Tuscaloosa, AL Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Parking Rules (2026)

Sec. 25-101(c)(4)(iv)(e), part of the short-term rental standards adopted by Ord. No. 9572, sets occupancy as a function of parking rather than bedroom count or square footage. The fire code sets the outer ceiling on how many people can occupy the unit at all, but within that ceiling, the zoning ordinance caps occupancy at two adult occupants for every off-street parking space made available to the short-term rental tenant's vehicle. The ordinance narrows what counts as an available space: it only credits parking spaces that exceed the number the zoning ordinance already required for that building when it was built or substantially reconstructed.

In practice, that means an owner can't count a house's original required driveway spots twice, once for the underlying residential use and again for the short-term rental; only surplus parking, spaces beyond the baseline requirement, can be used to justify more STR occupants. Subsection (d)(3) separately confirms that those off-street spaces may be provided on driveways or within a parking area on the property, so a rental doesn't need a dedicated paved lot, but it does need real off-street capacity rather than relying on the street.

An owner adding paved parking specifically to raise occupancy should expect it to be measured against the building's as-built parking requirement, not the current zoning ordinance's requirement, to determine how many spaces are surplus.