Baton Rouge, LA

Baton Rouge (Ordinance 16370, effective August 2023) limits non-owner-occupied short-term rentals to two guests per bedroom plus two additional people. Owner-occupied STRs must reserve…

Baton Rouge regulates short-term rentals through the Unified Development Code. STR operators must comply with zoning, obtain required permits, and register with the city-parish. The…

Baton Rouge Ordinance 16370 (effective August 2023) requires all short-term rental operators to carry commercial general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 and name the…

STR guests in Baton Rouge must comply with city-parish parking regulations. On-site parking should be provided when available. Hosts should communicate parking rules to guests before…

Louisiana's 5% state sales tax applies to short-term rentals. State law defines a 'hotel' to include any house, apartment, condominium, camp, or cabin rented to transient guests, so…

Baton Rouge generally requires permits for fences depending on height and materials. Masonry and block walls require building permits. The Department of Development reviews fence…

Wood, chain-link (except Downtown), and masonry are common permitted materials. UDC 9.5.2(D)(1) allows chain-link parish-wide outside Downtown and caps exposed concrete masonry at 50…

A retaining wall in East Baton Rouge Parish needs no building permit if it stands four feet or less from footing to top, per Sec. 8:501(1)(c). Taller walls, or any wall holding back a…

UDC 9.5.2(D)(3) requires fences and walls to sit at least 15 feet from the edge of any street (five feet along alleys) and at least five feet behind any sidewalk, and never inside a…

Louisiana Civil Code Articles 685 through 688 establish statewide rules for boundary fences, party walls, and shared fence costs between adjacent landowners. These civil code…

Garage conversions in Baton Rouge require building permits and must meet building code standards for habitable space. Zoning requirements for parking must be maintained: replacement…

Baton Rouge requires permits for accessory structures over 200 square feet. Structures 200 square feet or less may be exempt from permits but must comply with UDC setback and placement…

The City-Parish Unified Development Code allows one accessory dwelling on a single-family lot in the A2 through A5, NO and NC zoning districts. It must sit in the rear yard at least…

The City-Parish UDC has no separate tiny-home category. A tiny home on a permanent foundation is a single-family dwelling; a manufactured or movable tiny home is regulated under UDC…

An above-ground pool wall can serve as the barrier only if its top is at least 48 inches above grade around the whole perimeter and the wall meets the fence standards. Ladders or steps…

Spas and hot tubs are treated as pools under the adopted ISPSC, so the same barrier and gate rules apply. Glazing in walls, fences, or enclosures next to a hot tub or spa is a…

Outdoor amplified music and PA systems fall under Sec. 12:103: no mechanical loudspeaker or sound amplifier may operate within 150 feet of a residence's property line except between…

East Baton Rouge Parish has no separate industrial decibel zoning table. Stationary engines, boilers and machinery are covered by Sec. 12:100 and 12:101, which require mufflers on…

East Baton Rouge Parish has no numeric parish-wide overnight curfew, but Sec. 12:100 bans loud and raucous noise offensive to ordinary sensibilities anytime, and Sec. 12:101 flags…

East Baton Rouge Parish prohibits vehicle sound systems that exceed 85 decibels audible more than 25 feet away on a public street, highway or park. Defective or loud exhaust, horns and…

Construction work that creates loud, raucous noise in or adjacent to a residential area in Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish is confined to 7:00 a.m. through sunset on weekdays…

East Baton Rouge Parish bans excessive barking under Sec. 14:204(b)(5) and routes complaints through a set warning-then-summons process run by the Animal Control and Rescue Center, not…

The Unified Development Code bars wreckers, buses, and trucks or semitrailers with more than two axles and payload over 3,500 pounds from parking on the drive, in the front yard, or…

It's a nuisance to keep an abandoned or inoperative vehicle on private property. After written notice, the owner has 15 days to remove it or begin repairs (finished within 30 days), or…

There is no blanket overnight ban on passenger cars, but a vehicle may sit on a residential street only up to nine continuous hours. Motor homes, house trailers and heavy commercial…

