Las Cruces, NM Short-Term Rentals: Noise Rules (2026)

Sec. 16-508(i) of the Short-Term Rental Ordinance does not set its own decibel or hour standard; instead it incorporates the city's existing noise chapter by reference, stating that noise or other disturbance in or outside the short-term rental is prohibited according to chapter 19 of this Code. What makes the provision distinct for rental operators is its second sentence: to the extent that a violation of chapter 19 is in the context of a short-term rental, it shall be considered an offense under this article additional and alternative to other available enforcement mechanisms.

In practice, a noise complaint at a registered short-term rental can be prosecuted two ways at once, as an ordinary chapter 19 noise citation and as an offense under the Short-Term Rental Ordinance's own enforcement scheme in Sec. 16-509. That second track matters because Sec. 16-509 lets the city seek not just a civil fine but a finding of continuing noncompliance or, for a pattern of negligent conduct, administrative revocation of the short-term rental's business registration, consequences a purely residential noise ticket would not carry.

The rule was adopted December 15, 2025 as part of Ordinance No. 3103 and, like the rest of the article, took legal effect January 1, 2026, with enforcement beginning July 1, 2026 under Sec. 16-510.