Racine County, WI Short-Term Rentals: Permit Requirements (2026)

Wis. Stat. §66.1014(2)(a) prohibits any city, village, town, or county from enacting an ordinance that prohibits the rental of a residential dwelling for 7 consecutive days or longer. For stays of more than 6 but fewer than 30 consecutive days, §66.1014(2)(d) allows a municipality to limit the total annual rental days to no fewer than 180 days within a 365-day period. A 'residential dwelling' is defined under §66.1014(1)(b) as a building or part of a building used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one person or by two or more persons maintaining a common household. Anyone who rents a property to tourists or transients for more than 10 nights in a 12-month period must hold a Tourist Rooming House license issued by DATCP under Wis. Stat. §97.01(15k) and Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 72; the annual license year runs July 1 through June 30 with a state pre-inspection fee. Local political subdivisions may add their own permit requirements under §66.1014(3), but those permits cannot impose total bans, dictate which days of the year units rent, or override the 180-day floor. Racine County itself does not issue STR permits; in unincorporated towns the county relies on Chapter 20 zoning's residential district rules, while cities such as Racine and Burlington and villages such as Mount Pleasant, Caledonia, Waterford, and Sturtevant set local STR licensing through their municipal codes. Operators must also collect Wisconsin sales tax (5%), Racine County sales tax (0.5%), and any applicable municipal room tax under Wis. Stat. §66.0615.