You may not park on the grass between a residence and the street, block a driveway, or park on the left-hand side of a two-way street. A vehicle may sit on a residential street only up…

Baton Rouge marks curb loading zones with signs stating the hours they operate. Inside a passenger zone, stopping is allowed only for the expeditious loading or unloading of…

The City-Parish limits residential RV, boat and trailer parking. Larger trucks and semitrailers with more than two axles and payload over 3,500 pounds are barred from the drive, front…

Under the Unified Development Code, single-family driveways, accesses and parking areas must be paved with concrete or asphalt for proper drainage. Two-strip concrete driveways are…

A tow company may not haul a car out of a Louisiana parking area unless a law enforcement agency authorized the tow, the vehicle was tagged for removal with a dated sticker naming the…

Possessing, storing, using, or selling fireworks is unlawful throughout the consolidated City of Baton Rouge / Parish of East Baton Rouge. Only permitted public pyrotechnic displays…

East Baton Rouge Parish bars burning stumps, logs, trees or other land-clearing debris within 1,000 feet of any established subdivision in the unincorporated parish without a permit…

The Louisiana Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission regulates propane storage, installation, and dispensing statewide under RS 40:1846 et seq., requiring licensed installers, NFPA 58…

Louisiana authorizes and promotes prescribed burning to reduce wildfire fuel loads. Under La. R.S. 3:17, a burn conducted with a certified prescribed burn manager present on site earns…

East Baton Rouge Parish does not set a fixed cap on the number of dogs or cats per household in its general pet rules, but every dog, cat, and ferret must be registered and…

Grooming shops in East Baton Rouge Parish operate as a licensed "animal establishment" under City-Parish Code Title 14. No one may run a grooming shop without a permit from the Animal…

East Baton Rouge Parish exempts permitted wildlife rehabilitators from the parish's wild/exotic animal permit, but only if they hold a valid state or federal capture-and-possession…

Baton Rouge City-Parish ordinance designates the corporate limits of the City of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a bird sanctuary under Sec. 14:400. Sec. 14:401 bans trapping, hunting…

East Baton Rouge Parish exempts managed community cat colonies from licensing and at-large rules under Sec. 14:113, but only if caretakers meet four conditions: veterinary health…

East Baton Rouge Parish has no breed ban. Sec. 14:208 classifies a dog as potentially dangerous, dangerous or vicious based only on its documented behavior, with breed never listed as…

East Baton Rouge Parish requires every animal adopted from the parish shelter to be spayed or neutered before it leaves, and backs that up parish-wide with a lower license fee for…

East Baton Rouge Parish does not require microchips for every pet, but Sec. 14:208 mandates one, at the owner's expense, for any dog classified potentially dangerous or dangerous, with…

Dogs and cats in East Baton Rouge Parish must be confined to the owner's property, on a secure chain or tether, or on a leash no longer than six feet at all times; running at large on…

City-Parish Code Chapter 10 lets residents keep honeybees but sets real limits: hives must sit at least 25 feet from a property line or behind a six-foot flyway barrier, never within…

Louisiana is open range by default, but La. R.S. 3:2803 bars owners from letting cattle, horses, swine, poultry and other livestock roam free on a long list of named state highways…

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries holds exclusive authority over wildlife management. State regulations prohibit feeding alligators and restrict baiting of deer and other…

The City-Parish Unified Development Code is blunt about home occupation signs: no signage may be erected. Nothing may be done to make the building appear as anything other than a…

The City-Parish UDC defines a Day Care Center as a facility caring for seven or more unrelated individuals for part of a day. Larger day cares are zoned separately from home…

A home occupation is a Conditional use approved through the City-Parish, subject to all the Section 9.4.5 conditions: appointment-only visits between 7am and 7pm, a resident occupying…

Louisiana does not issue a cottage food permit. La. R.S. 40:4.9(A)(1)(a) instead switches off the state Sanitary Code and any other law or regulation requiring particular equipment…

