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

Oakley regulates short-term rentals (STRs) under Oakley Municipal Code (OMC) Chapter 5.15, originally adopted by Ordinance No. 06-20 on May 12, 2020. Pure 'vacation rentals' (typically defined as unhosted whole-home transient rentals outside the STR framework) are a prohibited use citywide; only permitted STRs may operate. Chapter 5.15 expressly requires that occupants of a short-term rental unit comply with all standards and regulations stated in OMC Chapter 4.2 concerning noise, and the owner must use reasonably prudent business practices to ensure that occupants and guests do not create unreasonable noise or disturbances, engage in disorderly conduct, or violate any applicable law, rule, or regulation. Chapter 4.2 (Noise Control) prohibits any person from willfully making loud, unnecessary, or unusual noise that disturbs the peace or quiet of a neighborhood or causes discomfort to a reasonable person of normal sensitivity. Chapter 4.2 sets specific time-based restrictions: radios, televisions, stereos, musical instruments, and similar sound-producing devices may not be operated between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. so as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet from the building, structure, or vehicle in which they are located. Power tools, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and similar machinery are similarly restricted during nighttime hours (between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., with leaf blowers and lawn mowers further limited at sunset). To support enforcement, OMC Chapter 5.15 requires the owner to be available 24 hours per day, seven days per week and to respond within 60 minutes to complaints regarding the condition, operation, or conduct of occupants of the STR. Owner contact information must be provided to each occupant before occupancy and posted prominently inside the unit, along with the maximum permitted overnight and daytime occupancy and a notice that the occupant or owner may be cited or fined.