Short-term rentals in Gadsden, explained properly.

Sec. 18-544 requires the application to list the name, cellular/mobile phone number, physical address, mailing address and email address of the emergency contact(s). The contact must be able to answer calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the duration of each STR period and respond within one hour to complaints about the condition or operation of the STR or the conduct of renters or their guests. The contact must also be able to respond on-site within one hour at the request of the city. Sec. 18-545 requires the emergency contact information to be posted conspicuously inside the STR.

Sec. 18-544 lists what accompanies each application: a copy of the current house rules, a zoning verification letter from the planning department, a copy of the owner's driver's license or government-issued identification, a list of the advertising platforms to be used, a sworn statement acknowledging receipt of the article and that the STR complies with all other city rules, regulations and codes, and other reasonable information the chief building official, the mayor or their designees decide. Before the permit is issued, the owner or operator must deliver written notice to the owners of adjoining properties and give a copy to the building department; the notice carries the owner, operator and emergency contact names, emails and phone numbers, the number the public calls to report violations to the building department, and the maximum occupancy. The permit holder must also hold vacation rental insurance, short-term rental insurance or an equivalent in addition to homeowner's insurance; proof is provided before the permit is issued and resubmitted each year for renewal.

Sec. 18-546 says no STR shall exceed the maximum guest occupancy of two persons per bedroom or such other occupancy number as determined by the fire marshal, the city's zoning ordinances, or the chief building official. The adjoining-owner notice must state the maximum occupancy (Sec. 18-544).

Sec. 18-545 requires each STR to have adequate off-street parking (concrete or asphalt) for all renters' and guest parking needs. Subject to the limits of parking availability within the property, at least one designated parking space per bedroom is required for use by transients, and transients must park all vehicles within designated parking areas. Overnight street parking by transients is strictly prohibited, and no person may park a recreational vehicle, bus or trailer on the street or forward of the front building line. The chief building official confirms within the contents of the permit that adequate parking in designated areas is provided.

Sec. 18-545 says an STR shall be rented only for lodging use and shall not be rented for, or used for, weddings, parties, concerts or similar events during any rental period. No person or entity may display on-premises signage legible from any public street right-of-way about an STR in a residential or nonresidential district.

Sec. 18-545 requires the posted house rules to comply with the article. On notice that a renter or guest has violated the article or any noise, garbage or other city law, the owner, operator or emergency contact must promptly notify the renter and take the action needed to correct the violation and prevent a recurrence.

Sec. 18-543 says the provisions of the article shall not supersede the prohibition of short-term rentals by a homeowner's association, a controlling entity, or other covenants agreed upon by the property owner. A City permit therefore does not override a private prohibition.

Sec. 18-547 has the building department give written notice of a violation, the corrective action and a due date, and it may approve an extension if substantial progress is made or issue a first-time warning. If a violation is not corrected by the due date the building department may temporarily suspend the permit until it is corrected, and recurrent violations (noise, litter, occupancy, parking, safety) can lead to suspension or revocation proceedings. Two valid and substantiated complaints to the police or building department within 12 months about an STR property mean the permit for that property is suspended for no less than six months. A second suspension within two consecutive years means a suspension of no less than 12 months. A third suspension within three consecutive years means the permit is revoked permanently.

Sec. 18-549 says a violation of the article is an offense and that, upon conviction, a person committing a violation is punished by a fine of no less than $500.00 per incident.

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.