Louisiana issues no microenterprise home kitchen permit. LAC 51:XXIII.501(A) forbids operating a food establishment of any type without a valid permit to operate from the state health…

Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish cap grass and weeds on lots in recognized subdivisions at 12 inches, and a property can't stay above that height for more than two weeks…

There is no rule forcing homeowners to plant native species, but the UDC uses native trees in its standards: mitigation for removed significant trees on large sites must be native…

A permit from the Development Department is required to remove any tree or shrub in the public right-of-way. On sites over 2.5 acres, UDC preservation rules require keeping 20% of…

Baton Rouge has no local just-cause eviction ordinance. Louisiana state law governs evictions and does not require landlords to show cause for terminating month-to-month tenancies…

Baton Rouge requires a $100 annual permit for all non-owner-occupied short-term rentals. Operators must carry $1 million liability insurance, limit occupancy to two per bedroom plus…

Louisiana eviction begins with a written notice to vacate giving the lessee 'not less than five days' under La. C.C.P. art. 4701. If the lessee does not leave, the lessor files a rule…

Louisiana imposes habitability through the Civil Code lease warranty. La. Civ. Code art. 2682 binds the lessor to deliver and maintain the premises 'in a condition suitable' for its…

A fixed-term Louisiana lease ends automatically at its term with no notice. For an indeterminate (month-to-month) lease, La. Civ. Code art. 2728 requires 10 calendar days' notice for…

Louisiana has no statewide rent control and no statute capping rent or rent increases. No Louisiana city or parish operates a rent-control program. La. R.S. 9:3258 declares that a…

Louisiana sets no statutory cap on a residential security deposit. Under La. R.S. 9:3251, the landlord must return the deposit, with an itemized statement of any amounts kept, within…

Louisiana uses acquisitive prescription, not adverse possession. Under La. Civ. Code art. 3486, ownership of immovables may be acquired by 30 years' possession with no title or good…

The UDC controls buildable area through minimum lot area and required yards rather than a single coverage percentage. Accessory structures on a residential lot may not exceed 30…

UDC Chapter 11 caps structure height by zoning district. Single-family residential districts allow a maximum 35 feet, with a bonus of one extra foot of height for each foot a building…

The UDC sets minimum front, side, corner-side, and rear yards by zoning district in Chapter 11. Typical single-family A2 lots require a 15-foot front yard, 5-foot side yards, 15-foot…

The City-Parish UDC regulates political and other yard signs as content-neutral temporary signs: no more than two per lot, six square feet each on a residential lot, no illumination…

Garage-sale signs fall under the City-Parish UDC temporary-sign rules: up to two per lot, six square feet each on a residential lot, no illumination, no permit, and never in the public…

In City-Parish overlay and development standards, lighting must be shielded so no more than five foot-candles cross a property line. Separately, the UDC sign rules bar sign lighting…

East Baton Rouge Parish has no parish-wide dark-sky ordinance for ordinary home yard lighting. The UDC defines full-cut-off and fully-shielded fixtures and requires them in overlay…

Anyone buying, selling or trading used jewelry, tools, electronics, firearms or similar goods in East Baton Rouge Parish must hold a second-hand dealer business license from the chief…

Every massage business in East Baton Rouge Parish must register with the building official before opening, pay an annual fee tied to how many therapists it employs, and pass a…

East Baton Rouge Parish requires both a pawnshop business license and a separate personal pawnbroker permit from the chief of police, with an ID-card permit, a five-year clean-felony…

Baton Rouge bars a retail alcohol dealer from hiring an "exotic dancer" who lacks a certificate of qualification issued by the chief of police. The $5 certificate is good for one year…

East Baton Rouge Parish's Chapter 28 licensing rules bar new smoke and vape shops from locating within 500 feet of any school, church, library, day care center or public park, and…

Baton Rouge City-Parish Code Sec. 2:362 bars anyone from dumping pollutants into the municipal storm sewer system (MS4), covering both the city and the unincorporated parish. The…

