Kenosha County, WI Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

Division V of Chapter 16, the county's Environmental Health/Food Ordinance, governs hotels, motels and tourist rooming houses, the category Wisconsin law (ATCP 72, Wis. Admin. Code) uses to capture short-term rentals such as an Airbnb-style unit rented to transient guests. without first obtaining a license therefor from the Division," and folds the state's ATCP 72 standards directly into the county chapter by reference, so a violation of the state lodging code is also a violation of the county ordinance. 020 requires an application on Division forms with both the license fee and a preinspection fee, and bars the Division from issuing or renewing the license until the Health Officer personally determines and certifies that the premises complies with ATCP 72 and Chapter 16.

That preinspection requirement means a short-term rental operator cannot simply file paperwork and start hosting; the property has to pass a Health Officer inspection first. 040 sets the license period from July 1 through June 30 each year, except that a license issued between April 1 and June 30 still expires that June 30, so a new operator entering mid-cycle gets a short first term rather than a full year. This licensing scheme applies within unincorporated Kenosha County; short-term rental operators inside the City of Kenosha, City of Lake Geneva, or any of the county's incorporated villages fall under those municipalities' own licensing rules, not this county division.