Ordinance Enforcement Officer
[email protected]
Phone: 231-534-4283

8870 North Long Lake Rd.
Traverse City, MI 49685

Program Overview

Long Lake Township adopted Ordinance #178, Short-Term Rental Ordinance in August of 2019.  The Ordinance requires that anyone advertising for or renting a residence on a short-term basis obtain a certificate issued by the Township.  New requirements and restrictions to the program were adopted in September 2021.

A Short-Term Rental Certificate will:

  • Limit the number of people permitted in a short-term rental depending on the size of the septic system.  There is both an overnight guest capacity and a daytime guest capacity.

  • List the property manager who must be available 24/7 anytime the unit is rented.

  • Indicate whether boats may be used at the rental

  • Establish rules of conduct for renters and daytime guests, including the observation of quiet hours 10 pm – 7 am, proper disposal of trash, containment of campfires, and parking only in designated areas

DOCUMENTS-ON-DEMAND

DOCUMENT LINKS BELOW

FOR HOMEOWNERS:

FOR RENTERS:

COMPLAINT ABOUT A SHORT TERM RENTAL?

To file a complaint about a short-term rental, call the complaint hotline anytime at (231)835-6672. You can also call the office at (231) 946-2249 during regular office hours – 8:00 am through 5:00 pm Tuesdays through Fridays.

Be prepared to give your name and contact information along with the owner’s name or the address of the short-term rental and a description of the offense. Your information will not be shared with the owner or manager of a short-term rental, but we may need to get more information from you later. If you have pictures, video, or other evidence, this is helpful to us as well.

Following a complaint, the property manager will be immediately contacted to resolve the situation. Violators are subject to tickets, and fines, and may possibly lose the ability to conduct a short-term rental.

APPLICATION FOR SHORT-TERM RENTALS

To apply for a short-term rental certificate, please visit https://longlaketownship.munirevs.com/log-in/

The following items must be included with your completed application form:

  • Floor plan  This can be hand-drawn showing the areas of your home that are part of your rental.  Show bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and wet bars.  Show locations of escape windows and doors, any fire extinguishers, CO detectors, and smoke detectors.

  • Plot (site) plan See Plot Plan Checklist at left for more information.

  • Well & Septic Status Report from Grand Traverse County  This is the basis for our determination of the guest capacity for your individual rental. If you’ve had a certificate for a short term rental in the past, we likely already have this information on file for you. If you do require a status report, download the form to the left, complete the first page (indicating that you are establishing a short term rental under the “proposed changes to the property” line, and forward to the Grand Traverse County Health Department.

  • Current Septic Inspection  Now, each short-term rental unit must have a current (less than 3 years old) septic inspection performed by one of our approved inspectors on the forms used for the Long Lake Township Time of Transfer Septic Inspection Program.  The report must demonstrate that your system is not in a state of failure or at risk of failure (conclusion 1, 1P, 2, or 2P).  Just contact one of the approved third-party inspectors to schedule an inspection and they will provide us and you with a copy of their report. There will be a fee to you as set by the individual inspectors.  We might have a current inspection report already on file for you, contact us to find out.

  • Payment of $600

Still have questions?  Contact us at [email protected] or at (231) 946-2249 during regular township office hours and we would be happy to give you more information, take payment over the phone, or answer any further questions.  Additional helpful related forms and documents can be found on the links to the left.