Alameda, CA Short-Term Rentals: Noise Rules (2026)

Because the City of Alameda has not enacted a dedicated short-term rental ordinance, there is no STR-specific quiet-hours rule; instead, short-term rentals and their guests are bound by the City's general Noise Regulations. Those regulations sit in the Alameda Municipal Code under Chapter IV (Offenses and Public Safety), Article II - Noise Regulations (the Noise Control provisions are at Section 4-10, with prohibited acts at Section 4-10.5). The ordinance is framed around prohibiting a 'noise disturbance.' Among the prohibited acts, it restricts operating or playing radios, televisions, phonographs, drums, musical instruments, or similar sound-producing devices for noncommercial purposes in a manner that creates a noise disturbance, and it restricts the loading, unloading, opening, closing, or other handling of boxes, crates, containers, building materials, garbage cans, and similar objects between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. where it causes a noise disturbance across a residential property line. Continuous or incessant animal noise that disturbs neighbors is also prohibited. These provisions apply to STR guests just as they do to residents, and a host can be drawn into code enforcement for guest-generated noise that creates a disturbance. This is the City of Alameda's own noise ordinance; the separate Alameda County noise chapter (County Code Chapter 6.60) governs unincorporated areas, not properties inside the city. A future STR ordinance could add party-house or amplified-sound conditions specific to short-term rentals. Note: the verbatim wording above is summarized from the published code; confirm exact text and section numbers in the Alameda Municipal Code before quoting.