What changed in the 2 October 2026 recheck. Clearwater Township votes on its short-term rental ordinance on 15 October 2026, after a special meeting on 8 October. The Village of Kalkaska reviewed its moratorium on 10 August 2026 and left it in place for its full two-year term, to August 2027. The Village of Elk Rapids adopted Ordinance 2026-17: licences first issued in 2027 or later will not transfer on a sale. The Village of Empire adopted a registration ordinance with no cap on 25 August 2026. The Village of Beulah put a moratorium on new licences until 31 March 2027 and is drafting a cap. Solon Township’s licensing ordinance cleared the planning commission and sits tabled at the board, Almira Township’s rewrite is before its board, and Whitewater Township has started drafting an ordinance that could end its ban.
Corrections to earlier entries. Blue Lake Township (Kalkaska County) is licensed, frozen to new applicants and non-transferable, not open. Lake Township’s cap is 110, not 75. Blair Township defines short-term rentals but lists them in no zoning district, so it is now marked VERIFY rather than OPEN. The Village of Northport does use a special use permit track, Torch Lake Township’s pre-1983 grandfathering rule is real, and Weldon Township has its own zoning ordinance. Antrim County has eight unzoned townships, not seven.
Corrections to earlier entries. Blue Lake Township (Kalkaska County) is licensed, frozen to new applicants and non-transferable, not open. Lake Township’s cap is 110, not 75. Blair Township defines short-term rentals but lists them in no zoning district, so it is now marked VERIFY rather than OPEN. The Village of Northport does use a special use permit track, Torch Lake Township’s pre-1983 grandfathering rule is real, and Weldon Township has its own zoning ordinance. Antrim County has eight unzoned townships, not seven.
Investing in Northern Michigan is no longer about buying a view. It is about which side of a township line the parcel sits on. The era of buy it and Airbnb it is over, and the difference between a working investment and a dead one is now measured in ordinance numbers.
This guide covers every township, city and village across five counties — Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Antrim, Benzie and Kalkaska. Eighty-three jurisdictions, each checked against the adopted ordinance rather than against what people say about it. Several of the most repeated claims in this market turn out to be wrong, and those are flagged where they appear.
Within each county the table runs most restrictive first, so the places that will end your search are at the top.
Every Jurisdiction at a Glance
| Jurisdiction | Status | What the rule actually is | Who to call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Traverse County | |||
| Garfield Township (Grand Traverse) Not allowed in any district, commercial included | BANNED | The township states it outright: short-term rental of a residential dwelling for under 30 days is not allowed in Garfield Township. A full-text search of Zoning Ordinance 68 finds “Vacation Home Rental” only in the definitions and a parking table — it is not a permitted or special use in ANY district, including every commercial district. There is no parcel-zoning workaround. Bed and breakfasts, hotels, motels and campgrounds are separate uses with separate standards. A 2024 staff proposal would have allowed STRs in C-L, C-G, C-H and C-P; it was a discussion item, was never adopted, and the FAQ still says no. | Michael Green, Zoning Administrator — (231) 941-1620 |
| Peninsula Township Thirty-day minimum, written into the ordinance | BANNED | Cite the ordinance, not the headlines. Zoning Ordinance section 6.2.2(2)(e), as revised by Amendment 182, says a property owner may rent a non-owner-occupied dwelling provided the minimum rental term is 30 days. That is a flat whole-house STR ban, codifying zoning board determinations from 1999 and 2008. The only short-stay option is an owner-occupied bed and breakfast of three rooms or fewer with the owner living on site. The ordinance is current through October 2025 and the township publishes a weekly tracking document of pending amendments. On the winery litigation: the roughly $49 million judgment is STAYED with bond waived as of March 2026 and is on appeal to the Sixth Circuit, with oral argument expected before the end of 2026 but no date set as of 2 October 2026 — no money has been paid, it is a winery case rather than an STR case, and it confers no rights on rental owners. It does tell you how hard this township litigates. Enforcement is tightening too: on 11 August 2026 the township board heard a presentation on Granicus short-term rental violation software, which counted an estimated 81 active short-term rentals in the township in July. No vote was taken. | Sara Schroeder, Zoning Administrator — (231) 223-7318 |
| Whitewater Township Still a ban, but an STR ordinance is now being drafted | BANNED | Often still described as mid-rewrite. It is not: the new zoning ordinance took effect 23 October 2025, and it contains no short-term rental use, definition or permit. The township states on its own zoning page that short-term rental of a residential dwelling for under 30 days is not allowed. Short stays are possible only as a bed and breakfast, hotel, motel or campground in the districts that permit them — a B&B needs a special use permit, a minimum one acre, no more than ten sleeping rooms including the innkeepers, and one off-street space per room. WATCH: that may not last. A township survey run from 9 June to 14 July 2026 (563 responses) found about six in ten residents support allowing short-term rentals in some form, and in September 2026 the planning commission began work on a new STR ordinance using Elmwood Township’s rules as a starting point. The township board had “Short Term Rental – next steps discussion” on its 24 September 2026 agenda. Nothing is adopted, so the ban stands today. | Deb Graber, Zoning Administrator — (231) 267-5141 ext. 21 · cell (231) 499-1340 |
| Grant Township No path for a non-resident investor | CLOSED | The entry most often gotten wrong. There is no STR ordinance and no permit system — the October 2024 zoning ordinance contains not one occurrence of “short-term rental.” And it tightened rather than loosened: Amendment 2023-05, adopted 20 March 2023, REMOVED Tourist Homes from the residential special-use list. They survive only in the B-1 business district by special use permit, and the ordinance grants special use permits only where the owner or operator resides on the parcel. The one residential option left is an owner-occupied bed and breakfast of up to four bedrooms with planning commission approval. Buy here to live in, not to rent out. | Darren Albrecht, Zoning Administrator — (231) 968-4463 |
| Acme Township Whole-house rentals are barred from residential land | RESTRICTED | The cap of 100 is split 50 Tourist Homes / 50 Vacation Homes and the township says there are many licences available — but that is not the constraint. The constraint is district: a VACATION home (whole-house, nobody living there) is allowed ONLY in the agricultural district and in existing single-family dwellings in commercial districts. Tourist homes, where you live there and host, are allowed in every district. Fees $100 tourist / $300 vacation. Permits do not transfer on sale or between properties. Over-subscription is settled by lottery, renewing holders first. Local agent within 30 miles, available 24 hours, responding within 60 minutes. Watch: the township adopted its new Master Plan on 15 June 2026. The draft carried a priority action to require septic inspections at annual renewal, and no ordinance amendment has followed yet. | Lindsey Wolf, Planning and Zoning Administrator — (231) 938-1350 |
| Village of Kingsley Commercial districts only, by special land use | RESTRICTED | The village adopted an entirely new zoning ordinance on 18 November 2025 that defines short-term rentals for the first time — and allows them only as a Special Land Use in the two commercial districts, C-1 and C-2. They are not permitted in any residential district, nor in flood plain or industrial. Buying a house in a Kingsley residential neighbourhood to rent short-term is a dead end. There is no cap, no fee and no occupancy standard in the ordinance; everything runs through the special land use process, so conditions are set case by case. Bed and breakfasts remain a special use in all four residential districts, owner-occupied with up to three guest bedrooms. Note Paradise Township around it has no STR licence at all. WATCH: on 11 August 2026 the council discussed “possibly looking into allowing limited amount” of short-term rentals with an application fee, an annual permit fee and annual inspections, and the planning commission took the subject up in September. Nothing is drafted yet. | Charlie Jetter, Zoning Administrator — (231) 263-7778 ext. 101 |
| Fife Lake Township Capped at 8% of parcels, with a $575 permit | TECHNICAL | Ordinance 2025.02.001, adopted 27 February 2025, caps total licences at 8% of township parcels as of 31 December of the prior year, first-come first-served, with a right to petition the board. The fee is $575 a year, among the highest in the county (Long Lake charges $600), so drop any assumption of a cheap entry. Licence expires 31 December or on change of ownership, whichever comes first. Occupancy is 2 per conforming bedroom plus 2 aged 15 and under, or the county health department septic limit, whichever is lower. Caretaker within 30 minutes, notarised. Accessory dwellings not eligible. Fines to $500 a day. The Village of Fife Lake inside it has NO cap, and voters kept the village on 4 August 2026 (93–85 against disincorporation), so these township rules stop at the village line. | Marv Radtke, Zoning Administrator — (231) 879-3963 ext. 302 |
