Tuscaloosa, AL

Tuscaloosa's Property Maintenance Code requires smoke alarms in rental buildings to be AC-powered with battery backup and interconnected with other smoke alarms whenever it is…

Tuscaloosa requires a city permit for open burning citywide, but Sec. 11-28(b)(1)c carves out fires for recreational or ceremonial purposes, so a backyard fire pit or bonfire does not…

Tuscaloosa bans open burning citywide unless the fire is covered by a permit or falls under one of three listed exceptions: Sec. 11-28(b)(1) makes it unlawful to kindle or maintain any…

Tuscaloosa bans the possession, manufacture, storage, sale, handling and use of fireworks anywhere in the city under City Code Sec. 11-50. Tuscaloosa Police Department enforces the…

Mobile home parks in Tuscaloosa must keep LP-gas containers between 25 and 100 pounds capacity, securely fastened against overturning, and out of storage cabinets, carports, or beneath…

Alabama's State Forestry Commission may declare a drought emergency by regulation under Ala. Code § 9-13-141, making all outdoor burning unlawful in the affected counties. Such…

Tuscaloosa makes it unlawful under City Code Sec. 4-6 to catch, kill or possess any wild bird or animal, or to let your own dog or cat catch, kill or injure one, except on your own…

Tuscaloosa lets residents keep chickens, rabbits or other fowl only if the pen sits at least 300 feet from any church, school, park, public building or another person's residence, a…

Tuscaloosa requires every dog off its owner's property to be restrained on a leash, rope or chain no longer than 10 feet, and it is no defense that the dog got loose without your…

Tuscaloosa pet shops can't sell or display a dog, cat, puppy or kitten unless it came from the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter or a rescue organization, effectively banning commercial…

Pet grooming shops in Tuscaloosa are a permitted-by-right use in the GC, NC, HC, IL, and IG zoning districts under the animal care category of the commercial use table, but need a…

Tuscaloosa's zoning ordinance requires veterinary clinics to manage medical and biohazardous waste under federal, state and city rules, keep any new outdoor animal pen at least 150…

Keeping honey bees in Tuscaloosa is unlawful unless the hive meets four conditions in City Code Sec. 4-11: it must sit at least 150 feet from any school, public park or playground, no…

Tuscaloosa classifies a dog as vicious or dangerous by its behavior, not its breed: habitual aggression, an unprovoked attack, or being kept for fighting. Once classified, the dog…

Tuscaloosa authorizes a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program for feral cat colonies under City Code Sec. 4-14: caretakers can legally maintain a colony once it is registered with a…

Tuscaloosa caps the number of cats any household can keep at three under City Code Sec. 4-13, though kittens under three months old don't count toward the limit. Households that…

Alabama Department of Conservation regulations restrict baiting and feeding of deer and other game animals statewide during hunting seasons, with separate rules on bear feeding and…

Every Tuscaloosa short-term rental host must carry at least $1,000,000 in liability and personal injury coverage before the city will issue a business license. The policy can be a…

Tuscaloosa cancels a short-term rental's special exception permit and denies annual license renewal once the city verifies complaints or violations at the property. Operators lose…

Every short-term rental in Tuscaloosa must comply with the city's residential noise standards in Sec. 10.8-13, under the short-term rental general standards at Sec…

Tuscaloosa ties a short-term rental's maximum occupancy directly to its parking: Sec. 25-101(c)(4)(iv)(e) allows no more than two adult occupants per off-street parking space provided…

A Tuscaloosa short-term rental allowed by right may operate no more than forty-five days in a calendar year under Sec. 25-101(c)(4)(iv)(f). An owner who wants more days must get a…

A Tuscaloosa dwelling used as a short-term rental by right is capped at forty-five (45) days a year under the zoning ordinance's use-specific standards. To rent beyond that cap, the…

Operating a short-term rental in Tuscaloosa outside the tourist overlay requires a zoning special exception, and every short-term rental, anywhere in the city, needs a Sec. 7-200…

Every Tuscaloosa short-term rental operator owes a lodging tax on top of the standard business license: 11 percent of the nightly charge inside the city limits, or 5.5 percent in the…

Tuscaloosa caps short-term rental occupancy at two adult guests per qualifying off-street parking space under the zoning ordinance's Sec. 25-101 use standards, on top of whatever the…

