Short-term rentals in Enterprise, explained properly.

Sec. 7-202(b) applies where a unit is managed by a person lawfully entitled to manage it other than the licensee or a principal of the licensee. Under Sec. 7-202(c) the licence holder remains the person primarily responsible for the operator duties in the article, whether or not that person owns the property, and the owner is secondarily responsible. The application lists the name, address and telephone number of any property manager or firm that will operate the rental (Sec. 7-206(2)).

Sec. 7-206 lists the application contents: (1) the name, signature, address and telephone number of the owner; (2) the name, address and telephone number of any property manager or firm; (3) the name, address and a 24-hour telephone number of the local contact person who will respond to complaints about the condition, operation or conduct of occupants; (4) the address of the dwelling; (5) an affidavit that there are no delinquent lodging tax liabilities or tax liens regarding the property; and (6) with the business licence application, an affidavit that the rental will comply with the article's safety regulations on or before July 15, 2023, and thereafter an affidavit of compliance with each annual renewal. Sec. 7-203 sets the renewal requirements: proof of current property insurance, lodging taxes current with no outstanding balances, a signed safety affidavit and payment of the business licence tax.

Sec. 7-208 requires an evacuation map near all exits, at least 10 by 8 inches, with a "you are here" star, an arrow to the nearest exit, all other exits and the fire extinguisher locations. There must be at least one fire extinguisher in the kitchen area under the sink, in any garage mounted no higher than 48 inches above the finished floor, and on each floor level not otherwise covered, each with a current service tag from a State of Alabama Fire Marshal-certified contractor. Smoke alarms must be in all sleeping rooms, outside bedrooms and on every level including the basement, installed under applicable codes, with a record of twice-annual testing and battery replacement available to the fire department. Doors and windows intended for egress must be operational, carbon monoxide alarms must be installed when applicable codes require them, and the rental must be maintained under the City's building-related and technical codes.

Sec. 7-209 requires the operator to post a copy of the permit in a conspicuous place in the unit and to make available a local 24-hour phone number able to produce a response within a reasonable time to complaints about the condition, operation or conduct of occupants. A placard at least 8.5 by 11 inches must be in plain view of renters whenever the unit is occupied, showing the 24-hour contact's full name and telephone number in a font of at least 72 points or 1.5 inches high. Under Sec. 7-210 the operator must notify the revenue department within 15 days after any change in property ownership or management or any other material change in the application information, and the revenue director may require a new application.

Sec. 7-209(b) says all occupant vehicles shall be parked on site and not in the adjacent public right-of-way. Subsection (c) requires the rental to adhere to the noise provisions of city ordinance 6-18-96, whose text was not read for this page. Subsection (f) requires trash and refuse to be kept in proper containers for collection and not left or stored in public view, with the owner or manager responsible for telling occupants the disposal procedures. Subsection (g) says no rental unit may be rented or advertised as a banquet facility or other facility made available for holding events on a commercial basis, and use is limited to activities incidental to dwelling, lodging or sleeping.

Sec. 7-212 authorizes police department officers to enforce the article, including by issuing a summons to the operator to appear in municipal court, and says any violation is an offense punishable by a fine of up to $100 per violation (Ordinance 12-06-22-C, December 20, 2022). Sec. 7-207 makes the operator responsible for ensuring the rental complies with all state, county and city ordinances and for the safety of guests.

Sec. 7-211 allows referral to the council of the licence for a particular unit for revocation or suspension for repeat violations or any violation that may constitute a danger to health or safety or a nuisance, in addition to other remedies. Renewal or a new application may be denied if the licensee or applicant has been found guilty of, or determined in a civil proceeding to be in violation of, any provision of the article. If a business licence is revoked, all permits under that licence are revoked simultaneously. Under Sec. 7-204(c), failure to file and remit lodging tax on time is a condition for licence revocation.

Section 40-26-1 of the Code of Alabama levies a privilege or license tax on every person in the business of renting or furnishing rooms, lodging or accommodations to transients in any hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp, tourist cabin or any other place in which rooms, lodgings or accommodations are regularly furnished to transients for a consideration. The rate is 5% of the charge in the 16 counties of the Alabama mountain lakes area (Blount, Cherokee, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan and Winston) and 4% in every other county, and the charge includes any charge for personal property and services furnished in the room. The tax does not apply to rooms, lodgings or accommodations supplied for 180 continuous days or more. The Alabama Department of Revenue says lodgings tax is collected through an account at My Alabama Taxes, and that counties and cities may add their own lodgings taxes of between 1% and 13%, some collected by the Department, some by third-party administrators and some by the local government itself. Local lodgings taxes are shown on each place's page.

Section 40-26-1.1 of the Code of Alabama (the Alabama Tourism Tax Protection Act of 2024, Act 2024-334) says an accommodations intermediary, meaning a business other than the owner that facilitates a lodging transaction and charges the guest a room or accommodations fee it keeps as compensation, must collect and remit the state lodgings tax and parallel local levies for transactions on or after January 1, 2025. The tax is charged on the room charge, the full retail price the guest pays including any fees. When the intermediary handles the booking for an accommodations provider (an owner with an active lodgings tax account who collects and remits the tax), the tax collected may be remitted to the provider if an executed written agreement says who remits it, and the intermediary is then not liable for tax the provider fails to remit. The intermediary must state the tax separately on the bill. Where the owner has hired a licensed professional property management company, that company is the merchant of record. The Department of Revenue's notice describes the same rules. Which local lodgings taxes a platform collects in a given place is not stated in these sources; check with the platform and the local tax office.

Section 40-26-1.1(g) requires every accommodations intermediary and accommodations provider to submit an annual report, in a form set by the Department of Revenue, listing the physical address of each accommodation rented or furnished for more than 14 days during the previous year; the report is confidential taxpayer information. Exempt are licensed professional property management companies that collect and remit the state lodgings tax (or manage homes leased for a month or more as the tenant's principal residence), hotels that collect and remit the tax, tourism marketing organizations funded by the tax, and marina, tent camping and RV providers that collect and remit it. The Department of Revenue's notice describes the same reporting rule and exemptions.