| Green Lake Township Septic sets the ceiling | TECHNICAL | An annual licence, not a certificate. No cap. $525 a year. Occupancy is the LESSER of 2 per legally conforming bedroom plus 2 aged 15 and under, or what the county health department and your well-and-septic report allow — on older lakefront cottages the septic number is what binds, so get the evaluation before you model any guest count. If the septic fails, rental stops immediately until the county signs off. Caretaker reachable at all times and within 30 minutes travel. Licence expires 31 December or on change of ownership. Accessory dwellings not eligible. | Jason Hamilton, Zoning Administrator — (231) 276-9329 ext. 106 |
| Long Lake Township The certificate dies when the house sells | TECHNICAL | No cap, but two things matter more. First, the certificate is valid one year OR until the dwelling is sold, whichever comes first — a buyer does not inherit it. Second, occupancy runs off septic: overnight maximum is the number of bedrooms the septic is designed for times two, and daytime maximum is that times 1.5. A septic inspection under three years old is required. Caretaker reachable at all times and within 30 minutes. Fee $600. Renewals accepted from 1 October. No moratorium was found — reports of one appear to confuse a lake dredging moratorium and East Bay Township. | Matt Jerome, Zoning Administrator — (231) 534-4284 · STR programme: Greg Hornkohl (231) 534-4283 |
| Paradise Township No STR licence exists — only an owner-occupied B&B | TECHNICAL | There is no short-term rental ordinance and no STR licence. The 2022 zoning ordinance contains no STR provision and none of the townships other 19 ordinances touch rentals. What exists is a Bed and Breakfast / Tourist House: an owner-occupied private home with up to three bedrooms converted for guests, permitted in Forest-Recreational and by special use permit in R-1 and R-2, capped at six rooms and twelve people, with sleeping rooms inside the primary residence. That route runs through a special use permit, $500 on the fee schedule effective 9 July 2025 plus an escrow set by the zoning administrator, and takes three to six months. The Village of Kingsley inside it has its own, stricter rules. | Jenn Cram, AICP, Zoning and Planning Administrator — (231) 263-5251 |
| East Bay Township One application window a year — next is March 2027 | PERMIT | Not permanently closed, as is widely believed. The township allots 145 licences and releases them through an annual first-come first-served window. The 2026 window closed 17 March at 8pm; the next opens in March 2027, and the township publishes the number available as it approaches. Fee $450 for both new and renewal, renewals due 1 November. Seven-night minimum stay — one rental per calendar week. Licences do not transfer on sale except to immediate family. The harder constraint is structural: a 1,000-foot buffer between any new and existing STR. Applies in all districts, never to an accessory dwelling unit. Plan around the March window. Staffing note: Planning Director Claire Karner leaves on 8 October 2026 to become Traverse City’s planning director, so expect slower answers on planning questions this fall. | Tommy Roush, Zoning Administrator — (231) 947-8681 ext. 3 |
| Mayfield Township There is a permit, and it is not cheap | PERMIT | Not unregulated, as often assumed. The township runs a Short Term Rental application at $500 initial and $250 renewal, expiring 31 March each year, signed off by both the planning commission chair and the zoning administrator, with conditions attachable. The application demands a legal description, parcel map, proof of ownership, zoning of your parcel and its neighbours, driveways within 100 feet, bedroom count, the most recent health department septic evaluation and water quality report, waste hauler details, and a person contactable 24 hours. The enabling ordinance is not posted, so occupancy and response-time standards cannot be read. The township keeps no regular office hours. | Tim Lueck, Zoning Administrator — (231) 263-4599 ext. 4 |
| Village of Fife Lake No cap — village retained by voters, 4 August 2026 | PERMIT | Ordinance 2025-07-01, adopted 27 May 2025 and effective 10 August 2025, allows short-term rentals anywhere in the village with an annual licence and explicitly imposes NO cap, while reserving the right to add one. Accessory dwellings are not eligible. Occupancy is 2 per legally conforming bedroom or studio plus 2 persons per dwelling aged 15 and under, or the county health department septic limit, whichever is less. Caretaker within 30 minutes and reachable at all times; immediate issues resolved immediately, others within five days. The licence expires 31 December or on change of ownership, whichever comes first — a buyer applies fresh. Renewals open 1 October. Quiet hours 11pm to 7am, no on-street parking of boats or trailers, licence number in every advertisement, and rental must stop immediately if the septic fails. Fines to $500 a day. UPDATE: voters kept the village at the 4 August 2026 election. 93 voted to stay a village and 85 to disband, far short of the two-thirds needed to disincorporate. The village and this uncapped ordinance continue, and Fife Lake Township’s 8% cap does not apply inside village limits. The village charges the same $575 annual fee as the township. | Lois MacLean, Village Clerk — (231) 879-4291 |
| Traverse City (City) — Grand Traverse County portion The zoning district decides everything | VARIES | Two separate regimes. A vacation home rental — whole-house, nobody living there — is defined in code as a COMMERCIAL use and is prohibited in every residential district: RC, R-1a, R-1b, R-2, R-3. It is allowed in HR, C-1 through C-4, D-1, D-2, D-3, T and Industrial. In C-1, C-2 and D-2 the parcel must hold two or more dwellings and the maximum is the GREATER of 1 or 25% of them — so a two-unit parcel can hold one, which single-family buyers often miss. No first-floor rentals downtown in C-4. Whether Industrial is capped at 25% or uncapped is genuinely disputed between the ordinance cross-references and the citys own planning table; get a written determination before relying on it. There is no occupancy limit and no caretaker requirement for vacation home rentals. Transfers ARE possible but must be approved within 90 days of closing or the right is extinguished permanently. Fees $200 vacation / $100 tourist home, expiring 31 December, inspection every three years, fines from $500 a day. The only rental allowed in a residential neighbourhood is a tourist home, where you live in the house and are there overnight: two to three rooms, two adults per room, and a 1,000-foot spacing rule at the high-intensity tier. A tourist home and a registered accessory dwelling cannot coexist on one parcel. Over 500 vacation home rentals were licensed as of December 2024. Licence renewals are processed only between 90 and 30 days before expiry. The planning commission recommended cutting district caps in May 2025 and commissioners agreed in June 2026 to revisit it. As proposed, C-1, C-2 and D-2 would stay at 25% and HR at 100%, while Industrial would drop from 100% to zero, D-1, D-3 and C-4c to 25%, C-4a and C-4b to 50%, and C-3 to 35%. Nothing had been adopted as of 2 October 2026 and staff expect the work to run into 2027. A new city planning director starts on 19 October 2026. | Zoning: Dave Weston (231) 922-4464 · Licences: City Clerk (231) 922-4480 |
| Blair Township A defined use that no district lists | VERIFY | Correcting our earlier note: Blair does post its zoning ordinance online, all 27 articles. Article 2 defines a Short Term Rental, by an amendment dated 16 June 2021, as a residential dwelling rented wholly or partially for a fee for less than 30 continuous days, not including a bed and breakfast. But a word search of every district article, the general provisions and the site development standards finds the term nowhere else. It is not listed as a permitted or special use in any district. There is no licensing programme, and the fee schedule adopted 1 July 2026 has no rental line of any kind. A use the ordinance defines but never lists is not the same as a use it permits, so do not treat Blair as open on silence alone. Get the zoning administrator’s position on your parcel in writing before you write an offer. Mostly residential and commuter, so buy here on affordability, not peak nightly rate. | Corey Esch, Zoning Administrator — (231) 276-9263 ext. 105 · Lisa Guerrieri, Assistant ext. 113 |
| Union Township Genuinely unresolved — get it in writing | VERIFY | Correcting a widely repeated error: there is no permit system and no caretaker requirement here. The only zoning ordinance the township posts is revised 13 December 2004 and contains no reference to short-term rentals, bed and breakfasts, caretakers or rental permits of any kind. That is not the same as friendly. A 2004 ordinance that never contemplated STRs leaves the question open, and Michigan case law is unkind to owners who assume silence means permission. Get the zoning administrator position in writing before you write an offer. | Eric Johnson, Zoning Administrator — (989) 350-6825 · Township Hall (231) 369-3261 |
| Leelanau County | |||
| Village of Suttons Bay The permit dies at closing — a trap for buyers | SATURATED | The cap is 45 and the village currently has 53 permits issued, coming down by attrition; it states it will not issue new permits until the count reaches 45. Down from 61 in late 2022. The critical fact, in the villages own words: short term rental permits are non-transferrable — if the home is sold, the permit is no longer valid. Buying a house with a permit buys you nothing. Fees, occupancy limits and caretaker rules are not published, so ask. A consultants 2022 recommendation of 25 licences across six districts is often quoted as rule; it was never adopted. Suttons Bay Township outside the village limits is an entirely separate regime. | Village office — (231) 271-3051 · complaint hotline (231) 715-5419 |