Baton Rouge/EBRP Code Sec. 2:363(e) puts any construction project that disturbs one acre or more of land, city-parish-wide, under the stormwater chapter's erosion and sediment control…

In FEMA-mapped flood hazard areas of East Baton Rouge Parish, Sec. 8:905 of the Code of Ordinances requires an elevation certificate for the lowest floor before vertical construction…

The State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act of 1978 (La. R.S. 49:214.21 et seq.) requires Coastal Use Permits for development within the Louisiana Coastal Zone. The Department…

Baton Rouge City-Parish Code § 2:50 bars any structure, wall, fence, steps, posts or other obstruction on a street, alley, sidewalk or public place without council permission. The…

Baton Rouge City-Parish Code Sec. 2:171 puts sidewalk repair on the abutting property owner, not the city-parish. Owners of lots fronting streets with paved sidewalks must pave and…

A canopy, awning, or shelter that projects over a sidewalk and into the street right-of-way needs a special permit from the Director of Public Works under Baton Rouge/EBRP Code §…

East Baton Rouge Parish caps residential garage and yard sales at three calendar days in any one-month period; go beyond that and the address is treated as a second-hand dealer…

Shared scooters and dockless bikes in Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish run under a Department of Transportation and Drainage permit system capped at two operators. Sidewalks and…

Uber, Lyft and other transportation network operators cannot stage or pick up riders at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport without authorization from the Greater Baton Rouge Airport…

Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish run a photographic traffic signal enforcement system at designated intersections. A vehicle owner is civilly liable for $117.00 the first time…

City-Parish Code Sec. 11:224 requires bicyclists to ride as near the right-hand side of the roadway as practicable, but lets riders use exclusive bicycle paths or move left to pass…

Louisiana runs golf carts and low-speed vehicles on two separate statutory tracks. La. R.S. 32:299.4(B) prohibits golf carts on public roads outright and then reopens two doors: a…

Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish collect yard waste as bags, yard waste bags or bundles, each capped at 40 pounds and 6 inches in branch diameter. Residential units get up to 10…

Only the resident, the property owner, or the designated carrier may take recyclables left at curbside in Baton Rouge. Anyone else who removes recyclables from a bin or curbside…

Only the resident, property owner or an authorized carrier may take recyclables left at the curb in East Baton Rouge Parish; Sec. 6:420 makes taking someone else's glass, plastic or…

East Baton Rouge Parish's curbside contractor collects bulk items like furniture, mattresses, box springs, carpet, bicycles and toilets, but caps every household at three bulk items…

A dumpster left at a single-family home in an A-1 zoned area of East Baton Rouge Parish can stay only 45 days under Sec. 6:402.1, though an active renovation or construction permit…

East Baton Rouge Parish runs an exclusive collection system: Sec. 6:414 bars anyone but the city-parish, or its authorized contractor, from collecting garbage generated within the…

Parish rules under Sec. 6:406 require garbage cans to sit on the neutral ground or right next to the street, at least five feet off the pavement where there's no curb, and never on the…

Inside the city limits, Sec. 6:388 caps residential garbage pickup at two collections a week and puts trash collection on a one-day-a-week schedule, both set by the director of public…

Crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk in Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish is legal but the pedestrian must yield to every vehicle on the roadway. Between signalized…

Sec. 11:233 bans skateboarding, bicycling, and roller skating on the structures and site furnishings of nine named downtown plazas and buildings, including North Boulevard Town Square…

Baton Rouge City-Parish's Clean Air Act bans smoking outdoors in three specific public spots even without walls around you: within 25 feet of any city-parish building entrance or exit…

Baton Rouge City-Parish's Clean Air Act defines 'smoking' to expressly include marijuana, 'whether natural or synthetic, in any manner or in any form.' That folds marijuana into the…

Baton Rouge City-Parish law bars anyone but an adjoining owner or occupant from walking, loitering or driving in an alley under Sec. 11:286 of the Traffic Code. Exceptions cover trash…

