Bolthole Index

Ellis County, Kansas

Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Hays, Kansas

Hays, Kansas issues building permits through the city Planning & Development Division and administers its own zoning in Ellis County.12 Private sanitary disposal requires a city permit, which cannot be issued within a block where public sewer connections are available.3 The Ellis County Environmental Office handles wastewater evaluations and county wastewater applications; ask both offices which approvals apply to a Hays parcel.45

At a glance

Building permits
City Planning & Development Division issues building permits.1
Zoning
Hays administers zoning inside the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.2
Private septic
City permit required; unavailable in a block where public sewer connections are available.3
Residential lot size
R-G standard large, moderate and small lots: 9,000, 7,000 and 6,000 square feet respectively, for the development categories covered by the table.6
RV and tiny-home living
We could not confirm complete private-land occupancy rules; ask Hays Planning & Development before buying.1
Owner-builder roofing
Kansas exempts qualifying owner-performed roofing from roofing-contractor registration; local building permits and inspections remain separate.7

Who to call

Building permits

Hays Planning & Development Division

City building permits, zoning, construction inspections and city floodplain questions

785-628-7310

1002 Vine Street

Building permits

Hays Planning & Development — Building and Zoning Applications

New-home applications, residential inspection guidance, selected online trade applications and building permit reports

Septic permits

Ellis County Environmental Office

County wastewater applications and transfer evaluations; confirm applicability within Hays alongside city approval

(785) 628-9449

1515 W. 55th St.

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 11, 2026.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Hays means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

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Do you need a building permit in Hays, Kansas?

Start a new-home project in Hays with the city building-permit office: Planning & Development issues building permits, reviews new-construction and remodeling plans, and performs construction inspections.1 Hays has adopted the 2024 International Building Code and International Residential Code with amendments and exclusions; ask the city which provisions apply to your project.8 The city publishes a New Home Permit Application and residential inspection and certificate-of-occupancy guidance on its building applications page.9

Who handles Hays building permits, and how do you reach the office?

Contact Hays Planning & Development at 785-628-7310 or visit the division at 1002 Vine Street for city building-permit and zoning questions.1 Use the city’s building and zoning applications page for the New Home Permit Application and past Building Permit Reports.9 Hays offers online applications for mechanical, plumbing, electrical, roofing, right-of-way and sign permits; ask the division how to submit the new-home application rather than assuming every application uses the same online route.9 We could not confirm current Hays building-permit fee amounts; request a project-specific fee estimate from Planning & Development.1

Does Hays have zoning, minimum lot sizes and setbacks?

Hays administers zoning and subdivision regulations within the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction, so confirm the parcel’s jurisdiction before choosing a design.2 Hays residential development standards distinguish Agriculture (A-L), Residential Suburban (R-S), Residential General (R-G) and Residential Multi-Family (R-M) districts.10 For the development categories covered by the R-G table, standard large lots require 9,000 square feet, moderate lots 7,000 square feet and small lots 6,000 square feet.6 The A-L standard farmstead neighborhood minimum is 5 acres, with a permitted lot-split exception subject to applicable setbacks.11 Ask Hays Planning & Development to identify the lot’s neighborhood category and applicable setbacks before relying on a minimum area alone.101

How do septic permits work inside Hays?

Private septic is not an automatic alternative to city sewer in Hays: private sanitary disposal requires a city permit, and Hays cannot issue that permit within a block where public sewer connections are available to the applicant.3 Private sewage disposal must also cease after public sewer becomes available under the city code.3 Separately, the Ellis County Environmental Office administers wastewater evaluations and lists a $60 wastewater application within county jurisdiction; confirm the county approval needed for your city address alongside the Hays permit.45 For a purchase involving an existing septic system, ask that office about the transfer inspection required within county jurisdiction.12

Can you live in an RV or tiny home on your land in Hays?

We could not confirm a complete Hays rule allowing long-term RV occupancy, temporary camping or tiny-home occupancy on a private lot; ask Hays Planning & Development about the proposed use before committing to land or a unit.1 Ask the city to identify the zoning district, classify the proposed dwelling and explain the building-permit route, because Hays has district-specific land-use standards and adopted residential building codes.108 A wastewater plan also needs a separate answer: the Hays restriction on private sanitary disposal applies wherever public sewer connections are available in the block.3

Building a home in Hays: what are the steps, in order?

  1. Verify city limits using the link on Hays’s application page, then ask Planning & Development to confirm city or extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction.92
  2. Confirm the district and development category with Hays, and resolve any platting or lot-split approval before finalizing the site plan.101311
  3. Establish sewer availability; ask Hays about private sanitary-disposal approval and Ellis County Environmental about applicable wastewater evaluation and permitting.34
  4. Ask the city division about floodplain review, submit the New Home Permit Application and arrange the construction inspections handled by Hays.19
  5. Use the city’s residential inspection checklist and certificate-of-occupancy guidance to plan the completion stage.9

What should you check before buying land in or near Hays?