| Bingham Township Capped at 86 — and there was room | PERMIT | Widely assumed to be closed. It is not. The cap is 86 and the township published 7 licences still open as of 19 June 2026, issued first-come first-served with no waitlist. Fee $300 a year. Renewals open 1 October with a hard 1 March deadline — miss it and your permit goes back to the open pool. Occupancy is the lesser of 10 occupants or the bedrooms approved on the health department permit. A designated 24-hour local contact is required, with no stated mileage or response-time standard. Septic maintenance within three years and a site plan with parking are required. The permit is not transferable to a new owner. | Steve Patmore, Zoning Administrator — (231) 922-6767 ext. 5 |
| Cleveland Township Capped at 36 and full as of late 2025 | PERMIT | The cap is 36, set by board policy rather than the ordinance text. It went from 31 issued in May 2025 to full with 6 on the waitlist in November 2025 and 7 by December. The board voted to hold the cap at 36 through 2026 rather than expand it, and no 2026 count has been published — so the newest figure available is months old and worth a call. Fee $350 a year; the waitlist fee is refunded after 30 days and a notified applicant has 10 days to resubmit. Occupancy 2 per bedroom, hard cap 12, children under 3 excluded. Local contact must live within 30 miles and be reachable 24 hours, and the township mails their number to neighbours within 300 feet. Allowed in Agricultural and R-1, R-2, R-3. Does not run with the property. | Scott Sheehan, Zoning Administrator — (231) 715-1103 |
| Elmwood Township Capped at 93 and full as of September 2026 | PERMIT | The cap is 93, derived as 4% of dwelling units. The township states no licences are available, with seven applications on the waitlist as of 17 September 2026. Fees are $600 new, $300 renewal, $100 waitlist, on separate cheques. The renewal window is 1 to 31 October only; anything outside it is rejected. Allowed in every zoning district including residential. Owner or manager must live within 30 miles and respond immediately. Not transferable on sale. A licence is required before you advertise, and three violations in a year triggers revocation. The township runs a 24-hour Granicus complaint hotline, (231) 642-9805, so unlicensed operation carries real risk. A Cherry Bend Neighborhood District overlay in Greilickville, floated in late 2023 to bar new STRs there while grandfathering existing ones, does not appear in any 2026 planning document we could find. | Sarah Clarren, Planner / Zoning Administrator — (231) 946-0921 |
| Leelanau Township Strict occupancy, no cap (Northport area) | PERMIT | Ordinance No. 3 of 2020, permits required since January 2021, applying outside the Village of Northport limits. No numeric cap — the strictness is about occupancy, not scarcity. Three guests per bedroom with a hard maximum of 15 over age 5. Bedroom count can be established by septic permit, building permit or floor plan, not solely by the health department. The local contact must be within 45 minutes travel time and reachable 24 hours — a distinctive standard worth noting. The permit is not transferable and does not run with ownership. The fee is set separately by board resolution. | Steve Patmore, Zoning Administrator — leelanautownshipzoning@gmail.com |
| Suttons Bay Township Capped at 150 — and it is not the village | PERMIT | Two things commonly get muddled. First, the township IS capped, at 150 permits per year issued first-come first-served — generous rather than binding (the township reported 60 permits issued for 2026 as of 13 August 2026), but a cap nonetheless. Second, transferability is now confirmed rather than uncertain: permits are NOT transferable from one owner to another and a new application is required on sale. Fee $200 a year. Residential districts only. Renewals run 1 October to 28 February with processing from 1 March. Owner-occupied room rentals fall under bed and breakfast rules instead. The Village of Suttons Bay inside it is a completely different regime. | Steve Patmore, Zoning Administrator — (231) 271-2722 ext. 3 |
| Village of Empire Registration ordinance adopted, no cap | PERMIT | A very different posture from Empire Township. On 25 August 2026 the village council adopted Short-term Rental Registration Ordinance No. 5 of 2026 by a 6 to 1 vote, along with a zoning amendment adding the definitions. Owners must register each short-term rental with the village every year, pay a fee and provide a local emergency contact. There is no cap on the number of rentals. The ordinance takes effect 30 days after publication, and the village is still building the process: an implementation committee was appointed on 10 September 2026, and no registration form or fee amount had been posted as of 2 October 2026. The one no vote was over the lack of enforcement and penalty provisions, so expect follow-up rules. Commissioners deliberately deferred any cap, intending to use a year or two of registration data first. A 2024 committee had floated 14% of housing stock measured against 373 residences, which the minutes calculated as leaving roughly SIX slots for new rentals; that was never adopted. STR density measured 17.3% in 2023. The zoning administrator keeps office hours on Friday mornings only. | Robert Hall, Zoning Administrator — (231) 429-6703, Fridays 8:30-11:30am |
| Village of Northport Registration, plus a special use permit under zoning | PERMIT | Ordinance 111, amended 16 April 2026, requires registration with the Village Manager before renting for fewer than 30 consecutive days with the owner absent. There is no cap, no occupancy formula and no caretaker requirement in the ordinance. Correcting our earlier note: there is a second approval track. Ordinance 111 itself says nothing about special use permits, but in May 2026 the village noticed a planning commission hearing for 10 June 2026 on a Special Use Permit application to use a single-family home on East Seventh Street as a short-term rental, “pursuant to the Village of Northport Zoning Ordinance.” So budget for a special use hearing as well as registration, and ask the zoning administrator which districts require it. Transferability is not addressed, so ask about that too. Operating unregistered is $200, then $200 a day after a seven-day cure period, and three violations trigger revocation. Fees are set separately by council resolution. Leelanau Township outside the village caps guests at 15. | Jered Ottenwess, Village Manager / Zoning — (231) 386-5182 ext. 13 |
| Traverse City (City) — Leelanau County portion The zoning district decides everything | VARIES | This is the Leelanau County portion of the City of Traverse City, governed by the same code. A vacation home rental is prohibited in every residential district — RC, R-1a, R-1b, R-2, R-3 — and permitted only in the commercial, hotel-resort, development, transportation and industrial districts, with a limit of the greater of 1 or 25% of dwellings on the parcel in C-1, C-2 and D-2. The only rental allowed in a residential neighbourhood is an owner-occupied tourist home. Licence transfers must be approved within 90 days of closing. Pull the zoning district for the exact parcel before anything else. A proposal to cut the caps in several commercial districts is before the city commission but had not been adopted as of 2 October 2026. | Zoning: Dave Weston (231) 922-4464 · Licences: City Clerk (231) 922-4480 |
| Solon Township A licensing ordinance cleared the planning commission and sits tabled at the board | VOLATILE | No longer just a draft on a shelf. On 2 June 2026 the planning commission held public hearings and unanimously approved both a standalone short-term rental licensing ordinance and a companion zoning amendment setting the districts where rentals would be allowed. As discussed at the commission, licences would be capped at 60 to start, with no more than two per licence holder. It has not been adopted: the township board carried it as “Short Term Rentals/Tabled” on its July, August and September 2026 agendas. Until the board acts, STRs appear to fall under general zoning without caps or permits, but anyone buying now should assume a licence and a cap are coming. Confirm status before closing. | Sara Kopriva, Zoning Administrator — (231) 590-9021 |
| Empire Township Hostility is assumed, not documented | VERIFY | The common claim that Empire Township is moving toward prohibition could not be tied to any adopted ordinance or published document. Treat the reputation as unverified. What is real and current: the planning commission held special meetings on 28 July and 26 August 2026 to work through a rewrite of the zoning ordinance. The posted minutes cover workforce housing, lot sizes and renewable energy, not rentals, and the commission said it was not ready to set a public hearing. Call before you assume either way. Note the Village of Empire inside it adopted a simple registration ordinance with no cap in August 2026. | Sara Kopriva — (231) 674-5377 · Township office (231) 326-5182 |
| Glen Arbor Township No ordinance exists — the barrier is unwritten | VERIFY | The often-repeated claim that STRs are restricted to the Business District is not written anywhere. A full-text search of the current zoning ordinance, version 5.1 dated 13 November 2025, finds no reference to short-term rentals, vacation rentals or tourist homes, and the townships ordinance list contains no STR ordinance. What the ordinance does contain is inns, lodges, hotels and rooming houses, and rental cottages, as permitted uses in R5, R6 and the resort and recreational districts. So the practical wall may well be high, but there is no rule to point to — status depends on how the zoning administrator classifies the use. Get that classification in writing before you buy. Allow time for that: the planning commission’s 6 August 2026 minutes record the zoning administrator as absent and a motion asking the township board to address it. | Marvin Radtke, Zoning Administrator — (231) 631-7171 |