Tuscaloosa bans keeping a partially dismantled, wrecked, junked, or nonoperative vehicle on private property under City Code Sec. 13-71, and lets police tow and impound vehicles left…

Tuscaloosa caps loading zone stops at 30 minutes and delivery zone stops at 10 minutes under City Code Sec. 22-98, with a two-hour exception for marked commercial freight vehicles. The…

Tuscaloosa reserves curb painting to the fire chief and the director of transportation. A yellow curb marks a no-parking zone or a fire lane, and parking against one, or painting a…

Tuscaloosa zoning treats an EV charging station as an accessory use permitted by right in every zoning district. Sec. 25-107(k) requires reserved-space signage disclosing amperage…

Tuscaloosa bars parking cars, trucks, RVs, and similar vehicles in front yards off the paved right-of-way within designated historic districts under City Code Sec. 22-104. Driveways…

Tuscaloosa bans stopping or parking on sidewalks, in front of driveways, within 15 feet of an intersection or fire hydrant, or on crosswalks, and separately requires leaving at least…

Tuscaloosa bans parking a boat, RV, trailer, or semitrailer on any street, alley, or public way for storage, display for sale, or washing, servicing, or repair, except emergency…

Tuscaloosa bans parking, standing, or stopping any heavy truck, tractor-trailer, or vehicle with three or more axles in residential zoning districts. City Code Sec. 22-92 covers every…

Tuscaloosa bans sleeping or occupying an RV, camper, or van overnight on any street, and any vehicle left parked continuously on a public street for more than 24 hours can be towed and…

Alabama regulates the paperwork of a nonconsensual tow far more tightly than the price of one. Ala. Code § 32-13-2(d) lets a property owner or lessee have a car removed once it has…

Tuscaloosa caps weeds, grass and kudzu at 12 inches on any premises or vacant lot under Sec. 13-67, bans planting bamboo within 50 feet of a residential line, and requires no advance…

Tuscaloosa's zoning ordinance blocks the director of planning from approving trees for a required landscape plan if they are diseased, not native to the city's climate range, or…

Tuscaloosa allows small-scale composting as an accessory use by right in every zoning district in the city. Sec. 25-107(f) requires the compost area to sit behind the principal…

Once Tuscaloosa declares a Stage 2 water shortage, City Code Sec. 16-36 limits landscape irrigation to two fixed days a week by address: Sundays and Thursdays for even-numbered…

Tuscaloosa's zoning ordinance encourages, but never requires, cutting irrigation demand for required landscaping through rain sensors and rainwater reuse. The code separately defines a…

Tuscaloosa caps residential accessory structures like sheds at 650 square feet or 40 percent of the main house's footprint, whichever is larger, and requires a 5-foot setback from side…

Tuscaloosa flatly bars using an accessory dwelling unit as a short-term rental, and bars the reverse arrangement too: an owner cannot live in the ADU while renting out the principal…

In Tuscaloosa's D, DHE and DP zoning districts, an accessory dwelling unit is only legal if the owner of the lot lives in the principal dwelling as a legal and permanent residence…

Tuscaloosa's zoning ordinance caps a 'tiny house' at 400 square feet and then sorts it into one of two very different regulatory tracks. Sec. 25-31 treats a tiny house on an engineered…

Tuscaloosa's zoning ordinance permits an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) by right only in the CN, SFR-4, SFR-5, MR-1, MR-2, D, DP, DHE, GPD and RPD districts under Table V-5 and Sec…

A day care home or group day care home run out of a Tuscaloosa dwelling must meet state minimum care standards, screen outdoor play areas with a 6-foot solid fence or wall, and keep…

Tuscaloosa limits home occupations to the resident family only, bars exterior signage larger than 3 square feet, and requires a special exception use permit in nearly every residential…

A Tuscaloosa home occupation may display only one sign, no larger than three square feet, that is nonilluminated and mounted flat against the wall of the principal building. Sec…

Tuscaloosa bars home occupations from generating more customer and delivery traffic than a residential street would normally see, and it requires any parking that the business creates…

Alabama runs one of the plainer cottage food laws in the country. Ala. Code § 22-20-5.1(b) states that a cottage food production operation is not a food service establishment and is…

