Montgomery City Council Committee Moves Closer Towards Airbnb and Single-Room Rental Oversight
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — With no regulations currently governing Airbnb listings or single-room rentals, Montgomery residents have grown increasingly frustrated — and the City Council is now taking steps to change that.
For the second time this year, the council’s Commerce and Industry Committee met to discuss how to regulate short-term rentals and single-room occupancies across the city.
District 3 Councilwoman Marche Johnson, who is leading the effort, said the goal is to balance business opportunities with the city’s ongoing housing needs.
“What we don’t want is a city filled with short-term rentals when we have a housing crisis,” Johnson said. “We need permanent housing, not neighborhoods filled with Airbnbs. We want you to make money and have businesses, but we also have people who need somewhere to live.”
According to city officials, Montgomery currently has 587 short-term rentals, most of which are unlicensed. Under the proposed ordinance, hosts would be required to obtain a business license, pay a $250 annual fee, secure a two-year Short-Term Rental certificate and registration number, and pay an 11% transient occupancy tax for any rental period under 180 days. Properties would also be listed in a public city registry.
Additional regulations include limiting occupancy to two people per room, restricting the number of days per year a home can be rented, prohibiting street parking and commercial vehicles, and requiring a 24-hour contact number that must be answered within 15 minutes in the event of an issue. Trash cans must be properly stored out of public view, and short-term rentals would be barred from hosting weddings, receptions, or large events. Any swimming pool on the property must have a 4-foot fence with a lockable gate.
Johnson said neighborhoods such as Capitol Heights, Cottage Hill, Old Cloverdale and the Garden District have been overwhelmed by the number of rentals.
“We’ve been inundated with short-term rentals in our communities,” she said. “Those community members deserve to have neighbors who are truly part of the community, not a stranger every other day or every 30 days.”
The committee is gathering input from both residents and Airbnb owners. Johnson said some hosts were initially concerned the discussion was motivated by past Airbnb-related parties but emphasized that the underlying issue is the lack of existing rules.
“Everything has to be done decently and in order,” she said. “We want to make sure we are doing that as a government.”
Under the draft proposal, only one short-term rental would be allowed per block. The city also wants properties to be listed through hosting platforms, primarily Airbnb, which Johnson said has cooperated with city leaders and pays required taxes.
“We have not had communication with VRBO or any other hosting sites,” she said. “We came to the conclusion that we don’t want any unhosted owners here in Montgomery. Only hosted owners will be able to receive a business license. They will have a certificate of occupancy and undergo inspection before being allowed to list their properties.”
Single-room rentals would face their own rules: Hosts must live in the home, be Montgomery residents, and may rent rooms for no more than 90 nights per year.
The proposed regulations will be reviewed by multiple city departments before being opened for public comment and questions through the city clerk’s office. A third draft will follow, along with one additional public committee meeting. After that, the final ordinance will head to the full City Council for discussion and a vote.
Airbnb issued a statement saying it “looks forward to working with city leaders in Montgomery to develop fair and balanced rules for short-term rentals.”
“We’re committed to being good partners and supporting reasonable regulations that strike this balance,” the company said.
