Redwood City, CA Short-Term Rentals: Noise Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Zoning Code Sec. 31.3(D)(6)
- Banned uses
- weddings, corporate events, commercial functions
- Trigger
- potential for traffic, parking, or noise problems
- Complaint response time
- 60 minutes, per local contact person
- Enforcement
- registration revocation after notice and hearing
Summary
Redwood City bans weddings, corporate events, and other commercial functions at short-term rentals whenever they could cause traffic, parking, noise, or similar problems for the neighborhood. Zoning Code Section 31.3(D)(6) treats hosting such an event as a violation of the short-term rental operating standards, regardless of guest count or time of day.
6. Special Event. Weddings, corporate events, commercial functions, and any other similar events which have the potential to cause traffic, parking, noise or other problems in the neighborhood are prohibited from occurring at the short-term rental property, as a component of short-term rental activities.
E. Registration and Annual Renewal.
1. Application. Prior to advertising or making available the primary residence for renting, hosts shall register their primary residence as a short-term rental with the City. This registration shall be submitted on a form prepared by the City and shall include the name and contact information of the host, the address of the primary residence being used for short-term rental, the contact information for the local contact person, an acknowledgement of compliance with the requirements of the City's Zoning Ordinance, Municipal Codes, applicable health and safety standards, and other information as requested.
2. Fee. The registration form shall be accompanied by a filing fee in an amount established by resolution of the City Council and updated from time to time.
3. Application Completeness. The submitted information shall be used to determine whether to register the short-term rental. The host will be notified if an application is incomplete. If the host fails to timely submit the required information or fees necessary to complete the application, the application shall expire and be deemed withdrawn.
4.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Zoning Code: Supplement 29 | City Code: Supplement 61 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
3 sets six operating standards every short-term rental must follow, and the sixth bars using the property for weddings, corporate events, commercial functions, and any other similar events that have the potential to cause traffic, parking, noise, or other problems in the neighborhood. The prohibition applies as a component of short-term rental activity itself, meaning it is not a separate special-event permit process the host can apply for: these gatherings simply cannot occur at a registered short-term rental. The rule sits alongside the section's broader purpose of preserving residential character and reducing impacts on adjacent neighbors, and it works together with the requirement that every host designate a local contact person, available twenty-four hours a day, who must respond to neighbor complaints about the condition or operation of the unit or the conduct of guests within sixty minutes and take remedial action.
A pattern of hosting prohibited events or ignoring neighbor complaints can support revocation of the underlying registration by the Zoning Administrator after notice and a hearing, with an appeal available to the City Manager or a designated hearing officer within ten days.
Violations & Fines
Hosting a prohibited special event, or any pattern of noise, parking or traffic complaints tied to short-term rental activity, is a violation of Section 31.3 that the Zoning Administrator can pursue through notice-and-hearing revocation of the short-term rental registration, plus any penalty available under Article 50 (Enforcement). A host also risks losing eligibility to reapply for twenty-four months after a revocation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I host a wedding or party at my Redwood City short-term rental?
What if my short-term rental guests are just loud at night?
Does the special event ban apply to small gatherings too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Redwood City
California rules heatmap·Compare Redwood City to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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