Alabama has never created a microenterprise home kitchen permit. The words "microenterprise" and "home kitchen" return no sections at all in the Code of Alabama, and Ala. Admin. Code…

Every permanent Tuscaloosa swimming pool, and any temporary pool that holds more than 18 inches of water, must be enclosed by a fence or wall at least 6 feet tall with a self-closing…

Tuscaloosa bars any excavation or construction work on a residential pool until the chief building official issues a building permit under City Code Sec. 6-6. The city separately…

Tuscaloosa's zoning ordinance doesn't create a standalone fence permit. Under Sec. 25-147, compliance review for division 5's fence and wall standards happens only when a fence is part…

Fences may be placed anywhere on a lot or on the property line between privately owned lots, but are prohibited within a Sight Triangle at street/railroad intersections, may not sit in…

In residential districts, a fence in the front setback of a non-corner lot must be at least 50 percent open and unobstructed, using wrought iron, pickets, chain link, or similar…

A retaining wall may exceed the normal fence/wall height limits if the Director of Planning finds it does not unreasonably impede visibility of street traffic or of vehicles exiting…

The Zoning Ordinance bans fabric, rolled plastic, plastic tarps, fiberboard, plywood, and sheet metal in fences and walls. Chain link is prohibited in front-yard fences in the MFR…

Tuscaloosa's noise code (City Code Ch. 10.8, Art. II, Sec. 10.8-13) sets a lower nighttime decibel ceiling in residential districts from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. In 2018 the City Council…

Outdoor music in Tuscaloosa is limited by the same residential decibel caps (75 dB(A) day / 65 dB(A) night near homes), but parades, cultural events, athletic games, fairs and other…

Tuscaloosa has no leaf-blower-specific ban. Its noise code instead exempts 'domestic power equipment' from the noise limits when operated between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. (City Code…

Tuscaloosa City Code Sec. 10.8-15 makes it unlawful to operate sound-amplifying equipment in a motor vehicle that exceeds 75 dB(A) on any public street or right-of-way in the city or…

Tuscaloosa exempts construction activity and equipment from its noise limits when operated between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. (City Code Sec. 10.8-14(f)). Outside that window…

Tuscaloosa's noise ordinance expressly exempts air traffic at the Tuscaloosa Municipal Airport (City Code Sec. 10.8-14(b)). Aircraft operational noise is controlled by federal law…

Tuscaloosa sets a precise threshold for illegal barking: if a dog barks, yelps, howls or growls for the majority of any ten-minute period, whoever controls the premises is violating…

Tuscaloosa uses measurable dB(A) limits, not a subjective standard. In residential districts the cap is 75 dB(A) by day and 65 dB(A) at night (lowered from 80/75 in 2018), measured on…

Tuscaloosa requires a right-of-way permit before anyone installs a bollard, chain, fence or other barrier on city right-of-way, including areas bordering sidewalks. The permit comes…

Tuscaloosa bans obstructing or encumbering any street or sidewalk with goods, merchandise, lumber, fuel, or any other article, and bans any act that restricts free use of the public…

Tuscaloosa requires all sidewalks to be repaired once the city has actual or constructive notice of a defect, per City Code Sec. 21-19, tracking the state authorization in Code of Ala…

Tuscaloosa governs development in flood-prone areas through a standalone Floodplain Management and Flood Damage Prevention Code, adopted by reference and prepared by the city…

Tuscaloosa bans discharging anything other than stormwater into its municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) under City Code Sec. 21-152, part of the city's "Tuscaloosa NPDES…

Anyone wanting to build, alter, or place a dock, pier, boathouse, gazebo, or seawall on city land surrounding Lake Tuscaloosa must first get a structure permit from the director of…

Tuscaloosa requires erosion control best management practices on any development, earth change or driveway construction, no matter how small, to keep sediment out of streets, storm…

Alabama's Coastal Area Management Program, administered by ADEM under Code §9-7, regulates development in Mobile and Baldwin counties' coastal zones, requiring permits for construction…

Tuscaloosa exempts burglar alarms and vehicle security alarms from the city's general 75/65 decibel noise limits, but the exemption is not unlimited: City Code Sec. 10.8-14(e) caps how…

Tuscaloosa's noise article does not reach ordinary truck traffic: Sec. 10.8-14(i) exempts the normal and usual operation of motor vehicles and trains from every decibel and disturbance…

