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

Merced County regulates short-term rentals through Zoning Code Section 18.60.270, which requires a discretionary Administrative Permit for every hosted or vacation rental and folds noise control into the mandatory operating standards at subsection D. Subsection D(5) states that all activities associated with the short-term rental must meet the General Plan noise standards, and sets quiet hours from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., a fixed window that applies every night of the year regardless of season or event. The county does not rely on guests reading the fine print after arrival: subsection D(11)(e) requires every advertisement and online listing for the rental to include notification that quiet hours must be observed between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., so the rule travels with the booking itself.

Outdoor amplified sound gets a separate, tighter rule. Hosted rentals may not run outdoor amplified sound unless a use permit authorizes it (Section 18.60.270(E)(3)), and vacation rentals face the identical restriction tied to a Temporary Use Permit under Section 18.60.270(F)(3). Because the noise standard is written as a mandatory permit condition rather than a stand-alone misdemeanor statute, the Planning and Community Development Department enforces it primarily through permit leverage: documented noise complaints or quiet-hour violations are grounds to modify or revoke the Administrative Permit under Chapter 18.152 (Permit Modifications and Revocations).

A violation is independently a Zoning Code violation under Section 18.154.070, so the Sheriff, County Code Enforcement, and the property's own designated local contact can all be pulled into a single complaint against the address.