Dothan, AL Short-Term Rentals: Noise Rules (2026)

City Code § 114-188 regulates both forms of short-term rental Dothan recognizes: the owner-occupied short-term residential rental (STRR) and the non-owner-occupied short-term commercial rental (STCR). Both use categories carry an identical quiet-time clause. Section 114-188(a)(9), governing STRR, states that quiet time begins at 8:00 p.m. and continues until 7:00 a.m., and makes it unlawful for persons occupying the STRR to make, create, or maintain any unreasonable, loud, disturbing, or unnecessary noise of a character, intensity, or duration detrimental to the life, health, comfort, or repose of any individual.

Section 114-188(b)(9)d, a condition attached to every STCR special exception the Board of Zoning Adjustment grants, repeats the same 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. quiet-time standard word for word. The rule sits alongside the code's broader instruction that an STRR shall not adversely affect the residential character of the neighborhood by generating noise, vibration, glare, odors, or parking problems, found in § 114-188(a)(6). Because the STCR version is one of the fixed conditions the Board of Zoning Adjustment cannot vary, a documented breach of quiet hours becomes grounds for a notice of violation against the host's special exception, not merely a general noise complaint; more than two such notices in a year can trigger revocation of the STCR's license under § 114-188(b)(10). For an STRR, a documented quiet-hours violation can support the notice-of-violation and license-revocation process spelled out in § 114-188(a)(16).