Tuscaloosa bans drinking or carrying an open container of any alcoholic beverage in public, including inside a vehicle on city streets, under City Code Sec. 3-12. The only exception is…

Tuscaloosa's loitering law only applies once police have formally designated a street or block as an overcrowded area. Inside that designated zone, Sec. 17-153(b) makes it a $100…

Tuscaloosa makes it unlawful to panhandle aggressively (touching, blocking, following, or persisting after a refusal), to panhandle at all after sunset or before sunrise, or to solicit…

Tuscaloosa's clean-air ordinance, Sec. 13-92 through 13-98, bans smoking inside restaurants, city buildings, buses, elevators, service lines, and theater seating areas. Its definitions…

Tuscaloosa bans skateboards, roller skates, and coasters from roadways except at marked crosswalks, and bans skating or skateboarding on curbs, benches, rails, monuments, or any…

City Code Sec. 16-92(b) requires every occupied residential premises in Tuscaloosa to subscribe to municipal garbage service, which runs once a week. Households can set out up to three…

Yard waste too big to bag, limbs, brush, and shrubbery, must be cut to no more than eight feet long and eight inches in diameter before Tuscaloosa's trash crews will take it, City Code…

Once you set recyclables at the curb or in a city-designated bin in Tuscaloosa, they legally become city property, City Code Sec. 16-111, though you can still retrieve items from your…

Tuscaloosa's weekly trash service covers up to five cubic yards of bulky household trash per residence at no extra charge, City Code Sec. 16-97(b)(7). Go over that and the city bills a…

Tuscaloosa residents must have garbage carts, recycling bins, and trash at the curb before 6:00 a.m. on their collection day, City Code Sec. 16-95(a). Once serviced, carts and bins…

When a legal holiday falls on a Tuscaloosa collection day, City Code Sec. 16-95(c) cancels that day's garbage and trash pickup outright and pushes the route to the next business day…

Once you set recyclables at the curb, on city right-of-way, or in a city-designated bin in Tuscaloosa, they legally become city property. Only you or the city's authorized contractor…

Tuscaloosa only picks up garbage set out in city-issued carts, City Code Sec. 16-93(a). Bags, cans, and other containers are 'nonconforming receptacles' the city won't collect and…

Commercial haulers licensed under Chapter 7 of the Tuscaloosa City Code need the city's written consent before setting a mechanical container on city property or in a public…

Dumping gravel, cement, garbage, trash, debris or litter of any kind on Tuscaloosa streets, public ways, or private premises and vacant lots, including from a moving vehicle, is…

Before excavating, building, moving, storing materials on-site or altering nearly any structure in Tuscaloosa, including accessory structures and permanent signs, you need a permit…

Tuscaloosa doesn't mandate green construction, but Sec. 25-171 lets developers unlock density, height, and parking incentives by achieving LEED Gold or Platinum certification, or an…

Every permitted Tuscaloosa construction site gets a physical inspection matched to its scope of work, and the contractor, owner or agent has to request it with a proposed date. The…

Tuscaloosa has adopted the 2020 National Electrical Code by reference as the city's Electrical Code, governing all wiring and electrical construction inside the city and its police…

Any Tuscaloosa short-term rental that is a whole-house single-family dwelling or a detached guesthouse must have working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors before the city…

Tuscaloosa's Residential Building Code requires fire sprinkler systems in all U-Dwellings, the city's local classification for duplex, triplex and row-house structures, designed to…

Tuscaloosa enforces the 2021 International Plumbing Code as its adopted plumbing code, with local amendments on pressure testing and fixture requirements. Most plumbing work requires a…

Tuscaloosa requires a permit for any organized or sanctioned event held on the waters of Lake Tuscaloosa or on the city park property surrounding it, including races, regattas, and…

Tuscaloosa requires a separate sidewalk cafe permit before any restaurant can put tables and chairs on the public sidewalk, on top of any right-of-way use permit. City Code Sec. 21-28…

Any street fair, festival, or other special event on Tuscaloosa public property needs a special event permit from the arts and entertainment director under Sec. 21-27. Organizers must…

Tuscaloosa requires a special event permit before anyone may organize, hold, or take part in a parade, race, block party, or similar gathering on public property, including streets…