A "lunch wagon" or other mobile food operation counts as an eating and drinking establishment under City-Parish Code Title 6, so it needs a health-unit permit before serving…

East Baton Rouge Parish caps grass and weeds on any lot within a recognized subdivision at 12 inches, and it cannot stay that tall for more than two weeks. Livestock land and large…

East Baton Rouge Parish runs an active blight program. Code Sec. 12:651 defines blight to include junk, trash, inoperable vehicles, illegal dumping, overgrown vegetation, pests, and…

City-Parish Code Sec. 11:273 requires a police-chief permit before any funeral, procession, or parade of 200 or more people, or 50 or more vehicles, may occupy or march along a parish…

A restaurant in East Baton Rouge Parish cannot put tables and chairs on a public sidewalk without a sidewalk cafe permit from the Department of Development, and only restaurants inside…

BREC parks throughout Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish close to the public every night at sunset and stay closed until sunrise. Entering or using any part of the grounds during…

East Baton Rouge Parish requires a series of staged inspections before a certificate of occupancy issues: footing and foundation, slab and under-floor, framing, energy efficiency and a…

Any electrical work regulated by the technical codes needs a City-Parish building permit before work starts, per Sec. 8:100(b). Sec. 8:204.5 adopts the National Electric Code as…

Sec. 8:500 requires any owner planning to build, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a structure to get a City-Parish building permit first. Sec. 8:501…

Any plumbing system regulated by the technical codes needs a City-Parish building permit before work starts, under Sec. 8:100(b). Sec. 8:204.3 adopts the International Plumbing Code as…

Baton Rouge bars, nightclubs and other commercial property can't emit noise louder than 75 decibels between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., measured with a calibrated sound meter from the…

A resident in Baton Rouge or East Baton Rouge Parish can shut the door on peddlers two ways: posting an individual 'No Soliciting' sign at the entranceway, which turns any solicitor's…

Anyone doing house-to-house peddling in Baton Rouge or East Baton Rouge Parish needs a $10 permit from the finance department first. Getting one requires a Louisiana State Police…

Baton Rouge/EBR Parish Code Sec. 12:405 makes every owner of non-rural-zoned property responsible for keeping the lot from attracting rodents, reptiles, mosquitoes and vermin. The same…

East Baton Rouge Parish charges a flat $125 residential building permit fee for solar installations under Code Sec. 8:801(5)(b), the same rate charged for additions, generators, pools…

Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:1255 says no person or entity shall unreasonably restrict the right of a property owner to install or use a solar collector, and it defines a solar…

Under La. R.S. 40:1046, only nine licensed marijuana pharmacies may dispense therapeutic cannabis statewide, one per Louisiana Board of Pharmacy region. Local governments cannot…

Louisiana prohibits all home cultivation of marijuana for personal use under La. R.S. 40:966. Therapeutic cannabis is grown only by two licensed agricultural centers. No municipality…

Commercial drone use in Louisiana requires an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. La. R.S. 14:283.3 and 14:337 add statewide criminal penalties for surveillance over critical…

Recreational drone flight in Louisiana is governed by FAA Part 107 and the Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST). State law (La. R.S. 14:283.3 and 14:337) adds privacy and surveillance…

Louisiana defaults to the federal minimum wage and bars political subdivisions from setting local minimum wages, employment benefits, or vacation requirements for private employers.

Louisiana permits concealed handgun carry through state-issued permits and, since July 2024, allows permitless concealed carry for adults 18 and older meeting eligibility requirements.

Louisiana law preempts local firearm regulation, reserving authority over firearms, ammunition, and components to the state legislature with very narrow exceptions.

Louisiana generally permits open carry of firearms by law-abiding adults without a license, subject to location-based restrictions and local discharge ordinances.

