Short-Term Rental Laws in Huntsville, Alabama

No zoning-class STR ban. Huntsville Business License covers all parcels. HOA covenants are the most common operational restriction in newer subdivisions (Hampton Cove, Jones Valley, Madison-adjacent). Older neighborhoods (Five Points, Twickenham, Old Town) typically lack HOA-level STR restrictions but verify before any offer. The neighboring Madison (city, NOT unincorporated Madison County) has its own STR rules — generally more permissive than Huntsville but with its own Business License requirement.

Operators must hold a short-term rental permit before listing. See the official permit portal.

Huntsville Revenue Department + Building Inspection administer. Annual Business License renewal + AL State Lodgings Tax registration. AL Department of Revenue cross-references platform data for back-tax collection. Operating without a Business License or state Lodgings Tax registration: back-tax assessment + administrative penalties. Code Enforcement is primarily complaint-driven (noise, parking) under general municipal ordinances rather than STR-specific rules.

Combined short-term lodging tax in Huntsville is approximately 16.000% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

AL State sales tax 4% + AL State Lodgings Tax 5% + Madison County local option 0.5% + Huntsville city lodgings tax 6.5% — combined ~16.0% on transient lodging

Verify the current combined rate via the Utah State Tax Commission before remitting — rates drift quarterly.