Any parade, march, race, or other special event on Tuscaloosa streets, sidewalks, or parks needs a permit from the arts and entertainment director under Sec. 21-27. Applications cost…

Tuscaloosa's zoning ordinance keeps tobacco and vape shops spaced out: no tobacco or vape shop can open within 1,000 feet of another one, or within 1,000 feet of a casino…

Secondhand and junk dealers in Tuscaloosa hold a Used Merchandise business license and must report every transaction to the police chief daily, hold purchased goods for 10 days before…

Tuscaloosa caps what a towing company can charge for a nonconsensual tow from private property: $208 for vehicles up to 7,000 pounds and $273 up to 17,000 pounds, under City Code Sec…

Tattoo establishments are a permitted-by-right use in Tuscaloosa's General Commercial and Highway Commercial districts, and a special exception use in the light and general industrial…

Tuscaloosa's zoning ordinance does not allow light vehicle repair, the classification covering auto body work, painting, welding, and general mechanical repair, as a home occupation…

Tuscaloosa Code Sec. 3-18.2 makes it unlawful for anyone to perform nude or nearly nude, exposing genitals, buttocks, anus or the breast below the areola, inside any liquor- or…

Any Tuscaloosa massage parlor must hold a city license before opening under Code Sec. 13-83, pass a physician's health screening for every masseur and employee, renewed every six…

Pawnbrokers in Tuscaloosa are licensed under the Pawnshop NAICS classification and regulated as "secondhand dealers" under Chapter 7, Article X, which ties every definition to the…

Tuscaloosa bars minors under 18 from public places and business premises during set curfew hours: 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weeknights, 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekends, and 9 a.m. to 2:30…

Tuscaloosa parks close according to hours posted at each individual park, and Sec. 18-23(a) makes it unlawful to use a park outside those posted hours. The director can also close any…

Every business in Tuscaloosa is slotted into a six-digit NAICS classification on the Sec. 7-18 license schedule, which fixes the payment schedule used to calculate its annual business…

Anyone going house to house in Tuscaloosa to sell goods or take orders needs an individual solicitor permit under Sec. 7-19, on top of a business license held by the firm they…

No one may run a mobile food truck or cart on Tuscaloosa streets, alleys or public ways without a City Council-approved franchise under Sec. 12-50. Sec. 12-51 requires a detailed…

Tuscaloosa's mobile food vendor franchise ordinance lets the director of infrastructure and public services approve or reject every food truck location, and Sec. 12-52(e) bars trucks…

Selling or displaying food for sale on any Tuscaloosa curb or sidewalk is unlawful under City Code Sec. 12-1 unless the vendor operates at an established curb market or holds a city…

Tuscaloosa Code Sec. 13-5 bans storing refuse or rubbish that creates rat harborage anywhere in the city, and Sec. 13-6 requires anyone running a food, feed, grain or animal-housing…

Tuscaloosa lets the city council authorize a use that isn't normally allowed for a designated historical or architectural landmark, under Zoning Ordinance Sec. 25-97. The council must…

Tuscaloosa's zoning ordinance treats a data center as a business-service principal use, and Table V-3 permits it by right only in the GC, HC, IL, IG, and IH districts, the city's…

Tuscaloosa requires a designated pick-up and drop-off area for taxis and other mobility service providers only in parking lots of 200 or more spaces. Sec. 25-123(i)(3) keeps those…

Drivers passing a cyclist in Tuscaloosa must leave at least 3 feet of clearance and hold it until fully past, and cannot cut back in with a right turn unless it can be made safely…

Under the Tuscaloosa Red Light Safety Act, Secs. 17-205 through 17-212, the city may use photographic traffic signal enforcement systems to record red-light runners and pursue a civil…

Alabama has no general statute putting golf carts or low-speed vehicles on public roads. The only statewide scheme, Ala. Code §§ 11-73-1 to 11-73-7, applies by its own terms in Class 2…

Tuscaloosa limits building coverage through a maximum 'Ground Coverage Ratio' set per zoning district - the percentage of lot area covered by building footprints. In single-family…

Maximum building height is set per zoning district. In the single-family residential districts (SFR-E, SFR-1, SFR-2) the maximum building height is 35 feet. Lake-area districts use a…

Minimum front, side, and rear setbacks are set by each zoning district. In single-family districts, typical minimums are 30-35 feet front, 9-10 feet side, and 35 feet rear (e.g…