Louisiana authorizes casino gambling only on a short list of named rivers and lakes under La. R.S. 27:43 -- the Mississippi, Red outside Rapides Parish, Calcasieu, Mermentau, and…

Louisiana leaves charitable raffles, bingo, and keno to local option: each municipal and parish governing authority decides under La. R.S. 4:706 whether to permit the games at all. A…

Louisiana lets each parish's police jury ban card gambling under La. R.S. 33:4852, but that same statute exempts any private card game held in a private home among family and any…

Louisiana sports wagering is legal only in the 55 of 64 parishes that approved it in the November 3, 2020 statewide referendum. Under La. R.S. 27:608(A), a player placing a wager with…

Louisiana associations collect unpaid dues through a statutory "privilege" (the civil-law lien). Under La. R.S. 9:1145, a privilege arises on a lot or unit for any assessment or fine…

Until 2025 Louisiana had no statewide open meeting rule for homeowners associations. Acts 2024, No. 158 created one. Under R.S. 9:1141.26(B) the meetings of a planned community board…

Louisiana treats recorded covenants as "building restrictions" - real obligations governed by La. Civ. Code arts. 775-783. They are enforced by injunction under art. 779 (mandatory or…

Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:1114, added by Acts 2025, No. 224, makes it illegal for a planned community, a condominium association, or a landlord to adopt or enforce any provision…

Louisiana sets no dollar limit on homeowners association fines and requires no hearing before one is imposed. R.S. 9:1141.20(A)(2)(l) of the Louisiana Planned Community Act simply…

Before a Louisiana association can put a privilege on a lot, La. R.S. 9:1146(A) requires a written demand delivered by one of five listed methods, and R.S. 9:1146(B)(1) gives the owner…

Louisiana does not cap how many lots in a subdivision may be leased and it does not ban rental restrictions. Instead, R.S. 9:1141.14(C) of the Louisiana Planned Community Act makes…

Louisiana permits traffic checkpoints, but the Legislature has never written a sobriety checkpoint statute. The word sobriety appears in exactly one section of the entire Revised…

Louisiana never enacted a statute that bans filming police, and its wiretap law is one-party consent, so a bystander who is part of the exchange may record audio as well as video. What…

Louisiana has no stand-alone stop-and-identify statute. The duty is buried in the resisting an officer offence: R.S. 14:108(B)(1)(c) treats refusal by an arrested or detained party to…

Louisiana has no cannabis legalisation act and therefore none of the "lawful possession is not grounds for a search" language that some states put in one. What it has instead is three…

Louisiana's Right to Farm Law (La. R.S. 3:3603) bars local zoning from declaring a lawful, established agricultural operation a nuisance. Parishes retain general zoning authority under…

Louisiana's Right to Farm Law shields established agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits when they predate complaining neighbors and follow generally accepted agricultural…

Louisiana prohibits the sale, purchase, and possession of tobacco, vapor, and alternative nicotine products by anyone under 21, conforming state law to federal Tobacco 21 standards.

Louisiana does not prohibit flavored tobacco or vapor products statewide, but limits sales to registry-approved electronic nicotine devices and bars youth-targeted marketing.

Louisiana allows a car no more than two fog lamps mounted 12 to 30 inches off the ground, no more than two auxiliary passing lamps at 24 to 42 inches, and no more than two auxiliary…

Louisiana never bans dash cameras; it bans putting things on the windshield. R.S. 32:361.1(B) forbids any object or material affixed to the front windshield or front side windows that…

Louisiana carries the prohibition and the allowance in the same section. La. R.S. 32:191.1(C) says no person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent…

La. R.S. 32:53(A)(3) makes it unlawful to apply a covering or any substance to a Louisiana license plate, or to use an electronic device or electrochromatic film, that obscures the…

A radar detector is legal in a private vehicle in Louisiana. The word radar appears in only three sections of the entire Revised Statutes, and every one of them is about equipment used…

Louisiana is not a seasonal-window state. It has no statute that authorizes metal tire studs during any part of the year, and no Louisiana Revised Statute uses the word "studded" at…

Louisiana lets you tint a passenger car to 25 percent light transmission on the front side windows, 25 percent on the side windows behind the driver and 12 percent on the rearmost…