Margate, FL Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 6-29 of the Margate Code, titled Noisy animals, applies to any person owning, boarding or otherwise keeping or having an animal in his or her custody. It is unlawful to permit the animal to yelp, bark, howl, screech, squeal, or make any other noise associated with animals so as to disturb the sleep, the peace and quiet, or both, of any person or persons in surrounding areas. The test is the effect on neighbors, not a decibel reading, an hour of the night or a set number of minutes of barking.

The section covers every animal, so a barking dog, a howling dog and a screeching bird all fall under the same sentence. The custody wording means a boarder or a person keeping someone else's animal answers for the noise as well as the owner.

Enforcement comes from the animal control officer, who under Section 6-78 can issue warnings, summonses, citations and impounding. The officer reports continuous violations to the city manager, who investigates, tries to resolve the problem, and then authorizes legal action by the city legal department to abate any nuisance or continuous violation. Section 6-82 lets an animal control officer or law enforcement officer choose between a warning with no civil penalty and a citation, and treats a cited person as charged with a noncriminal infraction handled under Chapter 162 of the Florida Statutes.

Section 6-83 adds a stronger tool. If an owner signs a notarized affidavit with the city police department agreeing to specific conditions, any violation of that agreement carries a $500 fine for a first offense, $500 for a second offense and a mandatory court appearance for a third. Section 6-24(c)(5) separately bars frequent or habitual howling, yelping, barking or crowing across property boundaries at animal displays and exhibits.