Milwaukee might ramp up Airbnb rules. That could include requiring operators to live there

Milwaukee Airbnb hosts and other short-term rental operators could see more regulations, including requiring them to live at those properties.

That's according to members of the Common Council − which might consider such rules this fall.

The new regulations would be a response to complaints about loud parties and other nuisance behavior linked to short-term rentals. City officials started discussing that issue about a year ago.

Wisconsin law allows communities to regulate short-term rentals, said Jezamil Arroyo-Vega, commissioner of Mayor Cavalier Johnson's Department of Neighborhood Services.

In Milwaukee, state tourist rooming house licenses are required to operate short-term rentals. Those license applications include a property safety inspection, and carry a fee of $300 for the first year and $121 for each annual renewal.

Eighty such licenses have been issued this year, up from 60 in 2023 and 25 in 2022, Arroyo-Vega told members of the council's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee. She attributed that increase to better collaboration between city officials and short-term rental platforms.

Still, that's a small fraction of the number of short-rentals operating in Milwaukee. That count in 2023 was estimated at around 1,000 by the Department of City Development.

Arroyo-Vega told zoning committee members Tuesday her department would need to create a master list of all short-term rentals to ramp up licensing enforcement.

She estimated it would cost $500,000 to $1 million to establish the program and operate it during its first year. That includes hiring and training department employees.

The department also can work with the city attorney's office on collecting fines for unlicensed short-term rentals; create more partnerships with short-term rental platforms, and use community outreach to increase the number of licensed operators, Arroyo-Vega said.

Committee members Ald. Jonathan Brostoff, whose district includes portions of the east side and Riverwest, and Ald. Robert Bauman, whose district includes downtown and parts of the near west side, both indicated support for a new rule requiring a short-term rental be the operator's primary residence.

That approach is used in Madison.

"I think their model is the best in the state," said Brostoff, committee chair.

Brostoff wants the council to consider additional short-term rental rules after the August recess. He said residents need more protection, and cited a February shooting at a short-term rental in the 2800 block of North Weil Street that injured a teenager.

Other council members indicating support for additional rules include Ald. Milele Coggs, whose district includes the Harambee, Bronzeville and Halyard Park neighborhoods; Ald. Mark Chambers, whose district includes parts of the northwest side, and Ald. DiAndre Jackson, a committee member whose district is on Milwaukee's north side.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram , X and Facebook .

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee might ramp up Airbnb rules. That could include requiring operators to live there