Short-term rentals in Hudson, explained properly.

Sec. 141-7G caps the total number of licenses issued by the City at 25 at any one time. Of the 25, no more than 15 may be issued for properties in Planning Districts 1 and 2, considered together as a single district, and no more than 15 may be issued within any other individual planning district identified in the City's most recently adopted comprehensive plan. Applications are processed in the order received, subject to the number of available licenses. We haven't reviewed the comprehensive plan's planning district map yet.

Sec. 141-4O sets the 300-foot spacing for license applications made after September 2, 2025, measured property line to property line.

Sec. 141-7A. A new owner must apply for a license of their own, subject to the license cap, the spacing rule and the owner-occupancy rule.

Sec. 141-7C. The City publishes on its website the license holder's name, phone number and address, the rental address and the license expiration date. Renewal applications must also include a copy of the guest disclosure posting (Sec. 141-4K).

Sec. 141-5 lists a scaled site plan showing parking, driveways, structures and outdoor recreational areas guests may use; a scaled floor plan marking the transient guest bedrooms; a notarized affidavit that owners of all adjacent properties know of the application; a request for a property inspection before the application is complete; proof of owner occupancy in a form acceptable to the City; and a copy of the St. Croix County tourist rooming house or bed-and-breakfast license. Sec. 141-3B also requires proof of commercial liability insurance and the booking services used. Incomplete applications are rejected.

Sec. 141-6 requires payment in full of the license application fee with the application and leaves the amount to the City fee schedule. We haven't reviewed the fee schedule or its effective date yet, so no dollar amount is stated.

A guest bedroom must have at least 80 square feet for one occupant or 120 square feet for two, no more than two occupants regardless of size, seven feet of ceiling height over half the floor area and two code-compliant means of egress, one of them a window meeting Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code egress rules. A bedroom cannot be in an RV, camper, tent or similar arrangement. Sec. 141-4M adds that no more than four total additional guests are permitted at the property at one time between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., and they must follow property rules and City ordinances. RVs, campers and tents may not be used for extra paying guests or invitees.

Sec. 141-4C and 141-4D. The owner or manager's name, address and phone number must be given to all property owners within 300 feet of the property boundary, the City Clerk's Department must be notified within 10 days of a change in contact information, and neighbors must be notified within 10 days of a change. The property manager is the person responsible for the rental, who responds to complaints or addresses guests' needs in the owner's absence.

Sec. 141-4E. The residential-district parking requirement is stated for residential zoning districts. In the B-3 and B-4 Zoning Districts, transient guest parking must be on the property or a parking mitigation plan, covering existing and proposed parking within 300 feet, must be approved by City staff. No vehicular traffic or parking use may exceed what is normally expected in the neighborhood for the district.

Sec. 141-4H and 141-4I. Outdoor spaces must comply with the City noise and nuisance ordinances (Secs. 175-5, 175-5.1 and 187-4). For example, if the side yard setback is 10 feet, outdoor recreation areas used by three or more people at a time must be at least 15 feet from the side yard property line.

Sec. 141-4J. Detectors must meet Wisconsin statutes. The evacuation plan shows a diagram of escape routes and emergency telephone numbers.

Sec. 141-4L. On prior notice to the owner or manager, Police, Fire and Building Inspections may also inspect the premises to investigate complaints or possible violations.

Sec. 141-4K and 141-4F. The posting lists the owner or manager's name, phone and address, the maximum guests and vehicles and where to park, the outdoor-area rules, and that nuisance ordinances are enforced by the Hudson Police Department including reduced noise between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Beyond one sign identifying the rental and added parking, there may be no change in the exterior appearance of the home or other visible evidence of the rental.

Sec. 141-10. Penalties are imposed on conviction, together with costs of prosecution, and are in addition to injunction, abatement or other remedies under the chapter or Wisconsin or federal law.

Sec. 141-9. After a complaint, the Council may dismiss it or hold a hearing, with notice by certified mail 10 to 30 days ahead, and issues a written decision within 30 days after the hearing. No part of the fee for a revoked license is refunded. A denial of an initial or renewal license must be in writing with reasons. The Council's action may be reviewed by certiorari in St. Croix County Circuit Court.

Section 77.52(2) of the Wisconsin Statutes imposes a 5% tax on the sales price of the services listed in paragraph (a), and paragraph (a)1. lists the furnishing of rooms or lodging to transients by hotelkeepers, motel operators and other persons furnishing accommodations that are available to the public, whether or not membership is required. A transient is a person residing for a continuous period of less than one month in a hotel, motel or other furnished accommodations available to the public, and the statute defines "one month" as a calendar month or 30 days, whichever is less, counting the first day of the rental and not counting the last day. Accommodations rented for a continuous period of more than one month are excluded from the definition of hotel or motel. County sales taxes and local room taxes are separate; the local room tax authority is described in the municipal room tax field, and we haven't reviewed county sales tax rates yet.

