GLENDALE, Wi — The city of Glendale passed an ordinance on Monday restricting short-term rental properties, banning any stay less than seven days.
The move comes weeks after a shooting at a short-term rental property over Memorial Day weekend where one person was injured. Neighbors reported dozens of people running through the street and backyards.
Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy said the minimum stay requirement is designed to prevent party houses.
"So that stops the people renting from like a Friday, Saturday night just to use it as a party house over a weekend," Kennedy said.
Watch: Airbnb owner worried after Glendale changes ordinance to ban rentals that are under seven days
The ordinance also cracks down on unlicensed short-term rentals with hefty fines. The city identified the problem after the shooting, when staff combed through rental websites like Airbnb and found at least a dozen properties in the city operating without a license, not following state statute.
"Cease and desist letters immediately," Kennedy said.
The city says it would work with unlicensed operators to get into compliance.
According to documents obtained from the North Shore Health Department, only four short-term rental properties are currently licensed in Glendale.
Ihor Levytskyy is one of them. He has run an Airbnb short-term rental property in Glendale for a year and takes pride in his five-star review history. For him, obtaining a license was a no-brainer.
"I would like to have a license to keep this business, and it's normal. Also, it's not expensive; it's just a couple hundred bucks you pay for one year of this license, that's all. I think you can return this money on this business right away," Levytskyy said.
But the seven-day minimum stay requirement is another matter. When asked how many times in the last year he received a booking of seven days or longer, Levytskyy said it has rarely happened.
"Maybe two or three people over," Levytskyy said. "Like 90% of people stay two or three days, only 10% stay for seven days or more."
Levytskyy said he worries the ordinance could put him out of business.
"If they're going to make these changes, we and another host, they're going to lose this business for sure," Levytskyy said.
The ordinance will take a few weeks to become law.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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