After some disagreement, Schaumburg trustees approve new regulations for short-term house rentals

In its last binding action of 2024, and not without some final disagreement, the Schaumburg village board voted 5-1 to approve new regulations on short-term home rentals that go into effect Jan. 1.

The revised rules include an increase of the annual licensing fee from $130 to $300 and a prohibition of corporate ownership of short-term rental homes.

But the sticking point for Trustee Mark Madej was a minimum buffer of 750 feet between any newly licensed short-term rentals when he was pushing for 1,000 feet.

He argued permanent group homes — of which the board recently approved one to house senior residents needing close attention — required a minimum 1,300-foot separation.

Madej noted currently licensed rental homes would be grandfathered and not affected by the new buffer rule at either distance.

“If you look at what’s going on around the country, most communities have a limit in how many short-term rentals are available,” Madej said. “We did not establish a limit, so by putting the 1,000 feet in spacing between each, we’re kind of limiting the amount of licensing we can have.”

But trustees Brian Bieschke and Jamie Clar argued it was not the distance the board had agreed to at a committee of the whole meeting in October. The recommendation was changed to 1,000 feet at a November meeting of the planning, building and development committee.

The trustees who serve on that committee and recommended a 1,000 buffer changed their minds and voted for 750 feet.

“I have to vote no because it’s not stringent enough,” Madej said.

The revisions also allowed for a clarification of the village’s original 2015 rules, which state that every licensed property is limited to one rental per year.

Bieschke said that sounded like each house could only be rented one time in a year, whereas the intention had been to prevent multiple parties from renting different bedrooms of a house simultaneously.

Village Manager Brian Townsend said the rule was always enforced according to its original intention.

The board planned a review of the new regulations in six months.