Short-term rentals in Rainbow City, explained properly.

Under Sec. 40-71(3) the owner provides, with the permit application, the name, address and telephone number of an emergency contact who will respond within one hour to complaints about the condition or operation of the STR or conduct of renters or their guests. The contact must be able to respond on-site within 12 hours if requested by the city and must answer calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the duration of each short-term rental period. Before any change of contact, the owner must submit the revised contact information to the city building official. Division 2 applies to short term rental of dwellings in all zoning districts except M-1 Manufacturing and MHP Mobile Home Park Districts in the city limits, and does not apply in districts in which commercial lodging is permitted (Sec. 40-71).

Sec. 40-71(6) says the dwelling may not be rented to more than one party simultaneously and limits occupancy to no more than two persons, plus two persons per bedroom. A bedroom must meet the minimum requirements of the International Building Code adopted by the city. The number of bedrooms is determined by the city building official as part of the permit application and the official may inspect the dwelling (Sec. 40-71(7)). By written agreement the owner must limit overnight occupancy to the maximum occupancy approved with the permit (Sec. 40-71(8)). Division 2 applies to short term rental of dwellings in all zoning districts except M-1 Manufacturing and MHP Mobile Home Park Districts in the city limits, and does not apply in districts in which commercial lodging is permitted (Sec. 40-71).

Sec. 40-71(4). Division 2 applies to short term rental of dwellings in all zoning districts except M-1 Manufacturing and MHP Mobile Home Park Districts in the city limits, and does not apply in districts in which commercial lodging is permitted (Sec. 40-71).

Sec. 40-71(5) requires all STR owners to obtain and maintain vacation rental property insurance that covers the lodging use of the site. Proof of insurance must be provided within 30 days of the issuance of the STR permit and resubmitted each year for renewal of the permit. Division 2 applies to short term rental of dwellings in all zoning districts except M-1 Manufacturing and MHP Mobile Home Park Districts in the city limits, and does not apply in districts in which commercial lodging is permitted (Sec. 40-71).

Sec. 40-71(11) requires the STR to have adequate off-street parking to accommodate all occupant parking needs and says all occupant vehicles must park off the street and on the STR property. No recreational vehicles, buses, boats or trailers may be stored on the street or forward of the front property line of the STR property. Under Sec. 40-71(18), 'vehicles' includes cars, trucks, motorcycles and off-road vehicles. Division 2 applies to short term rental of dwellings in all zoning districts except M-1 Manufacturing and MHP Mobile Home Park Districts in the city limits, and does not apply in districts in which commercial lodging is permitted (Sec. 40-71).

Sec. 40-71(9) says no on-premises signage, legible from any right-of-way, may advertise the STR. Sec. 40-71(12) says no food may be prepared or served to rental occupants by the STR property owner. Division 2 applies to short term rental of dwellings in all zoning districts except M-1 Manufacturing and MHP Mobile Home Park Districts in the city limits, and does not apply in districts in which commercial lodging is permitted (Sec. 40-71).

Sec. 40-71(13) requires a copy of Division 2, the STR permit, emergency contact information and house rules that comply with the division to be posted in a conspicuous place in the STR, and the rental party must sign a document indicating it received all of these documents. Sec. 40-71(15) requires each owner, upon issuance of an STR permit or upon changes to an existing permit, to give written notice to all owners of residentially zoned property adjacent to the STR property, stating the names and telephone numbers of the owner and emergency contact, the city telephone number for reporting violations, and the maximum number of renters permitted. The permit application includes the name and address of all owners of adjacent residential property. After notice of a violation, the owner or emergency contact must promptly notify the renter and take action to prevent a recurrence (Sec. 40-71(14)). Division 2 applies to short term rental of dwellings in all zoning districts except M-1 Manufacturing and MHP Mobile Home Park Districts in the city limits, and does not apply in districts in which commercial lodging is permitted (Sec. 40-71).

Sec. 40-71(16) makes the property owner responsible for collecting and reporting taxes from any rental arrangement that is not subject to an established collection agreement with the city. Sec. 40-71(17) makes the owner responsible for paying an additional rate, as set by the city, for any garbage containers exceeding two 32-gallon containers, and requires all garbage containers to be stored out of sight of the street on days not scheduled for pickup. Division 2 applies to short term rental of dwellings in all zoning districts except M-1 Manufacturing and MHP Mobile Home Park Districts in the city limits, and does not apply in districts in which commercial lodging is permitted (Sec. 40-71).

Sec. 40-72(2): the city may, in an exercise of discretion, issue a warning to a person who has not been previously warned or cited for violating the division. The first time a person is found to have violated the division the fine is $500.00; any second or subsequent time the fine is $1,000.00 for each subsequent violation. Before fines, the city notifies the owner in writing of the provision violated, the corrective action and a compliance due date, and tries to reach the owner or emergency contact by telephone (Sec. 40-72(1)). Written notice of fines and hearings is delivered to the owner (Sec. 40-72(6)). The fine amounts appear in the Code text of Ord. No. 564 (June 27, 2022).

Sec. 40-72(1) says violations of the division may result in revocation of the permit. Under Sec. 40-72(3), if a building, fire safety or property maintenance violation is not corrected by the compliance date, the city may temporarily suspend the permit; when a first-time violation has been corrected the permit is reinstated for the remainder of its current approval period, and the city may extend the compliance date if substantial progress has been made. Under Sec. 40-72(4), when noise, occupancy, parking, trespass or other conduct violations occur more than once in the same license year or within any six-month period, or a fine is not paid within 30 days of delivery of notice, the city may set a hearing before the city council for revocation. Notice of hearings is given at least ten days before the hearing (Sec. 40-72(6)). The permit holder may request a council hearing on a finding of violation, and anyone who disagrees with the council's decision may appeal de novo to the county circuit court (Sec. 40-72(5), (7)).

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.