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

There is no vacation-rental ordinance setting quiet hours or a guest-noise standard for the unincorporated county, so noise is controlled through existing tools. The most concrete numeric standard tied to home-based activity is in the home-occupation chapter: Chapter 21.94 provides that there shall be no equipment or operation that creates noise "detectable at the property line," and that the "noise level at the property line shall not exceed sixty-five dBA." That 65 dBA property-line limit applies where the rental is operated as a home occupation. Beyond that, noise from a short-term rental is addressed as a potential public nuisance and under the noise-compatibility standards the County applies through its General Plan Noise Element, which sets exterior noise-level guidelines for residential areas. Practically, operators should set house rules that keep guest noise within ordinary residential levels and avoid amplified sound that carries to neighboring parcels, and should be aware that repeated disturbances can lead to nuisance complaints handled by County code enforcement and, for active disturbances, the Sheriff. California offers no statewide STR noise rule, so these County mechanisms control.