The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) has secured a major legal victory for property owners in Sister Bay after the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled that the Village’s four-bedroom cap for vacation rentals operates as an illegal “back-door prohibition on renting.”
The Quotes: WILL Deputy Counsel, Luke Berg, stated, “The Village of Sister Bay cannot dictate where vacationers sleep within a private home. We appreciate the Court’s clear statement that limiting the number of bedrooms a property owner can rent violated the law. This decision is a win for economic freedom and vacationers who like to enjoy Door County.”
WILL Client, Hunter Clinton, stated, “All we want to do is provide our guests with the best experience when renting from us. It was unnecessary and unreasonable to limit how many bedrooms we could rent and restrict the freedom of our guests to use the house to their comfort. We so appreciate the legal efforts of WILL to restore basic common sense to renting.”
Our Lawsuit: We argued that Wisconsin’s right-to-rent law gives homeowners the right to rent their entire home on a short-term basis. Wis. Stat. §66.1014. Sister Bay disregarded that law and attempted to impose a four-bedroom limit on short-term rentals, effectively dictating where renters sleep within a private home. We also argued that the 4-bedroom limit could not be applied retroactively to pre-existing properties.
While a circuit court initially sided with the Village on nearly all claims, WILL appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed. The Court held that a bedroom limit violates and is preempted by the right-to-rent law. The Court’s holding applies statewide.
Prior to this decision, property owners risked penalties of up to $5,000 per day if they violated the bedroom limit.
Read more:
Appeals Court Decision, July 2026
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