Unincorporated McHenry County requires no registration or fee for a by-right vacation rental, only a conditional use permit above the annual caps. Cities require registration: Crystal Lake and McHenry both mandate a $0-fee registration, and Woodstock B&Bs must keep a guest register.
The county's own comparison shows unincorporated McHenry County requires no registration, no fee, and no inspection for a compliant vacation rental. Municipalities differ: the City of Crystal Lake requires registration (no fee) plus inspection, and the City of McHenry requires registration at no fee without inspection. Under the Woodstock UDO, a licensed bed-and-breakfast establishment "shall maintain a guest register." Woodstock also issues short-term rental certificates whose applications require owner contact information and a designated local agent.
Failing to register where a municipality requires it, or operating without a required certificate, exposes the operator to municipal code fines and possible suspension or revocation of the rental license.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Crystal Lake collects yard waste and food-scrap compost weekly at the curb from April 1 through November 30. Leaves and grass must go in biodegradable paper ...
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Crystal Lake and McHenry County have no ordinance specifically banning or approving residential artificial turf. Installations must still meet Unified Develo...
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Illinois' Homeowners' Native Landscaping Act bars community associations from banning native-species plantings that are kept free of weeds and don't encroach...
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Neither Crystal Lake nor McHenry County prohibits residential rain barrels or rainwater collection, and Illinois has no statewide ban. The McHenry County Sto...
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Crystal Lake uses a color-coded water-conservation system. During a declared 'Yellow' condition, odd-numbered addresses water on odd dates and even addresses...
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Crystal Lake Chapter 526 lists noxious weeds - burdock, ragweed, thistle, poison ivy, wild mustard and others - plus any unmanaged vegetation as nuisance gre...
See how McHenry County's registration rules rules stack up against other locations.
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