable hours after reasonable notice (except extreme hazards) and may not use access to harass. K.S.A. 21-6101 was amended in 2024 and 2025 (adding AI-altered images to the dissemination offense). Exterior or common-area video-only cameras are not specifically regulated. |
| Other rental fees | No statute — no general limit or disclosure rule for other rental fees was found in the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. The DV early-termination fee is separately capped at one month's rent (K.S.A. 58-25,137(e)). |
Can I sue my landlord in Kansas? · All Kansas tenant rights
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.