Dothan, AL Short-Term Rentals: Primary-Residence-Only Rule (2026)

Dothan's short-term residential rental (STRR) category is reserved for owner-occupied homes, and § 114-188(a)(2) enforces that by tying the license to homestead status. Before an STRR business license issues, the property must be recorded as a homestead with the county in which it sits, and only the person or persons shown on the property's recorded ownership can apply for the business license. That homestead requirement dovetails with § 114-188(a)(1), which already limits STRR applications to the owner(s) of the property, and § 114-188(a)(5), which requires utilities to remain in the owner's name with no transfer to a non-owner or to an LLC form of ownership.

Together these conditions are designed to keep the STRR category limited to a homeowner letting a portion of their own primary residence, rather than an investor-owned whole-home rental; the code channels a non-owner-occupied whole-home short-term rental into the separate short-term commercial rental (STCR) category defined in § 114-188(b), which instead requires a special exception from the Board of Zoning Adjustment. An STRR applicant who cannot show homestead recording with the county, or who is not the person of record on the property, cannot obtain the business license required before advertising, booking, or renting under the STRR use characteristics.