De Pere, WI Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

Under Section 134-1 of the De Pere Code of Ordinances, any operator who furnishes a short-term rental to the public must first file with the city clerk for a room tax identification number, one for every rental address in the city. The application goes on a form the clerk prescribes and must list the name the operator will use, the address of the unit, and any other information the clerk asks for. If the rental is on residential property, the owner signs the application personally; if not, the signer must be a 'person responsible' authorized to act for the business that owns the lodging.

A separate license kicks in once an operator crosses a use threshold: anyone who maintains, manages or operates a short-term rental for more than ten nights in a year must also obtain a tourist roominghouse license, defined by cross-reference to Wis. Stat. § 97.01(15k). That license sits on top of the room tax registration, so an occasional host renting fewer than ten nights a year needs the tax ID number but not the roominghouse license, while a frequent host needs both.

The zoning ordinance layers on a separate rule: short-term rentals may not be offered for fewer than seven consecutive days in the R1 and R2 residential districts, though a one-day minimum applies everywhere else in the city (De Pere Zoning Ordinance, Art. VII, § 14-73(9)(d)). Each rental record ties back to the same city clerk's office that collects the room tax under Section 134-1.