Glendale cracks down on Airbnb owners, sends cease and desist letters
GLENDALE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- On Monday night, the Glendale Common Council approved an ordinance that would limit the use of rental homes throughout the city.
The ordinance prohibits stays of six nights or less, and Airbnb owners will now be required to have a license from the health department to operate.
The changes come two weeks after a Memorial Day shooting at an Airbnb on Riverview Drive that sent one person to the hospital.
“If you want an event venue, don’t rent an Airbnb and bring 100 people in a residential neighborhood and disturb all the neighbors,” Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy said.
Kennedy says the owner of the property on Riverview Drive did not have a permit and was denied one when he went to the health department after the shooting.
“They were operating without a license. Immediately, the owner applied for the license for that property and another property, and immediate response from our city attorney was no," Kennedy said. “This owner already demonstrated that they won’t properly police one property, we’re not gonna give them a license for that one or for the other property.”
Mayor Kennedy says there are 17 properties operating as short-term rentals in Glendale, but according to the North Shore Health Department, only four have a proper license.
Cease and desist letters have been sent to the 13 properties without one, asking them to shut down.
“Unless we know that they’ve been operating without a license and have had nuisance calls from the police, if they apply for the license and go through the process, they’re likely going to get a license,” Kennedy said.
Under the ordinance, the city can also fine rental homeowners up to $1,500 per day the home is rented out.