Montgomery City Council approves short-term rental ordinance

Montgomery City Council voted 8-0 on the short-term rental ordinance./Source: WAKA Action 8 News

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WAKA) – The Montgomery City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to approve an ordinance regarding short-term rental properties in the city.

The ordinance had been up for discussion for the better part of the year, but council members voted to approve the measure 8-0.

The new ordinance helps establish requirements, prohibitions and procedures for the establishment, management, maintenance and registration of short-term rentals in Montgomery.

One issue involved a proposed requirement for short-term rental owners or operators to respond within a certain amount of time when police or firefighters are called to a property because of a problem.

Under the revised ordinance, the response period would increase from 15 minutes to one hour. If an owner-operator does not respond within that time, the owner could face the loss of its business license.

District 7 Councilman Andrew Szymanski said in addition to the changes two weeks ago, some minor language in the ordinance was also changed.

The ordinance now heads to Mayor Steven Reed’s desk for his signature.

Action 8 News is waiting to find out when the ordinance will go into effect.

To view the updated ordinance from two weeks ago, click here.