Montgomery, AL Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Montgomery, Alabama regulates short-term rentals as a general lodging or rental business rather than through a separate STR ordinance, so the city Code of Ordinances does not impose an explicit per-bedroom or per-square-foot guest cap. Hosts must obtain a municipal business license issued under the authority of Section 11-51-90, Code of Alabama 1975, which grants Alabama municipalities the power to license any business or occupation carried on within the city. Practical occupancy is bounded by the building and life-safety codes adopted by the city (currently the International Building Code and International Residential Code as referenced through the Code of Ordinances), which set occupant load by means-of-egress capacity, by required smoke alarms and CO alarms in sleeping areas, and by the Montgomery Zoning Ordinance's residential use definitions limiting non-family occupancy in single-family zones. Lodgings tax under Code of Alabama Sec. 40-26-1 (state) and the Montgomery municipal lodgings tax (4% city) apply to any rental of rooms or lodgings to transients for fewer than 180 days of continuous occupancy. Hosts should confirm zoning compliance with the Land Use Division of the Department of Community Development before listing, particularly in single-family residential districts where transient lodging is not an enumerated permitted use.