Birmingham bans short-term rentals city-wide

By Grace Lovins

Just under six months after a shooting incident took place at a short-term rental property on E. Lincoln in Birmingham, city commissioners moved on Monday, October 19, to permanently ban rentals under 30 days city-wide, with the changes to take effect the next week.

Short-term rental regulations have been a hot topic in the city for several months. Following the shooting incident on E. Lincoln, the commission enacted a six-month moratorium on the issuance of new rental licenses, then directed the city’s planning board to look into ordinance amendments that could regulate these rental properties.

The planning board brought forward recommended ordinance amendments during the Monday, September 28, commission meeting. At the time, multiple commissioners took issue with some of the language, including a provision that allowed for short-term rental uses in part of the city’s downtown area.

City staff were asked to take another look at some of the initially proposed language and to remove the exceptions from the amendments. Planning director Nick Dupuis said on Monday, October 19, that the exceptions were removed, parking standards were addressed and small structure changes were made to ensure the ordinance was tight.

He said, per a concern raised by a realtor during the previous meeting, a provision was also added that would allow for post-close occupancy agreements for people who have sold their homes but intend to remain in the property for a brief period as part of the moving process.

The adopted amendments do not take effect immediately, rather they will be fully effective seven days after publication. Clerk Alexandria Bingham said the intention is to have the language in the earliest Sunday newspaper possible.

Mayor Clinton Baller also brought to light that there are currently active licenses for some short-term rentals that will not expire until April 15, 2027. He noted that these licenses will remain valid until April, but the license holders will never be able to renew a license for short-term rentals.

In the end, commissioners voted 6-0 to approve the ordinance amendments prohibiting rentals under 30 days anywhere in the city. The commission went a step further voting 6-0 to extend the moratorium for an additional 60 days in case any issues arise with publishing the ordinance changes.