Dothan, AL Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

Article XVII of Chapter 18 regulates two kinds of listings: a short-term residential rental (STRR), an owner-occupied home where one or more rooms are rented for no more than 30 consecutive days, and a short-term commercial rental (STCR), a non-owner-occupied dwelling rented the same way. Sec. 18-500 states the article's intent is to regulate owners who lease part of a single-family home for short-term habitation through a web-based service. Sec. 18-502 requires a business license for every address approved for short-term rental before it is advertised, booked or rented, whether the listing is full-time or part-time.

Sec. 18-504 ties eligibility to zoning: STCRs must sit in districts specified in Chapter 114, Article VIII and be approved by the board of zoning adjustment, while STRRs must sit in those same districts as approved by the administrative official who runs Chapter 114. Only the recorded property owner may apply for the license, the property must be recorded as a homestead in the county where it sits, and a host or emergency contact must be reachable in the owner's absence, with that contact information given to guests at check-in.

Sec. 18-505 requires proof of current property insurance and proof of paid lodging tax, or zero-tax reports, before the license can be renewed. Sec. 18-510 bars physical changes, such as a separate entrance built solely for renters, that would make the home no longer look like a home, and Sec. 18-511 requires management companies and rental agents to hold their own separate license.