Executive Summary
Shell Lake, Wisconsin kept its short-term rental occupancy cap at 10 guests, turning down a push to allow up to 18 for a seven-bedroom rental. A motion to send the change back to committee failed 4-3, and the council then voted unanimously to leave the rules alone. On the developing side, Folly Beach, South Carolina's council voted 4-3 to let the lawsuit over its 800-permit cap skip the appeals court and go straight to the state Supreme Court. A judge already struck down the city's registration fee as an illegal tax, and a proposed class action wants refunds after the city collected about $1.5 million from that fee in 2025. The Supreme Court still has to agree to take the case.
New Regulations
Shell Lake, Wisconsin
Occupancy · Published September 23, 2026
The Shell Lake City Council voted unanimously on September 14 to keep its short-term rental ordinance as is, leaving occupancy at two people per bedroom plus two, capped at 10 guests. A committee had weighed raising the limit to two per bedroom plus four (up to 18) after the owner of a seven-bedroom rental said the cap made it hard to rent, but a motion to send the change back for more work failed 4-3 in a city with 13 STRs, all on the lake.
→ Source: Council votes to keep short-term rental ordinance as is
Developing Regulations
Folly Beach, South Carolina
Legal / Fees · Published September 22, 2026
Attorneys for Elizabeth Spratt Cooper and Park Lane Partners asked on September 18 to move their challenge to Folly Beach's 800-permit STR cap to the South Carolina Supreme Court, arguing the cap's roots in a 2023 referendum give the high court jurisdiction, and the city council voted 4-3 on September 22 to consent, though the Supreme Court still has to agree to take the case. Judge Thomas Rode ruled in August that parts of the 2023 rules were invalid, including a since-eliminated registration fee he called an illegal tax, and a proposed class action is seeking refunds after the city collected about $1.5 million from that fee in 2025.
→ Source: Folly Beach short-term rental legal drama could be heading to SC Supreme Court
Henrico County, Virginia
Zoning / Permitting · Published September 14, 2026
Deborah Fazenbaker asked Henrico County's Board of Zoning Appeals for a conditional use permit to run a short-term rental at 6013 Bonneau Road in Chamberlayne Heights (Fairfield District), a property zoned R-2A One-Family Residence. The request was one of 10 cases on the board's September 24 agenda, since STR use in that single-family zone requires the permit.
→ Source: Henrico BZA to consider requests for home daycare, short-term rental, accessory dwellings Sept. 24
