Huntsville, AL Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

Section 10.6.9 attaches directly to the owner-occupancy conditions in section 10.6.5: because a second kitchen is only lawful when the property owner lives in the house and only family members or non-paying temporary guests use it, turning the same house into a rental defeats the ordinance outright. The rule is written as a flat prohibition, a single-family dwelling with two kitchens in a single-family zoning district shall not be used as rental property, with no variance or special exception carved out elsewhere in Article 10.

The section also creates two ongoing obligations. First, an owner who sells a house with a second kitchen must inform the buyer of this attached condition, so the restriction follows the property through a sale rather than resetting with a new owner. Second, an owner who does want to convert the house to rental use has one lawful path: remove all the facilities that make the second kitchen a kitchen before the tenancy begins, because 10.6.9 requires facilities accommodating the second kitchen to be removed prior to rental.

If the zoning administrator, who keeps the registry of these dwellings under 10.6.10, finds a property operating as a rental with the second kitchen still intact, the section provides its own remedy independent of the general penalty structure: the second kitchen shall be immediately dismantled at the owner's expense. That sits on top of, not in place of, the general zoning fine in section 91.6.