Tuscaloosa Sec. 13-67.1 bars anyone owning or controlling a premises or vacant lot from letting litter, trash, or storm or construction debris accumulate on it outside authorized…

Tuscaloosa enforces blighted and rundown property through the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code, adopted by Sec. 6-50 with local amendments covering weeds, abandoned slabs…

Inside Tuscaloosa's original city survey area and its downtown, downtown perimeter, and downtown historic edge districts, the citywide landscape ordinance doesn't govern street trees…

Tuscaloosa caps how much light can spill onto a neighboring lot line. Under Sec. 25-158 and table VI-15, illumination measured at any point on a property line cannot exceed 0.5…

Tuscaloosa's Property Maintenance Code singles out rental housing for extra electrical safety standards: local disconnects on every major appliance and GFCI protection on bathroom…

Under Ala. Code § 35-9A-421 an Alabama landlord must give 7 business days' written notice for unpaid rent (pay or quit) and 7 business days to cure a material lease violation. After…

Alabama's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Ala. Code Title 35, Chapter 9A) provides the exclusive statutory framework for residential evictions. The act sets uniform notice…

Under Ala. Code § 35-9A-303 an Alabama landlord must give the tenant at least two days' notice and enter only at reasonable times for legitimate purposes such as repairs, inspection…

Alabama's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets no maximum late fee and no mandatory grace period. Late fees are governed entirely by the lease; rent is late the day after…

Under Ala. Code § 35-9A-441 either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with 30 days' written notice and a week-to-week tenancy with 7 days' notice. Breaking a fixed lease early…

Rent control is illegal at the local level in Alabama. Ala. Code § 11-80-8.1 preempts the field, barring any county, city, town, or municipality from enacting, maintaining, or…

Alabama's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets no specific notice period or dollar limit for raising rent. A landlord generally cannot raise rent mid-lease, but for…

Alabama caps a residential security deposit at one month's rent under Ala. Code § 35-9A-201, with exceptions for pets, alterations, and added liability risk. Landlords must return the…

Alabama recognizes two adverse-possession paths: 20 years of open, continuous possession by prescription, or 10 years under Ala. Code § 6-5-200 with color of title recorded, annual tax…

Every alcohol licensee in Tuscaloosa, meaning any bar, restaurant or store licensed to sell beer, wine or liquor, must install and operate a security camera system under City Code Sec…

Tuscaloosa bars political advertising by posted sign or loudspeaker inside city parks unless the speaker or sign holder has a permit, under Sec. 18-29(2). The same section also bans…

Tuscaloosa caps window signs at twenty percent of the glass area on a building's front façade, and separately at twenty percent of the glass area on each street-level façade, under…

Tuscaloosa has no sign category labeled 'garage sale,' so a yard-sale sign posted in a residential yard falls under the zoning ordinance's temporary yard sign rule. Sec. 25-183(d) caps…

Tuscaloosa lets billboard owners convert existing structures to electronic, digital, or tri-vision displays, but the zoning ordinance caps how fast the image can change and how close…

Before the city will issue or renew a short-term rental business license, Sec. 7-205 requires the property to pass an inspection confirming it meets the safety equipment standards in…

Tuscaloosa bans planting or allowing bamboo within 50 feet of any residential property line, right-of-way, or public utility easement under City Code Sec. 13-67. No notice is required…

Tuscaloosa allows a home garden as an accessory use in nearly every residential district, but Sec. 25-107(m) flatly prohibits placing it between the principal building and the front…

Tuscaloosa's landscaping code bans any plant on the Alabama Invasive Plant Council's current invasive species list, or any species the director of planning separately designates, from…

Hotels, motels, and other transient lodging in Tuscaloosa pay an 11 percent lodging tax on room charges under Sec. 7-65(a), collected monthly by the revenue director. The tax reaches…

Tuscaloosa's zoning ordinance draws a firm line between city code enforcement and homeowners association rules. Under Sec. 25-10, the city takes no responsibility for monitoring or…

Under the Alabama Homeowners' Association Act, an association has a lien on each lot for unpaid assessments, plus interest and costs the declaration allows. The lien is recorded in…

An Alabama homeowners' association governed by Ala. Code § 35-20-13 must hand over ten named categories of records to any member or potential purchaser who asks in writing, within a…

