Bethlehem, PA Short-Term Rentals: Noise Rules (2026)

Codified Ordinances § 1741.05(E) sets the core performance standard: a Short Term Lodging Facility 'shall not adversely affect the residential character of the neighborhood' and may not generate noise, vibration, glare, odor or other effects that unreasonably interfere with a person's enjoyment of his or her neighborhood. That standard sits alongside § 1741.05(F), which puts the burden squarely on the owner rather than the guest, making the owner responsible for the safety and welfare of transient visitors, for preserving the peace and quiet of the community from noises or disruptions caused by any visitor or guest, and for maintaining the property under all applicable laws and ordinances, including conduct that would qualify as 'disruptive conduct' under Article 1739.01(B).

Owners must also promptly report violating guests to the responsible City officers and departments. Section 1741.05(C) reinforces the residential-quiet purpose by barring nonresidential uses entirely, so a licensee cannot lease the property out as reception space, party space or meeting space open to transient guests, closing off the most common source of large-group noise complaints. The City Council's stated purposes for the whole ordinance, printed in its preamble, single out 'excessive noise' from transient rentals as one of the specific harms the licensing scheme is meant to control, alongside overwhelmed on-street parking and rubbish accumulation.