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 applies an annual night cap in its primary by-right district. According to the City's short-term rental program, dwellings within the TO Downtown-Campus District that are zoned for residential use are permitted by right to operate a short-term rental for no more than 45 days per calendar year. This 45-day-per-year by-right limit is the City's principal mechanism for keeping residential neighborhoods near the University of Alabama from converting entirely to transient lodging while still accommodating high game-day demand. Beyond the by-right district, eligibility is governed by the City's license caps (150 active multi-family licenses per year in the TO Downtown-Campus District and 100 elsewhere within City limits) and, for Historic District properties, by Special Exception through the Zoning Board of Adjustment. When a property is approved by special exception, the number of nights per year can be dictated by the ZBA as a condition of the approval, and historic special exceptions have been granted for up to five-year periods. Operators should confirm the exact night allowance for their property and district with the Planning Division, since these limits have been adjusted as the City's program evolved.
Operating beyond the 45-day-per-calendar-year by-right limit in the TO Downtown-Campus District, or exceeding any night limit set by the Zoning Board of Adjustment as a condition of a special exception, violates the City's short-term rental rules and the license. Exceeding the applicable district license cap (150 or 100 active multi-family licenses) likewise prevents lawful operation.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
tuscaloosa-al
Tuscaloosa has no ordinance prohibiting or permitting backyard composting. The relevant limits come from public-health rules: compost must not become a rat h...
tuscaloosa-al
Tuscaloosa's Code of Ordinances contains no provision regulating artificial or synthetic turf, and the zoning landscape standards (Ch. 25, Art. VI, Div. 3) d...
tuscaloosa-al
Tuscaloosa's zoning landscape standards (Sec. 25-128 and Sec. 25-131) encourage native, drought-tolerant plants and prohibit species on the Alabama Invasive ...
tuscaloosa-al
Tuscaloosa has no ordinance restricting residential rainwater harvesting, and Alabama places no statewide cap on it. The city's zoning landscape standards (S...
tuscaloosa-al
Tuscaloosa has a five-stage water conservation plan (Sec. 16-36) tied to Lake Tuscaloosa levels and demand. In Stage 2, irrigation is limited to two days a w...
tuscaloosa-al
Tuscaloosa Code Sec. 13-67 bars allowing weeds, grass, or kudzu over 12 inches, or letting vines, underbrush, downed trees, or limbs become overgrown so as t...
See how Tuscaloosa's night caps rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.