Middleton, WI Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

f, part of the Property Management Requirements for a Short-Term Residential Rental, sets the occupancy ceiling at the lesser of two times the number of legal bedrooms in the dwelling unit or twelve. The rule uses a lesser-of formula rather than a flat number, so a two-bedroom rental tops out at four guests while any rental with six or more legal bedrooms is still capped at twelve regardless of bedroom count. The ordinance carves out one exception to the headcount: children under the age of twelve are excluded from the tally, so a family with several young kids will not be pushed over the cap the way a group of adults would.

28(26), which also requires operators to maintain a Guest Register recording every guest's true name and address, kept available for City inspection for at least one year after the stay. Occupancy is checked alongside the parking standard in the same section, which requires one off-street parking space plus an additional space for each bedroom beyond two, so a listing advertising a bedroom count above what its driveway can support faces both an occupancy and a parking problem at once. Short-Term Residential Rentals are permitted by right accessory to a residential use in every zoning district, but only for a licensed operator who holds a current Annual City of Middleton Short-Term Residential Rental License.