Huntsville, AL Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)
Short-term rental permit rules in Huntsville, AL, also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration, list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Sec. 15-36 (business license required)
- STR license category
- Hotel/Motel/Lodging schedule, Sec. 15-85(47)
- Small-rental exemption
- Does not apply to stays under 180 days
- Renewal deadline
- Due Jan. 1, delinquent after Jan. 31
- Penalty
- Up to $500 fine or 6 months jail
Summary
Huntsville requires anyone renting out a room or property for stays under 180 days to hold a business license, taxed under the Hotel/Motel/Lodging schedule rather than the standard rental exemption for long-term landlords.
There is hereby levied on each of the following persons who are within the city's business license jurisdiction, or who engage in activity subject to the city's business license jurisdiction, a business license to be paid in the amount as provided elsewhere in this article: (1) Each person engaging in any activity listed or described in the business license schedule of section 15-85; or (2) Each person engaged in any exhibition, trade, business, vocation, occupation, or profession...
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 30 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
City code makes engaging in any business, including short-term lodging, subject to a business license under Sec. 15-36, obtained through the finance department's application process (Sec. 15-39). The license schedule's renting/leasing category (Sec. 15-85(72)) explicitly excludes short-term rentals under 180 consecutive days from the $10,000 gross-receipts exemption available to long-term residential landlords, routing STR operators instead to the Hotel/Motel/Lodging schedule (Sec. 15-85(47)), which covers any hotel, motel, inn, boarding or rooming house, or other place where rooms or accommodations are furnished. Licenses are due January 1 and delinquent after January 31 each year.
Violations & Fines
Operating a short-term rental without the required business license violates Sec. 15-36 and is punishable under the Code's general penalty, Sec. 1-7: up to $500 and six months in jail, with each day a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Huntsville require a permit for Airbnb-style rentals?
Is there a small-rental exemption like there is for long-term leases?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Huntsville
How Huntsville compares: Most Airbnb-Friendly Cities in America·Compare Huntsville to another location·View the Alabama short-term rentals overview
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