Alabama leaders are taking a hard look at Airbnb and Vrbo rentals, and the future of short-term rentals could be on the line.

City council members in Madison, which is located about 12 miles from the city of Huntsville, Alabama, spent more than an hour last week debating whether to regulate STRs or kick them out of residential areas completely, according to local outlet “WAFF.”

“What we’re trying to figure out is what is the balance? What is something that looks at what’s happening today? And should that continue? Where should it continue? And what are the rules and regulations around it?” Bier said, per the outlet.

Council Member Kenneth Jackson spoke out against short-term rentals, saying people in his district don’t want them in their neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, Mary Howard, a 20-year Madison resident who has owned and operated a short-term rental for nearly five years, told the council the benefits go beyond just housing visitors.

“Many people come here and stay in the STRs to support families who live in Madison to celebrate graduations, weddings, and babies being born. If long-term rentals are allowed in single-family neighborhoods, short-term rentals should also be allowed,” Howard said.

Will Madison Alabama get a formal STR rulebook?

For years, Madison has allowed vacation rentals to operate in residential zones without a formal rulebook.

But that could soon change.

Council members are weighing two very different paths.

One would let existing STRs stay, but add permits, rules, and operating standards. The other would ban short-term rentals from residential neighborhoods altogether.

District 2 Council Member David Bier said the city is trying to balance existing rental operations with neighborhood concerns, per the outlet.

The debate has been building for months, and the long discussion shows city leaders are not exactly on the same page. The big question is whether STRs belong in single-family neighborhoods at all.

For Madison hosts, this is not a small tweak.

The city could give them a regulated path forward, or force them out of residential zones entirely. Either way, the days of operating without clear local rules may be coming to an end.