Auburn, AL Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

Sec. 12-18(g) of the City Code makes rental licensing mandatory for anyone who rents or leases residential real property in Auburn, defined broadly to include houses, apartments, condominiums, rooms, dormitories, mobile homes and mobile home spaces. Every owner who acts as lessor, whether directly or through an agent, must obtain a business license and pay the license tax set out in Category 4 of Sec. 5 percent of gross rental receipts each quarter, with a minimum of $25 per quarter ($100 per year). The tax is due January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1, and becomes delinquent if unpaid by the last day of the month it falls due (January 31, April 30, July 31, October 31).

Owner-occupied single-family and two-family residences, and residential accessory buildings on the same lot as an owner-occupied home, are exempt, but only if the owner files a business license application and an affidavit each year confirming the property is the owner's principal residence, that a homestead exemption is claimed on it, and reporting the prior year's rental gross receipts. Owners may let a third-party property manager submit the license and tax on their behalf, but the owner remains liable if the manager fails to report or remit.

Every owner or manager must submit, with each quarterly return, a detailed property-by-property listing of gross receipts, subtotaled by owner and totaled overall, plus any changes from the prior quarter's listing, such as acquired or sold properties. Owners of multifamily parcels grossing under $1,000,000 a year may switch to annual filing if they notify the city manager by December 31.