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

Marathon County zoning under General Code Chapter 17 applies only in unincorporated towns that have opted into county comprehensive zoning under Wis. Stat. 59.69 and 91; cities such as Wausau and villages such as Rothschild and Weston administer their own occupancy and density rules. The county itself does not publish a fixed guests-per-bedroom cap for short-term rentals. Instead, the operative occupancy limit comes from the Tourist Rooming House license issued under Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 72, which Marathon County Public Health (715-261-1900) inspects each year as DATCP's local agent. ATCP 72 evaluates sleeping-room area, ventilation, egress windows, smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms, bathroom count and water-supply capacity, and the inspector records the maximum sleeping capacity on the license. Wis. Stat. 66.1014 caps how restrictively any town, city or county can regulate the rental contract: stays of seven consecutive days or longer cannot be prohibited, and stays of more than six but fewer than thirty days can only be capped at no fewer than 180 nights per 365-day period. Local nuisance, noise and parking ordinances continue to apply to overcrowded gatherings under the same statute.