| Leland Township Registration exists; the details do not check out | VERIFY | What is confirmable is a 2020 police-powers ordinance requiring short-term rentals to register, intended to count them and collect emergency contact information, funded by a small registration fee. The widely repeated claim that occupancy is tied to septic capacity could NOT be verified — no Leland STR ordinance appears in the townships ordinance list. Do not rely on that. The township board voted on 10 August 2026 to hire Sara Schroeder of Beckett and Raeder as zoning administrator, and land use permit applications now go to her by email. | Sara Schroeder, Zoning Administrator — lelandzoning@gmail.com · Township office (231) 256-7546 |
| Centerville Township No ordinance yet, but it is on the planning commission’s list | WATCH | No short-term rental ordinance. The townships ordinance list covers private roads, civil infractions, parks, fireworks, septic and well, and land division — nothing on rentals. Zoning ordinance effective 1 November 2024. Less regulation than its neighbours with good overflow from Good Harbor Bay, so worth a look if you are priced out of the waterfront townships. The septic and well ordinance is the most likely practical constraint on a large-group rental here. WATCH: the planning commission noted on 27 July 2026 that STRs are “a subject for future meetings” and listed them among its priorities for the rest of 2026. No draft exists yet. | Scott Sheehan, Zoning Administrator — (231) 633-4002 |
| Kasson Township No STR ordinance at all | UNREGULATED | No dedicated ordinance — no permit, no cap, no registration, no minimum stay. The zoning ordinance never mentions short-term rentals. Two indirect catches. It defines family as no more than five unrelated people living together, which is the likeliest enforcement hook against a large-group rental. And any use the ordinance does not list can be classified by the zoning board of appeals, so a challenge would be decided at discretion. Being inland rather than lakeshore has kept the pressure off, but every Leelanau neighbour has moved. Get the administrators position in writing. | Scott Sheehan, Zoning Administrator — (231) 633-4002 |
| Antrim County | |||
| Milton Township Six rental weeks a year, and the licence dies at closing | RESTRICTED | A comprehensive Vacation Rental Ordinance was adopted 27 October 2025 and took effect 29 November 2025, replacing the old renter-log regime. The two facts that end most investment cases: a licence is VOID on transfer of ownership, with only immediate-family and certain entity or trust transfers surviving, and a property may be rented no more than SIX weeks per calendar year, no more than two weeks in any four-week period, with a seven-day minimum rental. Properties in the Village district are exempt from the week limits. Add a 1,000-foot spacing rule between vacation rentals, occupancy the lesser of 2 per bedroom or 10 overnight and never more than 14 on the property, a local contact within 45 minutes available 24 hours whose details go to every neighbour within 300 feet, one parking space per bedroom plus one, a three-year renter log, and advance reporting of rental dates. Licence year runs 1 November to 31 October with a 1 to 25 October renewal window. An October 2025 draft would have issued no new licences at all and phased rentals out entirely; that did not survive, so do not repeat it as law. Two things to watch. A federal class action filed in May 2026, Eagle Spirit LLC et al v Milton Township (W.D. Mich. No. 1:26-cv-01672), challenges the ordinance and was still pending in September 2026 with no ruling. And the planning commission was told on 2 September 2026 that the township board is “working again on short term rentals.” The rules above are the law today, but they may not be the final word. | Jenn Cram, Zoning Administrator · Jackie Petersen, Deputy — (231) 264-6697 |
| Torch Lake Township One overlay district, and nowhere else | RESTRICTED | The township still publishes its “Short Term Rentals – Township Rules & Regulations” sheet, built on zoning board rulings from 2003 to 2005: rentals of less than 30 days are prohibited in the R-1, R-2 and R-3 residential zones, and only owners who can document rental activity from before 9 August 1983, the date of the township’s first zoning ordinance, are grandfathered. That is where the often-quoted “pre-1983” rule comes from, and our earlier note that it appears in no township document was wrong. The current zoning ordinance was adopted 5 September 2024, took effect 19 September 2024 and has been amended through 5 March 2026. Amendment 2026-01, adopted 17 February 2026, added a definition: a short term rental is a commercial use of a dwelling rented for any term of less than 30 consecutive days, sublets included. The ordinance lists short term rentals in exactly one place, as a Special Land Use in the Village Business Overlay District, which covers only lots in the Village District with direct frontage on US-31, M-88 or Barnes Park Road. STRs are not listed in any other district’s use table, and under a permissive-list ordinance that means not allowed. The ordinance still contains no operating standards for them. | Sara Kopriva, Zoning Administrator — (231) 599-2036 ext. 105 |
| Kearney Township Resort Residential is the hook, but a soft one | TECHNICAL | The Resort Residential districts purpose statement expressly contemplates short-term overnight rental accommodations — but STRs are not an enumerated permitted use in that district, they appear in the purpose language. The permitted uses are single-family and multiple-family dwellings plus resort retail and service, at a maximum of one dwelling or three motel rooms per acre, all subject to site plan review. Every other district is silent rather than prohibitive. So parcel zoning matters, but it is less decisive than usually claimed. Verify against the updated map: in February 2026 the planning commission rezoned North Schuss Village parcels to Resort Residential and resolved split Centennial Hills parcels as wholly RR, and a broader ordinance revision is in draft. The township board adopted a further Centennial Hills zoning amendment on 14 September 2026 (Ordinance 09-14-2026), and the planning commission has set a special meeting with the township attorney for 4 November 2026 to work on the wider rewrite. | Zoning Administrator — (231) 533-5719 ext. 5 |
| Banks Township The zoning repeal failed — this is settled now | PERMIT | Often still described as volatile because the township moved to repeal its zoning entirely. That question is resolved: the board rejected the repeal 3 to 2 in March 2026 and zoning is retained and actively in use, with two amendments adopted in July 2026 and a data centre moratorium adopted on 20 July 2026. On rentals, the zoning ordinance defines a short-term rental at section 4.29 — under 30 days, owner not residing, four or fewer unrelated persons — and a June 2020 STR ordinance is cited as permitting them in any single-family dwelling in all districts. That ordinance is no longer posted on the township site, so its terms cannot be confirmed from public records — get them in writing before relying on them. | Kurtis Busman, Zoning Administrator — (231) 676-2414 |
| Village of Elk Rapids Open and issuing, but new licences no longer transfer | PERMIT | Commonly described as closed. It is not: the village’s own 2026 licence list shows 66 active registrations including 12 issued in the first five months of 2026 and 8 in 2025. The big change is Ordinance 2026-17, which the village now posts as adopted (the posted copy was filed 12 August 2026). It replaces the short-term rental chapter in full and takes effect 30 days after publication. Licences are now void on a sale or other transfer, with exceptions only for immediate family, transfers within an entity and trust beneficiaries. There is one grandfather clause: a licence that was valid in 2026 and kept in good standing may pass to a buyer who applies within 45 days of the property transfer, but any licence first issued in 2027 or later never transfers. Starting with the 2027 renewal, a unit must actually have been rented more than 30 days in the year to renew. Renewals run October through November with a hard 30 November deadline, and licences expire 31 December. The number of licences is still set by council resolution rather than fixed in the ordinance. Occupancy is 2 per bedroom plus 2 per finished legal floor, hard cap 10, and an accessory dwelling unit cannot be rented. The designated representative must respond within 60 minutes and be able to be on site within 60 minutes. Three owner violations in a year means revocation. Fees are set by council resolution; the last published figures were $300 in person or $250 online for the business licence, $30 for a personal unit registration and $25 for the waitlist. The posted copy does not show the adoption or publication date, so confirm the effective date with the village if you are under contract. | Travis Hewitt, Planning/Zoning Administrator — (231) 264-9274 ext. 201 |
| Village of Ellsworth Silence works against you here | VERIFY | No STR ordinance exists, but the structure of the 2020 zoning ordinance is what matters: it is permissive-use, and it says so — if a use is not allowed in a district, the table is simply left blank. Short-term rentals appear nowhere in the regulated uses table. So unlike most unregulated jurisdictions, the absence of rules cuts against a buyer rather than for one. Correcting a common error about the fallback: bed and breakfasts are special approval in R-1, R-2 and R-3, permitted BY RIGHT in R-4, and NOT allowed at all in C-1, C-2 or the recreation district — so shopping commercial property expecting a by-right B&B walks into a wall. The ordinance also defines Tourist Home broadly, which is the hook a zoning administrator would use against a whole-house rental. Get a written zoning opinion before closing. | Village office — (231) 588-7411 |
