Right to Rent Law
Legislation
Wisconsin’s right to rent law balances the rights of property owners to rent their homes and the rights of their neighbors to use and enjoy their property. The law encourages local governments to regulate short-term rental activity in a fair and reasonable manner.
The law was passed in response to a growing number of communities implementing bans the rental of residential dwellings for any period of time less than 30 days. Rather than regulating the behavior of the occupants of short-term rentals like any other property to ensure compliance with noise, parking and other local ordinances, these communities instead placed blanket prohibitions on rentals less than a month.
Five takeaways about the law
1. Local governments can regulate but not prohibit short-term rentals seven days or longer
Local governments — which include counties, cities, villages and towns — cannot ban the rental of a residential dwelling for a period of time of seven consecutive days or more. Homeowners associations and condominiums fall outside of the law.
2. Local permits are allowed
The local permit cannot be overly restrictive, resulting in a de facto prohibition on a short-term rental. Such local permits should be more administrative in nature and contain objective and reasonable standards.
3. Six-month cap within a 365-day period
Under the law, local governments are allowed to place a six-month/180-day cap on the amount of time property owners can rent out their home during any 365-day period. Moreover, the law allows but does not require local governments to require the 180 days to be continuous. In communities that have adopted a six-month cap, property owners are allowed to choose which six-month period the dwelling is rented.
4. State licensing and inspection requirements
While not a new requirement, most short-term rentals are required to obtain a “tourist rooming house” license from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). Such a license is required for vacation homes, cabins and cottages rented out to tourists and transients for more than 10 nights in a 12-month period.
5. Collection of state sales and local room taxes
The law requires owners of short-term rentals and lodging marketplaces to collect state sales and use tax, which are 5%, and any room tax owed from the person renting the residential dwelling.
See Wis. Stat. § 66.1014.