Alabama sets no maximum dollar figure for a homeowners' association fine. Ala. Code § 35-20-11 lets a board assess only "reasonable penalties," only to the extent the declaration and…

An Alabama homeowners' association governed by the Alabama Homeowners' Association Act cannot foreclose on its own. Ala. Code § 35-20-12 requires it to give the lot owner 30 days'…

Tuscaloosa awards up to 1.5 extra dwelling units per acre in residential districts, or 2 extra units per acre elsewhere, to developments that earn LEED Gold or Platinum certification…

Tuscaloosa's citywide open-burning permit requirement does not reach the backyard grill or smoker: Sec. 11-28(b)(1)a exempts 'open fires for the cooking of food for human consumption'…

Tuscaloosa allows small-scale solar energy systems as a permitted accessory use by right in every zoning district, letting roof-mounted panels rise up to 5 feet above the roof surface…

Alabama medical cannabis dispensaries operate only under Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission licenses with statewide siting standards including 1,000-foot school buffers; cities may…

Alabama prohibits all home cultivation of cannabis statewide. Even patients enrolled in the medical cannabis program cannot grow plants at home; only licensed cultivators authorized by…

Alabama's Uniform Minimum Wage and Right-to-Work Act (Ala. Code § 25-7-40 et seq.) preempts cities and counties from setting a local minimum wage. Alabama has no state minimum wage, so…

Alabama allows permitless concealed carry of handguns for lawful adults, while still issuing optional permits for reciprocity, with state preemption blocking local restrictions.

Alabama law preempts most local firearm regulations, reserving authority over guns, ammunition, and accessories exclusively to the state legislature under Code Section 13A-11-61.3.

Alabama has no statewide charitable gaming law. Nonprofit bingo is legal only in the roughly 18 counties that adopted their own constitutional amendment authorizing it, Jefferson…

Alabama makes being a player in unlawful gambling a Class C misdemeanor, but Ala. Code § 13A-12-21(b) gives players a defense if they were in a "social game in a private place." The…

Alabama has no legalized sports betting. Wagering on the outcome of a sporting event is "gambling" under Ala. Code § 13A-12-20(4), and a bettor who knowingly advances or profits from…

The Alabama Legislature has never written a checkpoint statute. Searching the Code of Alabama on the Legislature's ALISON database returns zero sections containing roadblock…

Alabama never enacted an express right to record police, so the question is answered by the definitions in its eavesdropping article. Section 13A-11-30(1) defines eavesdropping as…

Alabama Code § 15-5-30 lets a named list of officers stop a person who is abroad in a public place on reasonable suspicion of a felony or other public offense and demand three things…

Alabama has no statute telling officers to ask for consent, to warn you that you may refuse, or to log the answer, and a full-text search of the Code returns nothing at all for the…

Alabama Code Section 6-5-127 protects established farms from nuisance lawsuits when surrounding non-agricultural land use changes, supporting long-term agricultural operations.

Alabama prohibits the sale of tobacco, vapor, and alternative nicotine products to anyone under 21 under Code Section 28-11-13, aligning with federal Tobacco 21 law.

Alabama counts auxiliary lamps one by one rather than leaving them to a general glare rule. Section 32-5-241(a) permits not more than one spot lamp, not more than two fog lamps mounted…

Alabama is one of the few states whose code says the words dash camera. Section 32-5A-350.1(g)(5), added by the 2023 hands-free act, exempts from the distracted-driving offense the use…

Lane splitting and lane filtering are illegal in Alabama with no exception for stopped or slow traffic. Ala. Code § 32-5A-242(c) says no person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes…

Alabama has no statute that names license plate covers, tinted shields or frames. A full-text search of the Code of Alabama on the Legislature's own code database returns zero sections…

No section of the Code of Alabama mentions a radar detector. The ban that does apply to commercial drivers arrives indirectly: § 32-9A-2(a)(1) makes it an offense to operate a…

Alabama never sets a studded-tire season. Ala. Code § 32-5-210(b) instead bans every block, stud, flange, cleat or spike made of any material other than rubber that projects beyond the…

Alabama's tint chapter carries its own numbers, so nothing has to be looked up in an inspection regulation. Section 32-5C-2(a)(2) forbids operating a vehicle registered in this state…