| Helena Township The waterfront rules just tightened, and STRs are next | WATCH | The old framing — focused on watercraft rather than rentals — is directionally right but now has hard numbers behind it. An amendment effective 5 June 2026 caps powered watercraft by frontage at four for the first 100 feet plus one per additional 25 feet, maximum eight per property; prohibits marinas in R-1; prohibits new boathouses; and provides that no dock space or watercraft shall be rented. That is a direct hit on how a waterfront rental gets marketed. Short-term rentals were named a top issue in the township’s 2026 community engagement, and residents came to the 3 September 2026 planning commission meeting asking the township to regulate them after complaints about a neighbouring rental. No draft exists yet, but a Municipal Civil Infraction Ordinance took effect on 26 September 2026 and a nuisance ordinance is before the board, which gives the township enforcement tools it lacked. The zoning administrator post has been filled. | J. Petersen, Zoning Administrator — township office (231) 331-4643 |
| Mancelona Township Unzoned — but a master plan just landed | WATCH | Unzoned, with no STR ordinance, so entry is cheap and unregulated today. It also has the deepest ordinance stack of the eight — 24 ordinances including nuisance, junkyard, inoperable vehicles, public entertainment and civil infractions, plus an enforcement officer. The reason to watch it: the joint Mancelona Area Planning Commission adopted a 2025-2030 master plan in June 2025, the township appointed two members to it in March 2026 and funded it in May 2026. A master plan is the statutory predicate for adopting zoning. Nothing has been adopted, but this is the one of the eight showing forward motion — worth knowing on a ten-year hold. The Village of Mancelona inside it is separately zoned. | Clerk, Michael Biehl — (231) 587-8651 |
| Central Lake Township Unzoned — no rules to comply with | UNREGULATED | Central Lake Township is one of Antrim Countys unzoned townships. It has no zoning ordinance at all, and therefore no STR permit, cap, fee, occupancy limit, caretaker rule or district framework. The “Good Neighbor policy” often attributed to it could not be found in any document — that phrase belongs to the Village of Elk Rapids. Open on the merits, but the openness comes from an absence of rules rather than a policy choice, so there is no written protection either. The Village of Central Lake inside it is separately zoned. | Township office — (231) 544-6687 |
| Chestonia Township Unzoned — but not ruleless | UNREGULATED | One of Antrim County’s eight unzoned townships, confirmed against the county’s own zoning page and every county planning commission packet from February 2025 through October 2026. No zoning means no STR rules and a low entry price — but also no protection from an incompatible use next door. Unzoned townships can still enforce police-power ordinances such as nuisance and blight, so no zoning is not no rules. Chestonia has no township website, so verification means a phone call. | Clerk, Nancy Shepard — (231) 584-3222 |
| Custer Township Unzoned, with active blight enforcement | UNREGULATED | One of Antrim County’s eight unzoned townships. No zoning means no STR rules and a low entry price — but Custer staffs an ordinance officer whose job is expressly to enforce non-zoning ordinances, and he logged 13 open violation complaints in June 2026 covering garbage, trash, vehicles and tyres. So police-power enforcement here is real and active even without zoning. No STR ordinance and no rental registration. | Clerk, Stacy Simon — (231) 587-4773 · Ordinance Officer Jeff Helmboldt (231) 587-5118 |
| Echo Township Unzoned, and the best-documented of the eight | UNREGULATED | County planning staff stated in writing in January 2026 that Echo Township has neither a master plan nor a zoning ordinance. Eighteen months of board minutes through July 2026 contain no mention of zoning, rentals or short-term rentals — the only ordinance discussion in that period was a resident request for a wake boat ban on Six Mile Lake. No zoning means no STR rules and a low entry price, and no protection from a neighbouring use. | Clerk, Diane Kucharek — (231) 544-2516 |
| Elk Rapids Township No STR rules — the licensing regime is the Village | UNREGULATED | This entry is frequently confused with the Village of Elk Rapids, which is a separate government on a separate code. The TOWNSHIP zoning ordinance, amended through 18 December 2025, contains zero references to short-term rentals — no licence, no cap, no occupancy rule, no cutoff date. The only lodging regulation is a Bed and Breakfast by special use permit in R-1, R-2 and R-3: owner-occupied, four rooms or fewer, guests limited to seven consecutive days, and no second B&B within 2,500 feet. Everything about March 2019 cutoffs, annual licensing and 30-mile caretakers belongs to the Village, not here. | Jonathan Scheel, Zoning Administrator — (231) 264-9333 · cell (231) 342-9025 |
| Forest Home Township No ordinance and nothing to licence | UNREGULATED | Often described as an easy place to get licensed. There is nothing to get licensed for: the zoning ordinance as amended through June 2025 contains no short-term rental or vacation rental provisions at all, and the fee schedule has no STR line. The online permit portal is for general zoning and land use permits. Lodging is handled only through bed and breakfast or boarding house provisions with additional site plan review, and a motel as a special land use. Unregulated is a better and more accurate pitch than easy. | Stephen C. Barnard, Zoning Administrator — (231) 203-4031 |
| Jordan Township Unzoned, but four ordinances on the books | UNREGULATED | One of Antrim County’s eight unzoned townships, so no STR rules and a low entry price. But no rules at all overstates it: Jordan posts ORV, nuisance, fireworks and cemetery ordinances and staffs an ordinance officer. No zoning also means no protection from an incompatible neighbouring use. | Clerk, Cole Vining — (231) 459-5310 |
| Star Township Unzoned, with a blight ordinance | UNREGULATED | One of Antrim County’s eight unzoned townships — no STR rules, low entry price, no protection from a neighbouring use. Star does maintain a Blight Elimination Ordinance adopted under police power, with a designated blight officer. It posts no board minutes online, so recent activity could not be reviewed; treat the unzoned status as confirmed and the rest as unverified. | Supervisor Robert Marsh / Clerk Carolyn McCallum — (231) 584-3308 |
| Village of Bellaire No STR ordinance, and it is still amending around it | UNREGULATED | No short-term rental, vacation rental or rental registration ordinance exists — a full search of the 95-page zoning ordinance and the entire code turns up nothing beyond a slip-rental reference inside the definition of commercial marina. Notably the village amended its zoning ordinance three times in 2025, in April, August and November, and none of those amendments touched rentals, which strengthens rather than weakens the finding. Nuisance and noise chapters still apply. Bed and breakfasts are a special use in R-1, R-2 and R-3 and permitted in the village centre. WATCH: at the 5 August 2026 council meeting a member floated hiring a part-time zoning administrator so the village could regulate short-term rentals. No motion was made. | Angela St. Pierre, Clerk / Zoning Administrator — (231) 533-8213 |
| Village of Central Lake No STR ordinance on a 2006 code | UNREGULATED | No dedicated short-term rental, vacation rental or rental registration ordinance appears anywhere in the village ordinance list. The governing document is a zoning ordinance adopted 11 December 2006 and effective 13 February 2007, which contemplates only bed and breakfasts and hotels, both requiring special approval from the planning commission. So there is no permit to obtain — but also no written protection, which leaves status ambiguous if anyone challenges it. Nuisance and dangerous structures chapters apply. The surrounding Central Lake Township is unzoned entirely. | Village office — (231) 544-6483 |
| Village of Mancelona No STR ordinance in a 202-page code | UNREGULATED | No short-term rental or rental registration ordinance exists anywhere in the zoning ordinance or the 45-chapter village code, and all 55 posted council, planning commission and DDA minutes contain no STR discussion. The most recent amendment, effective December 2024, covered accessory buildings, shipping containers, outdoor storage, signs and murals — not rentals. Worth knowing: section 6.8 permits renting rooms within a single-family detached dwelling, capped at two rental rooms, no separate kitchen, one parking space per room. Noise and nuisance ordinances apply. The surrounding Mancelona Township is unzoned entirely. | Maureen Naumcheff, Clerk — (231) 587-8331 |
| Warner Township Unzoned, and the board just said so out loud | UNREGULATED | One of Antrim County’s eight unzoned townships. Every board minute from January 2025 through July 2026 was reviewed: no zoning, no STR, no rental registration. The 1 July 2026 minutes record a motion to adopt the option of allowing property owners to do what they like on their own property — a board affirmatively declining to regulate, one month ago. Low entry price, no rules, and no protection from a neighbouring use. | Clerk, Pam Zaremba — (231) 342-5628 |
| Benzie County | |||
| Frankfort (City) A 120-permit ceiling and a real waiting list | SATURATED | The ordinance language is softer than usually reported: section 7404.C says the city RESERVES THE RIGHT to limit permits to 120 per calendar year. The city does not publish its current count or waitlist length anywhere — that figure only comes from the clerk. The 15-day succession window is real but lives in the Administration of Short Term Rental Policy rather than the ordinance: permits terminate at closing and cannot be assigned, but a buyer who contacts the city within 15 days of closing and pays the fee steps into the sellers slot. Miss it and the slot goes to the first name on the list, who gets 15 days to claim it. Fees are $500 for one year, $750 for two, $1,000 for three. Two units per owner, three grandfathered pre-2023. Occupancy 2 per legal bedroom plus 4. Local contact 24 hours with a 60-minute response. No weddings, showers or bachelor parties. Applies in the East, West and North City Residential and Rural districts. The ordinance is under active review. The planning commission’s zoning ad hoc committee has been reworking it since spring 2026, and the chair said in May that it may be time to start reducing short-term rentals in residential neighbourhoods. On 14 July 2026 the commission voted to recommend that the occupancy limit read bedrooms times two, plus four, and discussed a “total refinement” of the ordinance; the approved minutes record no vote on the cap. The Short Term Rental Ordinance was back on the 8 September 2026 agenda, and no amended ordinance had been posted as of 2 October 2026. A subcommittee is separately drafting rules for the Waterfront, Main Street West and Main Street East districts. | Christine Spence, City Clerk / Treasurer — (231) 352-7117 |
