Auburn, AL Short-Term Rentals: Night Caps (2026)

Auburn imposes an explicit annual operating cap on non-owner-occupied rentals. Section 408.02.D.6.a states that a short-term non-primary rental shall be limited in operation to 240 days each calendar year. Combined with the definition of a short-term non-primary rental as a dwelling leased in its entirety to one party for periods of less than 30 consecutive days, this means an investment rental in Auburn can host short stays for at most 240 days a year and must sit idle (for short-term-rental purposes) the remaining days. The cap is administered through the zoning certificate, which Section 408.02.D.6.b makes valid from January 1 (or its issue date) through December 31 of the year it is issued, resetting the 240-day allowance each calendar year on renewal. The ordinance does not state a comparable numeric day cap for owner-occupied homestays, which are regulated as home occupations under Section 511.04 rather than under the non-primary standard. Operators near Auburn University should plan the 240 days around peak demand windows such as football weekends, since exceeding the cap is a compliance failure that can trigger revocation. This entry does not assert any homestay day figure, because the 240-day limit is written specifically for the non-primary category.