Confirm the Hays boundary first: city planning authority extends into an extraterritorial area, so an address outside city limits still needs a jurisdiction check.2 For land subject to county zoning instead, Ellis County’s guide explains the county zoning certificate required before erection or alteration of structures under county regulations.14 Inside Hays, direct floodplain questions to city Planning & Development, which administers the city’s National Flood Insurance Program; the city also publishes a Floodplain Development Permit Application.19 We could not confirm a private-well permit rule inside Hays; ask the city division and Ellis County Environmental Office which authority must approve your proposed water supply.115

Watch-outs

  • Public sewer availability can prevent a private septic permit in Hays; confirm the block’s sewer availability before designing an off-grid sanitation system.3
  • Hays zoning reaches its extraterritorial jurisdiction; confirm authority for land near the city boundary with city Planning & Development.2
  • Kansas’s owner-builder exemption here concerns roofing-contractor registration only; it does not establish a general exemption from Hays building permits or inspections.7

Sources

  1. Hays Planning & Development Division (haysusa.com)
  2. Planning and Zoning (Hays), quoted and re-checked
  3. Sec. 65-334. Permit required for private sanitary disposal (Hays), quoted and re-checked
  4. Wastewater System Evaluations & Permitting, quoted and re-checked
  5. Wastewater System Evaluations & Permitting, quoted and re-checked
  6. Hays Unified Development Code, Residential Development Standards (Hays), quoted and re-checked
  7. K.S.A. 50-6,129. Exemptions (Kansas statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  8. Sec. 11-42. International Building Codes—Adopted by reference; amendments (Hays), quoted and re-checked
  9. Hays Planning & Development — Building and Zoning Applications (haysusa.com)
  10. Hays Unified Development Code, Sec. 3.1.201 (Hays), quoted and re-checked
  11. Hays Unified Development Code, Residential Development Standards (Hays), quoted and re-checked
  12. Wastewater System Evaluations & Permitting, quoted and re-checked
  13. Planning and Zoning (Hays), quoted and re-checked
  14. Planning & Zoning, quoted and re-checked
  15. Ellis County Environmental Office (ellisco.net)

Written October 11, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.

Answers from the rulebook for Hays

Hays’s own rules

  • Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

    Buildings and structures within Hays city corporate limits.

    • The city adopts the 2024 International Building Code and 2024 International Residential Code by reference with listed amendments.

    International Building Code edition: 2024 (Except Chapter 11 Accessibility and Chapter 13 Energy Efficiency as stated in Sec. 11-42(a).) · International Residential Code edition: 2024 (Except Chapters 12 through 33 as stated in Sec. 11-42(a).)

    “There is adopted by the city, for the purpose of establishing rules and regulations for the erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, moving, removal, conversion, demolition, occupancy, equipment, use, height, area, and maintenance of buildings or structures in the city of Hays, Kansas, that certain standard building codes known as the International Building Code (except Chapter 11 Accessibility & Chapter 13 Energy Efficiency), International Residential Code (except Chapters 12 through 33), all 2024 Editions”
  • Local zoningPresent

    Land inside Hays city limits.

    • The city administers zoning and subdivision regulations within the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
    “Planning is responsible for the coordination of land development activities through the administration of Zoning and Subdivision Regulations within the City of Hays and the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction area surrounding the City.”
  • Zoning districtsPublished

    Zoning districts inside Hays city.

    • The UDC identifies Agriculture (A-L), Residential Suburban (R-S), Residential General (R-G), and Residential Multi-Family (R-M) districts, among others.
    • District-specific dimensional and use standards apply.
    “The Agriculture (A-L), Residential Suburban (R-S), Residential General (R-G), and Residential Multi-Family (R-M) districts provide for different neighborhood types.”
  • Minimum lot sizeSpecified

    Residential General (R-G) District, standard residential development inside Hays city.

    • The UDC table contains separate large-lot, moderate-lot, small-lot, planned mixed-housing, and manufactured-home-park standards.
    • The cited table applies to new neighborhoods and other development categories described in Sec. 3.1.201(B).

    large-lot minimum: 9000 square feet · moderate-lot minimum: 7000 square feet · small-lot minimum: 6000 square feet

    “Residential General (R-G) District Standard (Large Lot) 9,000 sf. [...] Standard (Moderate Lot) 7,000 sf. [...] Standard (Small Lot) 6,000 sf.”
    One more reviewed finding on this topic
    • Specified — Agriculture (A-L) District, standard farmstead neighborhood inside Hays city.
      “This minimum lot size does not prevent a named lot owner from deeding a tract of land of less than five acres for the purposes of a single-family detached house via a lot split; provided, however, that a permit is obtained from the Department and both tracts meet the applicable setback requirements set out in Table 3.1.203.A, Single-Family Detached Lot and Building Standards.”
  • Off-grid sanitationLimited

    Private septic tanks, privies, or other private sanitary disposal inside Hays city.

    • Private sanitary disposal requires a city permit.
    • No permit may be issued within a block where public sewer connections are available.
    • Private sewage disposal must cease after public sewer becomes available under Secs. 65-328 and 65-329.
    “It is unlawful for any person to construct or locate any structure or works on his premises for the disposal of human excreta or body wastes without a permit from the planning, inspection and enforcement division; provided that no permit may be issued for any such structure or works within a block where connections to the public sewer are available to such person.”
  • Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

    Subdivision and platting inside Hays city.

    • The Hays Area Planning Commission acts on and approves plats.
    • Applications for platting are available through the Inspections Office.
    “The Hays Area Planning Commission consisting of nine members representing both the City and the extraterritorial jurisdiction, acts on and approves plats, makes recommendations to the City Commission regarding zoning regulations.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Hays or Ellis County directly.

  • Minimum dwelling size — Residential dwellings inside Hays city.
  • Lot coverage — Residential lots inside Hays city.
  • Building height — Residential buildings inside Hays city.
  • Living in an RV — Long-term occupancy of recreational vehicles on private land inside Hays city.
  • Camping on your land — Temporary camping on private land inside Hays city.
7 more unanswered
  • Tiny homes
  • Accessory dwellings
  • Well permit
  • Agricultural exemption
  • Building in a floodplain
  • Short-term rentals
  • Permit fees

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.

Unanswered questions are usually a sign that Hays publishes no rule on the point, not that none exists. Ellis County’s page lists the county offices to call.

← All of Ellis County: county rules, score and offices