Tuscaloosa, AL Short-Term Rentals: Repeat Violator Strikes (2026)

Under Section 25-101(c)(4)(iv)(h) of the zoning ordinance, every short-term rental operator in Tuscaloosa must renew the business license annually and submit to a city audit before that renewal is granted. The audit requires the operator to report the number of nights the dwelling was actually rented as a short-term rental during the year. If the city finds that record does not match the spirit of the ordinance, it refuses the renewal, voids any special exception use permit tied to the property, and bars the owner from getting a new short-term rental license for that dwelling for at least one year from the date of the notice.

For rentals operating under a special exception permit (required outside the tourist overlay and outside historic districts for anything beyond the 45-day-a-year by-right allowance), the annual audit adds a second strike test: the city checks for verified complaints or violations from the prior year. A clean record lets the zoning board renew the license for another year. A record with verified complaints or violations triggers an automatic non-renewal and cancellation of the special exception permit, no discretion involved once verification occurs. An operator whose permit is cancelled this way can only get back into the program by filing an entirely new special exception use permit application under Section 25-39, which puts the property through the full public hearing and board-of-adjustment review again rather than a routine renewal.