| Almira Township Site plan review at $500 plus $250 a year, and a rewrite before the board | TECHNICAL | The township fee schedule prices a Major Site Plan / Amendment covering STR, Tourist Home and B&B at $500.00, with Renewal of Short-Term Rental or Tourist Home at $250.00 annually. For scale, a single-family zoning permit in the same schedule is $50. The current ordinance is Zoning Ordinance #25-02, effective 25 December 2025, which treats a non-owner-occupied short-term rental as a home business needing planning commission site plan review. A rewrite is in motion: after a public hearing on 5 August 2026 the planning commission recommended that the township board approve a short-term rental zoning amendment. As drafted it would allow STRs in every district that permits single-family homes, limit them to one dwelling unit per parcel, let the zoning administrator approve a compliant site plan without a hearing, cap bedrooms at four unless the planning commission approves more, set occupancy at two guests per approved bedroom plus two, and require a septic and well evaluation less than three years old, off-street parking on a hardened surface and screened waste storage. Board adoption had not been posted as of 2 October 2026. The Village of Lake Ann sits inside this township and has its own 2024 ordinance. | Kate Preston, Zoning Administrator — (231) 275-5862 |
| Benzonia Township Joint zoning, shared with Platte Township | TECHNICAL | Operates under the West Benzie Joint Zoning Ordinance, adopted jointly with PLATTE Township — worth naming, because the two are governed by one document. There are no dedicated STR provisions. Bed and breakfasts are a special use and require the residence to be the principal dwelling on the property and owner-occupied at all times. The ordinance also carries an orphaned “Dwelling, Rental Cottage” definition with a one-week minimum that is never referenced in any district use table, so its enforceability is doubtful. The Village of Benzonia inside it runs an actual STR permit programme. | Robert (Bob) Hall, Zoning Administrator — (231) 882-4411 ext. 108 |
| Blaine Township A one-week minimum that may not be enforceable | TECHNICAL | The zoning ordinance defines “Dwelling, Rental Cottage” as occupancy by no more than ten individuals for a duration of no less than one week, at two people per bedroom. The catch: that term appears ONLY in the definitions section and is never used in any district use table or operative provision, so the one-week minimum has no clear enforcement hook. The same orphaned definition sits in the West Benzie ordinance next door. Do not plan a nightly-rental business around this being unenforceable, but do not assume it is settled either — ask the zoning administrator directly. | Josh Mills, Zoning Administrator — (231) 651-9117 |
| Homestead Township Site plan review, not the one-per-owner rule people cite | TECHNICAL | Correcting a widespread error: there is NO one-unit-per-owner rule here — that provision belongs to Crystal Lake Township. What the Homestead Inland Joint Zoning Ordinance actually does at section 3.13 is permit short-term rentals in any district where single-family dwellings are permitted, subject to Planning Commission approval through Site Plan Review, plus a zoning permit and a fee set by board resolution. It then imposes detailed habitability standards: minimum room dimensions, seven-foot ceilings, 70 square feet for a one-occupant bedroom and 50 per occupant beyond, bathroom access, and off-street parking scaled to occupancy. The unit must be non-owner-occupied to fall under the definition at all. Violations are a nuisance per se. No cap, no minimum stay, no local-contact rule. | Marvin Radtke, Zoning Administrator — (231) 631-7171 |
| Inland Township Joint zoning with Homestead — site plan review applies | TECHNICAL | Not the open field it is usually described as. Inland is a co-adopter of the Homestead Inland Joint Zoning Ordinance, so section 3.13 applies here identically: short-term rentals are permitted in any district that allows single-family dwellings, but require Planning Commission Site Plan Review plus a zoning permit and fee, and the unit must be non-owner-occupied. The same habitability and parking standards apply. That is a real process with a real timeline, not an absence of rules. | Jim Weller, Zoning Administrator — (231) 383-1229 |
| Crystal Lake Township One licence per owner, capped at 75, with room | PERMIT | No longer speculative — an STR ordinance was adopted 19 March 2025, took effect 2 May 2025, and has been amended four times since, most recently on 15 July 2026, when a 60-decibel noise limit the board called impossible to enforce was replaced with a nuisance standard. The cap is 75 licences a year granted in order of completed application (the township reports 35 were issued in 2026, so there is room), with the board able to raise or lower it by resolution after a hearing. The provision that matters most for investors: an owner may hold only ONE licence and may not operate more than one dwelling unit for short-term rental at a time, duplexes and triplexes included. Occupancy 2 per legal bedroom plus 2, hard maximum 12 with children and infants counted. Local contact 24 hours with a one-hour response. $500 first-year application fee, with renewals for the same owner and property cut to $300 by a board vote on 19 August 2026. Licences do not run with the land, but transfer to a buyer within the calendar year is possible if the new owner registers 30 days BEFORE the transfer date — plan that into the contract. | Tom Kucera — (231) 352-9791 · STR questions: Elaine Walton ext. 6 |
| Lake Township Licensed and capped at 110, not banned | PERMIT | The much-quoted line that short-term rentals are “frequently incompatible with residential uses and often constitute a public nuisance” is genuinely in the ordinance — but it is recital boilerplate that also appears in Frankforts, and the ordinance licenses STRs rather than banning them. Ordinance 2023-001, adopted 7 September 2023 and amended 2 January 2025, caps licences at 110 a year or the number granted in 2024, whichever is higher. Our earlier figure of 75 was wrong. The township board heard in July 2026 that the count was close to 80, so there is room. It also sets a maximum of two per owner, occupancy of 2 per bedroom plus 2 capped at 12, a local contact available 24 hours with a one-hour response, and fees of $500 new and $300 renewal. It also offers a real transfer path: if a new owner applies within 30 days of purchase, the licence may be transferred. That is more favourable than most of Benzie County. | Josh Mills — (231) 325-5202 |
| Village of Benzonia A straightforward permit, but confirm the cap and transfer rules | PERMIT | The village runs a documented STR permit programme under its zoning ordinance, effective 28 November 2023. Requirements include liability insurance, smoke detectors in each bedroom and a carbon monoxide detector on each floor, a local agent available 24 hours who responds within 60 minutes, the permit number in all advertising, and the villages Good Visitor Guidelines given to renters. The village’s 2026 fee schedule confirms the price: $200 for the two-year permit plus a $50 initial application. Permits run on a two-year cycle expiring 31 December of even years, so renewals are due 31 October 2026. Ask two things before closing: whether the village limits the number of permits, and whether a permit survives a sale. The ordinance text we could reach does not settle either. | Sara Kirk, Zoning Administrator — (231) 882-9981 |
| Village of Elberta Capped at 25, never filled — but watch the frequency rule | PERMIT | Ordinance 37 caps licences at 25 per calendar year, first-come first-served, and the cap has never been reached: 18 approved in 2023, 20 in 2024, 19 in 2025 and 19 in 2026, leaving roughly six slots. Fee $250. The rule most people miss is rental frequency: a rental must run 7 to 27 days, and if you rent for under seven days you may only do ONE rental per week. That materially limits nightly turnover. Licences run 1 January to 31 December with renewals due 15 December, and do NOT transfer — a buyer files a fresh application and competes for that years remaining slots. Occupancy 2 per bedroom plus 2 capped at 12, excluding under-threes, plus a 10 daytime-guest limit. A designated representative must be within 60 minutes with a 24-hour phone. $500,000 liability insurance. No camping on the parcel. A full rewrite of the village zoning ordinance, recommended by the planning commission on 6 May 2026 and not yet adopted, would add site standards for short-term rentals: off-street parking, a set place for boats and watercraft, and a contact person reachable within two hours. | Rachel Perkins, Village Clerk — (231) 352-7201 |
| Village of Lake Ann No cap today, but one is on the council’s table | PERMIT | Short-Term Rental Ordinance 2024-01 requires a licence to rent for fewer than 30 nights. There is no cap today and no per-owner limit, but the council asked the planning commission in June 2026 to look at a cap, and a legal opinion on a 14% cap was tabled to the October 2026 council meeting. Occupancy is 2 per legally conforming bedroom or studio plus 2, or the Benzie County Health Department well and septic limit, whichever is less. The local contact must be within 60 minutes travel, responding immediately to emergencies and within two days otherwise. The licence is non-transferable, renewed annually, and expires 31 December. Penalties escalate $50, $250, $500 with revocation on a third violation. The surrounding Almira Township could not be verified — check both. | Gary Florip — lakeannzoningadm@gmail.com |