Section 66.0615(1m)(a) lets the governing body of a municipality (a city, village or town) enact an ordinance imposing a tax on the sales price of rooms or lodging furnished to transients by hotelkeepers, motel operators, marketplace providers, owners of short-term rentals and other persons furnishing accommodations available to the public. The tax may be collected from the guest. A tax imposed by a municipality may not exceed 8% of the sales price, except in the cases listed in paragraph (am), which concern convention center construction, renovation or debt in certain counties. The statute defines a short-term rental as a residential dwelling offered for rent for a fee and for fewer than 30 consecutive days. Section 66.0615(1r)(c) requires the Department of Revenue to keep a website listing each municipality that imposes a room tax and its rate. Section 66.0615(2) lets a municipality audit the records of a person subject to the tax and set forfeitures for failing to comply with an audit request or to pay. The rate in a given municipality is shown on that place's page when reviewed.

Section 77.52(3m)(a) makes a marketplace provider liable for the tax imposed under that section on the entire sales price charged to the purchaser, including any amount the provider charges for facilitating the sale, for services under sub. (2), which include lodging furnished to transients. Waivers under paragraph (b) are for providers that facilitate sales only for sellers operating under a hotel, motel or restaurant brand name shared with the provider, and the Department of Revenue may grant waivers for other providers under paragraph (c) if sellers have a history of reliably collecting and remitting the tax. Under section 66.0615(1r)(a), a marketplace provider must collect the municipal room tax for a marketplace seller (unless it holds a waiver) and forward it to the municipality quarterly, or more often if the provider and the municipality agree in writing; a municipality may not collect the room tax from the marketplace seller if it collects it from the provider this way. Check with the platform and the Department of Revenue which taxes the platform collects for your listing.

Under section 66.1014(2)(a), a political subdivision (any city, village, town or county) may not enact or enforce an ordinance that prohibits the rental of a residential dwelling for 7 consecutive days or longer, and under (2)(b) an inconsistent ordinance in effect on September 23, 2017 does not apply and may not be enforced. Under (2)(d)1., if a dwelling is rented for periods of more than 6 but fewer than 30 consecutive days, the political subdivision may limit the total rental days in any consecutive 365-day period to no fewer than 180 days; it may not choose which period the dwelling may be rented, but it may require the allowable days to run consecutively, and a person renting out a residential dwelling must notify the clerk in writing when the first rental in a 365-day period begins. Under (2)(d)2., a person who maintains, manages or operates a short-term rental, as defined in section 66.0615(1)(dk), for more than 10 nights each year must hold a DATCP tourist rooming house license and must also obtain a local license if the political subdivision enacts an ordinance requiring one. Paragraph (2)(c) preserves local authority to regulate rentals in ways that do not conflict with these limits. The statute's annotation reports that, in Wisconsin Realtors Association v. City of Neenah (2025 WI App 49), the Court of Appeals held an ordinance that prohibits short-term rentals of at least some residential dwellings preempted by this section. Whether a particular local rule is consistent with section 66.1014 is a legal question; this page records what the statute says.

Section 66.1014(2)(d)2.a. requires a tourist rooming house license from DATCP for anyone who maintains, manages or operates a short-term rental (a residential dwelling offered for rent for fewer than 30 consecutive days) for more than 10 nights each year. DATCP describes a tourist rooming house as any lodging place where sleeping accommodations are offered for pay to tourists or transients, including a lodging place with four or fewer individually keyed units and a one- or two-family dwelling or condominium unit; it does not include a hotel or motel, a bed and breakfast establishment, or a private boarding or rooming house. DATCP says the updated rules in Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 72 (hotels, motels and tourist rooming houses) took effect on January 25, 2026 and affect operational and compliance requirements for all tourist rooming house establishments. A city, village, town or county may also require its own license (see the state law field). We haven't reviewed ch. ATCP 72 itself yet.

DATCP's tourist rooming house page lists an annual license fee and a one-time pre-inspection fee by number of tourist rooming houses: $296 and $592 for 1; $450 and $900 for 2 to 4; $550 and $1,100 for 5 to 9; $600 and $1,200 for 10 to 19. Larger tiers run up to $1,100 and $2,200 for 600 or more. The page shows no effective date for the schedule other than the April 1, 2028 increase, so the fee is marked for review.