Houston Code Chapter 30 caps residential noise at 65 dB(A) day and 58 dB(A) overnight, while Texas Local Government Code Section 250.008 backs city authority. HPD can cite hosts and occupants when amplified music or shouting is plainly audible 100 feet away.
Houston regulates parties through the Chapter 30 noise ordinance rather than a dedicated unruly-gathering statute. Residential property owners and occupants must keep noise below 65 decibels (A-weighted) between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and 58 decibels overnight, measured at the property line. Amplified music plainly audible 100 feet from the source is also presumed to violate the ordinance. Texas Local Government Code Section 250.008 grants Type A municipalities authority to regulate this conduct. Houston Police respond to calls and may issue citations to hosts, tenants, and property owners. Repeat citations within 12 months can support nuisance abatement under Houston Code Chapter 10. Short-term-rental hosts face Chapter 28 permitting consequences for repeat infractions.
First citation is a Class C misdemeanor with fines up to $500. Repeat offenses within 12 months can stack and support nuisance abatement, including injunction and abatement of the gathering location under Chapter 10.
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See how Houston's loud party ordinance rules stack up against other locations.
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