| Village of Beulah Moratorium on new licences until 31 March 2027, cap proposed | VOLATILE | Correcting our earlier note: the village does have a website and a short-term rental ordinance. Ordinance 2021-003, as amended 10 November 2022, requires a licence and registration number before renting, with registrations expiring 31 December and an annual fee of $200. On 8 September 2026 the council passed Resolution 2026-013, a temporary moratorium: applications for new short-term rentals are suspended until 31 March 2027, and 2027 renewals of existing licences are held until 1 January 2027. The village’s STR page separately says 2027 applications will not be accepted until 14 December 2026, so confirm which date applies to you. The same night the council released a draft amended ordinance for written public comment, which closed on 1 October 2026. As drafted it would cap permits at 75, limit an owner to two units after 31 December 2026, and let a permit pass to a buyer who applies within 30 days of the sale. None of that is adopted yet. Do not buy here on rental income until the new ordinance lands. | Robert Hall, Zoning Administrator — (231) 429-6703 · Village office (231) 882-4451 |
| Gilmore Township No ordinance found — confirm directly | VERIFY | No STR ordinance appears on the township site, so regulation appears to run through general zoning classifications only. The posted zoning ordinance dates from 2 September 2016, and the planning commission holds a public hearing on a proposed accessory dwelling unit ordinance on 5 October 2026. That is an absence of evidence rather than a confirmed absence of rules, so confirm before closing. Remember that Michigan case law does not treat township silence as permission. The Village of Elberta sits inside this township and is separately capped at 25 licences a year. | Josh Mills, Zoning Administrator — (231) 352-7117 · cell (231) 651-9117 |
| Joyfield Township A 2025 ordinance exists; its STR content is unconfirmed | VERIFY | The township’s zoning page, hosted on the Lakes to Land regional site, lists a Joyfield Township Zoning Ordinance dated 18 June 2025, which confirms the 2025 update. The ordinance file itself could not be opened, so whether it addresses short-term rentals is still unconfirmed. The likely position is unregulated, but that is an inference. Confirm directly, and remember that silence in a Michigan zoning ordinance is not the same as permission. | Betsy Evans — (231) 383-2798 |
| Village of Honor Ordinance still pending, still unconfirmed | VERIFY | A drafted STR ordinance was presented in May 2024 and the village publishes no adopted STR ordinance, so the pending characterisation still holds — but nothing could be confirmed either way from the villages own materials. Rules could land at any time. Confirm status directly before closing. Council and planning commission minutes for July through September 2026 show no STR ordinance action, and the council hired a new zoning administrator on 10 August 2026. | Jim Baldwin, Zoning — (231) 833-1300 · Village office (231) 325-8432 |
| Colfax Township Joint zoning, no STR rules | OPEN | Governed by the Greater Thompsonville Area Zoning Ordinance shared with the Village of Thompsonville, effective 15 May 2015, which contains no short-term rental provisions at all. Likely unregulated and well positioned for river and nature-based tourism near Sleeping Bear Dunes. Because Colfax and the village share one document, village and township rules match here. Weldon Township, an original co-adopter, now has its own ordinance. | Angel Kraft, Zoning Administrator — (231) 970-1560 |
| Platte Township Shares Benzonias ordinance — no STR provisions | OPEN | Not a standalone unregulated township. Platte is a co-adopter of the West Benzie Joint Zoning Ordinance together with Benzonia Township — the ordinance names both on its title page. There are no dedicated STR provisions in it, so open is directionally right, but you are reading Benzonias rules. The same bed and breakfast owner-occupancy requirement and the orphaned one-week rental cottage definition apply. Good positioning for river and nature-based tourism near Sleeping Bear Dunes. | Robert Hall, Zoning Administrator — (231) 429-6703 |
| Village of Thompsonville Shares one ordinance with Colfax Township | OPEN | Unusual structure, and it works in a buyers favour: Thompsonville has no standalone zoning ordinance. It is governed by the Greater Thompsonville Area Zoning Ordinance, adopted jointly with Colfax Township and effective 15 May 2015. Weldon Township, an original co-adopter, has since adopted its own ordinance. That document contains no short-term rental provisions at all — no permit, no cap, no minimum stay. Bed and breakfasts are permitted by right in RC-1, RC-2, RR-1, RR-2 and Natural Rivers, a special use in R-1, R-2 and R-3, and prohibited in multi-family. Because the village and Colfax Township share one ordinance, the village-versus-township trap does not apply on that side. | Angel Kraft, Zoning — (231) 970-1560 |
| Weldon Township Its own ordinance now, and still no STR rules | OPEN | Correcting our earlier note: Weldon is no longer under the joint Greater Thompsonville ordinance. It has its own Weldon Township Zoning Ordinance, adopted 13 March 2018, amended through 9 November 2021 and effective 1 December 2021. It contains no short-term rental provisions of any kind: no permit, no cap, no minimum stay. Bed and breakfasts are allowed in several districts, by right in some and by special land use in others. A silent ordinance is not permission, so confirm with the zoning administrator before you close. | MR Consulting, Zoning Administrator — (231) 631-7171 · Clerk (231) 378-2477 |
| Kalkaska County | |||
| Village of Kalkaska Five permits village-wide, and a moratorium kept through August 2027 | CLOSED | The most restricted jurisdiction in the five counties, and usually the least understood — the village website serves an incomplete certificate chain, which stops most people reading its code. Behind it: Title XI Chapter 121 caps short-term rental permits at FIVE village-wide, first-come first-served, at $250 a year, with applications due 15 May and licences running one year to 15 May. One dwelling unit per owner. Permits are not transferable and terminate on sale — a buyer joins a five-permit queue. Occupancy 2 per bedroom plus 2 per finished legal floor, absolute maximum 10. Quiet hours 10pm to 7am, fireworks prohibited. Violations run $100, then $250 with a 30-day suspension, then $500 and revocation. And the decisive fact: a moratorium on issuing any new short-term rental licences has been in force since 11 August 2025 under Ordinance 2025-013, with a one-year review. The council took up that review on 10 August 2026 and left the moratorium alone: the draft minutes record that it “will be left in place for originally drafted term of (2) years,” which runs to August 2027. The $250 licence fee was unchanged in the fee schedule amended 14 September 2026. Kalkaska Township around it is open and unregulated; do not assume the village follows it. | Village office — (231) 258-9191 |
| Blue Lake Township Licensed, full, and the licence dies at closing | SATURATED | Correcting our earlier entry, which called this township open. It is not. Blue Lake has had a Short-term Rental Licensing Ordinance since 2023 (No. 07052023-2, amended by Ordinance 12042024-2). Renting for less than 30 days with the owner absent requires a township licence, and the amended ordinance froze the number: it recorded 44 licensed rentals and says the township will not accept any new applications until the count falls below 35. Existing licences continue only by annual renewal, due 1 December, and a licence is void on transfer of ownership, including a change of control in an LLC or trust that owns the property. So the buyer of a licensed rental starts with nothing and joins the queue. When slots do open, the township advertises a 45-day application window and gives priority to owners with a principal residence exemption in the township. One rental per owner. Occupancy is 2 per bedroom, not counting children five and under, and never more than 10. A local agent must be available around the clock and respond within 60 minutes, and neighbours within 300 feet get the contact details. Fines run to $500 a day. Careful when searching: bluelaketownship.org is a different Blue Lake Township in Muskegon County. The Kalkaska County township is at bluelaketwpkalkaska.gov. | Township hall — (231) 587-8354 · Zoning Administrator hours Thursdays 9 to 1 |
| Clearwater Township Never adopted, and the board votes on 15 October 2026 | VOLATILE | Correcting a widely circulated error: the STR ordinance dated 2021 and revised 2023 that appears in regional guides was NEVER adopted. It is absent from the townships adopted ordinance list, its signature block is blank, and there is no STR line in the fee schedule. So today there is no STR ordinance in force. But a far more restrictive draft is pending: $300 application plus $500 per year per dwelling, a licence that expires on transfer of ownership, and — in the R-1 single-family district — a maximum of 28 rental days per calendar year with a five-day minimum stay and a twelve-occupant limit. A motion to send it to legal failed 2-2 in December 2025 and public forums were held in May 2026. Now it has dates: the board has scheduled a special meeting for 8 October 2026 at 6 PM to discuss changes to the draft, and an up-or-down vote at its regular meeting on 15 October 2026. If adopted as drafted, that 28-day cap ends STR investment here. If you are under contract in Clearwater, find out what happened on 15 October before you close. | John West, Zoning Administrator — township office (231) 331-6249 |
