Primary-Residence-Only Rule
Rules limiting short-term rentals to a host's primary residence, including documentation required to prove residency and rules against operating multiple listings.
Short-Term Rentals in Alabama (2026)
39 rules on the books across Alabama, 10 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Short-Term Rental Permits
Whether you need a license or permit to list your property on Airbnb, VRBO, or similar platforms, and what the application process looks like.
Vestavia Hills
Heavy RestrictionsVestavia Hills doesn't permit short-term rentals, it bans them outright: renting any residence to a transient for less…
Read full rule →Auburn
Significant RestrictionsOperating a short-term non-primary rental in Auburn requires a zoning certificate under Section 408.02(D)(6), valid…
Read full rule →Hoover
Significant RestrictionsHoover requires an operator to hold both an annual short-term rental permit and a business license for every rental…
Read full rule →Mobile
Significant RestrictionsMobile requires short-term rentals to win a conditional use permit under Unified Development Code Section 64-5-6 before…
Read full rule →Tuscaloosa
Significant RestrictionsOperating a short-term rental in Tuscaloosa outside the tourist overlay requires a zoning special exception, and every…
Read full rule →Birmingham
Some RestrictionsBirmingham's zoning ordinance defines a short-term rental and requires approval of a short-term rental permit from the…
Read full rule →Huntsville
Some RestrictionsHuntsville requires anyone renting out a room or property for stays under 180 days to hold a business license, taxed…
Read full rule →Noise Rules
Noise restrictions that apply specifically to short-term rental properties, including quiet hours and rules about parties and gatherings.
Hoover
Significant RestrictionsThree valid, police-substantiated complaints against a Hoover short-term rental in twelve months trigger an automatic…
Read full rule →Auburn
Some RestrictionsAuburn regulates short-term homestays as home occupations, and Section 511.04.B.11 of the Zoning Ordinance bars any…
Read full rule →Tuscaloosa
Some RestrictionsEvery short-term rental in Tuscaloosa must comply with the city's residential noise standards in Sec. 10.8-13, under…
Read full rule →Taxes & Fees
Transient occupancy taxes, tourism fees, and other charges that hosts must collect from guests or pay to the city.
Alabama: statewide
StatewideHeavy RestrictionsAlabama imposes a statewide lodgings tax on rooms and accommodations rented for fewer than 180 continuous days…
Read full rule →Auburn
Some RestrictionsAuburn taxes short-term rentals and homestays through Category 21 of its business license schedule: an annual license…
Read full rule →Hoover
Some RestrictionsHoover charges a nonrefundable $150 annual short-term rental permit fee, $300 for a seven-day special-event rental, and…
Read full rule →Huntsville
Some RestrictionsHuntsville STRs must collect Alabama state lodging tax (5% mountain lakes region rate), Huntsville local lodging tax of…
Read full rule →Madison
Some RestrictionsAlabama levies a state transient occupancy (lodgings) tax of 5% in Madison County, which is part of the Mountain Lakes…
Read full rule →Mobile
Some RestrictionsShort-term rentals in Mobile are explicitly taxed the same as hotels: 10 percent of the rental charge inside city…
Read full rule →Montgomery
Some RestrictionsMontgomery excludes Airbnb-type hosts from the flat $200 rooming and boarding house business license under Schedule AJ…
Read full rule →Tuscaloosa
Some RestrictionsEvery Tuscaloosa short-term rental operator owes a lodging tax on top of the standard business license: 11 percent of…
Read full rule →Short-Term Rental Parking Rules
Off-street parking requirements for rental guests, limits on the number of vehicles, and restrictions on street parking near rental properties.
Hoover
Some RestrictionsHoover requires one off-street parking space per bedroom at every short-term rental and bans transient guests from…
Read full rule →Mobile
Some RestrictionsA Mobile short-term rental must provide two off-street parking spaces for the principal occupants plus one more space…
Read full rule →Tuscaloosa
Some RestrictionsTuscaloosa ties a short-term rental's maximum occupancy directly to its parking: Sec. 25-101(c)(4)(iv)(e) allows no…
Read full rule →Auburn
Light RestrictionsAuburn requires off-street parking for most home occupations, but homestays get an exception: on-street parking is…
Read full rule →Occupancy Limits
Maximum number of guests allowed per rental unit, often based on the number of bedrooms or square footage of the property.
Mobile
Significant RestrictionsMobile treats short-term rentals as a conditional use capped at eight guest rooms per establishment, with no on-site…
Read full rule →Hoover
Some RestrictionsHoover caps short-term rental occupancy at two guests per bedroom, or a different number if the fire marshal sets one…
Read full rule →Tuscaloosa
Some RestrictionsTuscaloosa caps short-term rental occupancy at two adult guests per qualifying off-street parking space under the…
Read full rule →Birmingham
Few RestrictionsBirmingham's zoning amendments define a short-term rental and route operating limits to Title 12, Chapter 23 of the…
Read full rule →Insurance Requirements
Liability insurance minimums and other coverage that hosts must carry when renting their property to short-term guests.
Hoover
Significant RestrictionsEvery Hoover short-term rental permit application must include proof of at least $1,000,000 in liability and personal…
Read full rule →Tuscaloosa
Some RestrictionsEvery Tuscaloosa short-term rental host must carry at least $1,000,000 in liability and personal injury coverage before…
Read full rule →Night Caps
Limits on how many nights per year a property can be rented as a short-term rental, sometimes called annual caps or night limits.
Auburn
Some RestrictionsAuburn limits any whole-unit short-term rental that isn't the owner's residence to 240 days of operation per calendar…
Read full rule →Tuscaloosa
Some RestrictionsA Tuscaloosa short-term rental allowed by right may operate no more than forty-five days in a calendar year under Sec…
Read full rule →Host Presence Rule
Whether your city allows only home-sharing (host on-site during the rental) versus whole-home unhosted rentals, and the enforcement process for violations.
Repeat Violator Strikes
Three-strike or escalating-penalty systems for hosts with repeated noise, occupancy, or registration violations, including permit revocation thresholds.
Auburn
Significant RestrictionsAuburn doesn't wait for a long enforcement history before pulling a short-term rental permit. Section 511.04(e) of the…
Read full rule →Hoover
Significant RestrictionsThree substantiated police complaints against a Hoover short-term rental in twelve months triggers a minimum six-month…
Read full rule →Tuscaloosa
Significant RestrictionsTuscaloosa cancels a short-term rental's special exception permit and denies annual license renewal once the city…
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