Lake Geneva City Council amends ordinance for home rentals

By: CBS 58 Newsroom

Posted: Jun 25, 2020 5:32 PM CDT

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Lake Geneva City Council took action this month to amend their city ordinance for home rentals.

It comes after a lawsuit from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty against the city.

State law gives homeowners the right to rent their home on a short-term basis for up to 180 days in a year.

But to get a home rental license from the City of Lake Geneva, homeowners had to install a "Knox Box" that gives city officials the key to their home.

They also had to open their homes to warrant-less inspections from city officials, provide their guest registries and rental records on demand, and pay a $2,000 fee.

Earlier this month, the council modified its ordinance.

The use of a Knox Box is now optional, city officials need to provide a written explanation for any request to inspect records, and the fee was lowered from $2,000 to $750.