| Bear Lake Township County-zoned, and Resort Residential is not an STR permit | UNREGULATED | Commonly cited as having resort zoning that recognises short-term rentals. It does not. Bear Lake is COUNTY-zoned, so the Kalkaska County ordinance governs, and its Resort-Residential district permits one and two-family dwellings, mobile homes and summer cottages — boarding and tourist homes and bed and breakfast inns require a Special Use Permit. There are no STR provisions anywhere in the county ordinance. So unregulated is right, but note county section 2.05: uses not specifically listed are prohibited. That is silence with teeth, not a green light. | Kalkaska County Zoning: Shelly Pringle — (231) 258-3367 · Township hall (231) 258-4871 |
| Boardman Township Self-zoned, no STR provisions | OPEN | One of the self-zoned Kalkaska townships with a retrievable ordinance, and it contains no short-term rental provisions. Lodging, boarding and tourist homes appear only as a permitted use in the Commercial district, not in residential ones. Among the lowest entry prices in the five-county region. As everywhere in Michigan, an ordinance that is silent is not the same as an ordinance that permits — confirm before you close. | Township office — boardmantownshipmi.net |
| Coldsprings Township County-zoned, no STR provisions | OPEN | Administered by Kalkaska County. The county zoning ordinance contains no short-term rental provisions, so entry is open and inexpensive. Note county section 2.05: uses not specifically listed are prohibited, so silence here has teeth. Confirm with county zoning before closing. | Kalkaska County Zoning: Shelly Pringle — (231) 258-3367 |
| Excelsior Township County-zoned, no STR provisions | OPEN | Administered by Kalkaska County. The county zoning ordinance contains no short-term rental provisions, so entry is open and inexpensive. Note county section 2.05: uses not specifically listed are prohibited, so silence here has teeth. Confirm with county zoning before closing. | Kalkaska County Zoning: Shelly Pringle — (231) 258-3367 |
| Garfield Township (Kalkaska) Self-zoned, no STR provisions | OPEN | One of the self-zoned Kalkaska townships. Its zoning ordinance contains no short-term rental provisions, and unlisted uses route to a Special Land Use Permit rather than being flatly prohibited — a slightly friendlier posture than the county ordinance takes. Among the lowest entry prices in the region. Office open Tuesdays 8 to 1. | David Martin, Zoning Administrator — (231) 632-3253 · Township office (231) 369-2483 |
| Kalkaska Township County-zoned, no STR provisions | OPEN | Administered by Kalkaska County rather than the township. The county zoning ordinance contains no short-term rental provisions, so entry is open and among the cheapest in the region. Two cautions: county section 2.05 makes any use not specifically listed a prohibited use, and section 21.13 “Transient Occupancies” is about guest trailers and mobile homes, not rentals — do not let anyone cite it at you as an STR rule. The Village of Kalkaska inside this township is the single most restricted jurisdiction in all five counties. | Kalkaska County Zoning: Shelly Pringle — (231) 258-3367 |
| Oliver Township County-zoned, no STR provisions | OPEN | Administered by Kalkaska County. The county zoning ordinance contains no short-term rental provisions, so entry is open and inexpensive. Note county section 2.05: uses not specifically listed are prohibited, so silence here has teeth. Confirm with county zoning before closing. | Kalkaska County Zoning: Shelly Pringle — (231) 258-3367 |
| Orange Township County-zoned, no STR provisions | OPEN | Administered by Kalkaska County. The county zoning ordinance contains no short-term rental provisions, so entry is open and inexpensive. Note county section 2.05: uses not specifically listed are prohibited, so silence here has teeth. Confirm with county zoning before closing. | Kalkaska County Zoning: Shelly Pringle — (231) 258-3367 |
| Rapid River Township Self-zoned, no STR provisions found | OPEN | One of the self-zoned Kalkaska townships. Its zoning ordinance is now posted on the township’s new website, rapidrivertownshipmi.gov, and a word search of the county-hosted text copy finds no short-term rental or vacation rental provisions; boarding and tourist homes and bed and breakfast inns appear as special uses. Among the lowest entry prices in the region. As everywhere in Michigan, a silent ordinance is not permission, so confirm before you close. One practical warning: the old rapidrivertownship.org domain has been taken over by an unrelated site even though the county page still links it. Do not use it. | Deb Graber, Zoning Administrator — (231) 258-2943 ext. 3 |
| Springfield Township County-zoned, no STR provisions | OPEN | Administered by Kalkaska County. The county zoning ordinance contains no short-term rental provisions, so entry is open and inexpensive. Note county section 2.05: uses not specifically listed are prohibited, so silence here has teeth. Confirm with county zoning before closing. | Kalkaska County Zoning: Shelly Pringle — (231) 258-3367 |
Questions Buyers Actually Ask
Which Northern Michigan jurisdictions still have short-term rental permits available in 2026?
Bingham Township had 7 of its 86 licences open as of 19 June 2026, first come first served. Suttons Bay Township had issued 60 of its 150 permits as of 13 August 2026, Crystal Lake Township issued 35 of its 75 licences in 2026, and Lake Township was close to 80 against a cap of 110 in July 2026. The Village of Elk Rapids is issuing despite being widely described as closed: its own 2026 list shows 66 active registrations, 12 of them granted in the first five months of 2026. The Village of Fife Lake has no cap at all, and the Village of Empire adopted a registration ordinance with no cap in August 2026. Mayfield Township runs a permit at $500 initial and $250 renewal. The Village of Elberta caps at 25 and has never filled it. East Bay, Elmwood, Cleveland, the Village of Suttons Bay and Blue Lake Township are full, and the Village of Kalkaska and the Village of Beulah are under moratoriums on new licences.
Does a short-term rental permit transfer when you buy the house?
Usually not, and it is the most expensive mistake made in this market. In the Village of Suttons Bay the permit is void at closing and no new ones are issued until the count falls from 53 to the cap of 45. Milton Township licences are void on transfer, with only immediate-family and certain trust transfers surviving. Frankfort permits terminate at closing and cannot be assigned, though a buyer who contacts the city within 15 days has a succession window under city policy. Village of Kalkaska permits terminate on sale. Fife Lake Township licences expire on change of ownership. Blue Lake Township licences are void on transfer and no new ones are being issued. The Village of Elk Rapids adopted Ordinance 2026-17 in 2026: a licence that was valid in 2026 can still pass to a buyer who applies within 45 days, but any licence first issued in 2027 or later does not transfer.
Can you run a short-term rental in the City of Traverse City?
The zoning district decides everything. A tourist home is owner-occupied room rental and is allowed in residential districts. A vacation home rental is the whole house with no owner present, and it is permitted only in commercial and mixed-use districts. Note that the city sits in two counties: most of it is in Grand Traverse, and the Morgan Farms area annexed in 1989 lies in Leelanau County under the same city code.
Can you Airbnb a house on Old Mission Peninsula?
No. Peninsula Township prohibits rentals under 30 days in every zoning district, and a March 2025 board resolution set civil fines escalating to $5,000 with each day treated as a separate offence.
Why do villages have different rules from the township around them?
Because a Michigan village is a separate municipality with its own zoning authority. The Village of Fife Lake has no cap while Fife Lake Township caps at 8% of parcels. The Village of Kalkaska sits under a moratorium and a five-permit ceiling while Kalkaska Township has no rules at all. The Village of Empire adopted a registration ordinance with no cap in August 2026 while Empire Township has no short-term rental ordinance at all. Always check the tax record for the exact jurisdiction before writing an offer.
Is Michigan going to override local short-term rental ordinances?
Not as of October 2026. HB 6027 would bar local total bans only, and its bill history shows no action since it was introduced and sent to the House Committee on Government Operations on 2 June 2026. Its companion HB 6026 would add a statewide registry and a 6% excise tax, and the two are tie-barred, so neither takes effect without the other. Nothing in the pipeline would preempt local zoning outright.
Which townships have no short-term rental rules at all?
Eight Antrim County townships have no zoning and therefore no zoning rules: Central Lake, Chestonia, Custer, Echo, Jordan, Mancelona, Star and Warner. The entry price is low and so is the protection: with no zoning, nothing prevents an incompatible use opening next door. Elsewhere, a township with no located ordinance is marked VERIFY rather than open, because silence is not permission.
What happens if you run an unlicensed short-term rental here?
It varies more than people expect. Elmwood Township contracts a compliance monitoring firm and runs a 24-hour complaint line. Peninsula Township fines escalate to $5,000 per day. Fife Lake Township and Green Lake Township both carry $500-a-day maximums. Milton Township caps you at six rental weeks a year regardless of licence. Enforcement in this region is not theoretical.
Before You Write an Offer, Let’s Talk.
Every jurisdiction here is a moving target. Before you write an offer we will verify the current ordinance, cap status, septic limit and any pending change, so you do not buy into a surprise.
Taylor and Janel Brown are a mother-son team at Real Estate One in Traverse City. We know these townships, the administrators and the market.
Taylor Brown — (231) 360-1510 — Taylor@taylorbrownrealtor.com
