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ALTON – Alton officials took action this week to tighten the city’s regulations on short-term rental units.
A resolution amending zoning regulations for short-term rental units was unanimously approved at the June 24, 2026 Alton City Council meeting, following a positive recommendation from the city’s Plan Commission.
The newly approved amendments aim to strike a balance between preserving the character of Alton’s historic neighborhoods while promoting tourism and economic activity.
One such amendment limits the density of certain short-term rentals within residential neighborhoods by requiring non-owner-occupied units to be located at least 500 feet apart from each other. This requirement does not apply to owner-occupied units in residential neighborhoods or non-owner-occupied units in non-residential districts.
Another amendment achieves a similar goal by capping the number of non-owner-occupied short-term rentals in a residential neighborhood at 0.2% of total housing units, as identified in the most recent census data. Currently, this would allow up to 26 non-owner-occupied units to operate in residential areas.
Non-owner-occupied units will also be required to include a noise monitoring device that notifies the host of any unreasonable noise, and city inspectors will check for the device during annual safety inspections. If the property owner lives further than 25 miles away from the short term rental, they are now required to provide a local point of contact to address any nuisances at the property.
Another approved amendment requires at least one off-street parking space per bedroom utilized in the short-term rental. More details on how the city has regulated short-term rentals since 2021 are available in this related story on Riverbender.com.
A full recording of the June 24, 2026 Alton City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
