Auburn, AL Short-Term Rentals: Noise Rules (2026)

The City of Auburn's short-term rental standards do not contain a numeric noise limit or fixed quiet hours. Instead, the ordinance manages disturbance through use restrictions and an enforcement trigger. Under Section 408.02.D.6.d, short-term non-primary rentals may only be used for lodging (eating and sleeping), and private and commercial events and activities are prohibited, which is aimed at preventing the loud parties most likely to disturb neighbors. The teeth come from Section 408.02.D.6.c: a zoning certificate for a short-term non-primary rental may be revoked by the Planning Director if two or more substantiated complaints are received by the city within a calendar year, or for failure to maintain compliance with the section. A property owner whose certificate is revoked is ineligible for a new rental zoning certificate for the rest of that year and the entire following year. Noise and nuisance complaints from neighbors are exactly the kind of substantiated complaints that count toward that two-strike limit. Separately, conduct at a rental remains subject to Auburn's general municipal nuisance and disturbance rules that apply to any property. Because the STR section names no specific decibel threshold, this entry does not assert one; operators should treat any repeated noise complaint as a serious risk to their permit.