Franklin does not codify a separate decibel table or quiet-hours schedule that applies only to short-term vacation rentals; STVR guests are subject to the citywide general noise prohibition in the Franklin Municipal Code (Title 11 General Offenses) and to the disturbing-the-peace standards enforced by the Franklin Police Department. The functional teeth on STVR noise come from two parallel mechanisms: (1) the use-permit compliance condition that requires the operator to manage guest behavior and respond promptly to complaints, and (2) the Tennessee Short-Term Rental Unit Act provision at TCA 13-7-603 that strips legacy grandfather protection from any STVR that accumulates three or more violations of generally applicable local laws - which includes noise citations. Operators should post 10 p.m.-7 a.m. quiet hours in house rules and use noise-monitoring devices to avoid the three-strike risk.
Franklin enforces noise from short-term vacation rentals through the same general-municipal framework that applies to any property: Title 11 of the Franklin Municipal Code (General Offenses) prohibits loud, unusual, or disturbing noises that interfere with the peace, comfort, or repose of neighbors. The standard is principally complaint-driven and 'plain audibility / disturbance' based rather than decibel-meter calibrated. Franklin Police Department patrol officers respond to active noise complaints and may issue citations directly to the guest, the operator, or both. The Franklin Building and Neighborhood Services compliance inspectors handle pattern complaints and compliance-certificate consequences. STVR-specific exposure to noise enforcement comes from two layers above the citywide rule. First, the city's use permit and compliance certificate require the operator to ensure that the rental does not become a neighborhood nuisance; persistent noise complaints can be cited at annual certificate renewal as grounds for non-renewal. Second, and uniquely critical for the Franklin market, the Tennessee Short-Term Rental Unit Act at TCA 13-7-603(a)(3) provides that legacy STVR grandfather protection terminates automatically when the property has 'been in violation of generally applicable local laws 3 or more separate times.' Noise citations qualify as 'generally applicable local law' violations. For Franklin's substantial inventory of pre-December-2019 non-owner-occupied STVRs that survive only because of TCA 13-7-603 legacy protection, three noise citations in their operational life permanently terminate STVR eligibility on that parcel. Prudent operators of both owner-occupied and legacy STVRs post 10 p.m.-7 a.m. quiet hours in their house rules, install Minut or NoiseAware devices to detect indoor and outdoor noise above threshold, and require guests to acknowledge the rules at booking - because a single bad party weekend that triggers a citation can be one third of the way to losing the property's STR rights permanently.
Loud or disturbing noise from a Franklin STVR is enforceable under Title 11 of the Franklin Municipal Code by the Franklin Police Department for active disturbances, with fines set by the city's general penalty schedule. The operator (permit holder), not just the guest, is on the hook for the operational condition of the use permit, and patterns of noise complaints at the address can be raised at compliance-certificate renewal as grounds for non-renewal. The most consequential exposure is statewide: under TCA 13-7-603(a)(3), three or more violations of generally applicable local laws (including noise) terminate the Tennessee STR Act legacy grandfather protection, permanently disqualifying a non-owner-occupied STVR that was previously protected. The three-strike rule is property-specific (it attaches to the parcel, not the operator) so transferring the LLC or rebranding the listing does not reset the count. Hosting amplified-event parties, weddings, receptions, or concerts at an STVR is independently actionable as a residential-zone use violation regardless of whether the event triggers a noise citation.
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