10 verified short-term rentals rules for Tuscaloosa, Alabama, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Tuscaloosa requires a short-term rental license plus a business license before any dwelling may be rented for transient overnight occupancy. Eligibility is geographic: properties in the TO Downtown-Campus District or Police Jurisdiction are permitted by right (subject to caps), while Historic District properties need a Zoning Board of Adjustment special exception.
Tuscaloosa's short-term rental operating procedures require compliance with all applicable City noise regulations. In residential districts, the City sound limit is 75 decibels between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. and 65 decibels between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. STR operators must designate a 24/7 local contact to respond to noise complaints.
Tuscaloosa levies an 11% lodging tax within City limits (5.5% in the Police Jurisdiction) on rentals of less than 180 days, filed monthly and due by the 20th of the following month. Every short-term rental operator must purchase a business license and file lodging tax monthly. A separate Alabama state lodgings tax also applies.
Tuscaloosa's short-term rental operating procedures require every STR to adhere to all parking regulations of the City's Zoning Ordinance. There is no separate STR-specific parking-space formula in the City's published operating rules; instead, the underlying zoning-district parking standards govern.
Under the City of Tuscaloosa's published short-term rental operating procedures, occupancy is limited to no more than 10 adults. Commercial events such as weddings, concerts, and other large gatherings are prohibited, and a rental cannot be occupied for a period of less than 24 hours.
Per Sec. 7-203 of the Tuscaloosa Municipal Code, any person seeking a short-term rental license must provide proof of insurance that includes a rider expressly covering short-term rentals, or a commercial insurance policy at the permitted address, with minimum liability coverage of one million dollars. The policy must name the City as an additional interested party.
Within the TO Downtown-Campus District, dwellings zoned for residential use are permitted by right to operate a short-term rental for no more than 45 days per calendar year. Properties elsewhere in the City or in Historic Districts proceed through licensing caps or a Zoning Board of Adjustment special exception, where the ZBA may set the allowed number of nights.
Tuscaloosa STR licenses are registered through the Revenue Division and must be renewed annually. Renewal cards are mailed December 31 and must be returned, postmarked by February 15, or face penalty and interest. Renewal requires current insurance, a biennial home inspection (single-family), an annual dock inspection if applicable, and the platform lodging-tax report.
Tuscaloosa does not require an on-site host, but its short-term rental operating procedures require that the name and phone number of a local responsible party be posted at the rental and that this contact answer calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond to problems, complaints, and emergencies.
Tuscaloosa does not impose a single citywide primary-residence-only mandate. Instead it controls where short-term rentals may operate by zoning district and caps the number of non-owner-occupied multi-family licenses (150 in the TO Downtown-Campus District, 100 elsewhere in City limits). Historic District rentals require a Zoning Board of Adjustment special exception.