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

Section 7-9-93(e)(11), titled "Quiet Hours," reads in full: "Pursuant to the County of Orange Noise Control Ordinance (section 4-6-5), occupants shall comply with the exterior noise standards by prohibiting continuous noise higher than fifty-five (55) decibels from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and fifty (50) decibels from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. in all residential property." That standard is not unique to vacation rentals; it is the county's general residential exterior noise limit under the Noise Control Ordinance, but Section 7-9-93 makes compliance an express, standalone condition of every Short-term Rental Permit rather than something guests might assume is only loosely enforced.

The obligation flows through to the rental agreement itself. Subsection (e)(12)(c) requires every lease or rental agreement for the property to notify occupants "that the occupant may be cited or fined by the County and/or immediately evicted by the property owner for violating any applicable regulations, including quiet hours," and that notice must be posted inside the unit in a clearly visible location alongside the occupancy limit and parking rules. Subsection (e)(12)(d) further requires the lease to list a telephone number for the owner or designee that is reachable at all times, so that a neighbor or deputy responding to a late-night noise complaint has someone to call. Because Section 7-9-93 applies only to the unincorporated area, this specific quiet-hours condition binds short-term rentals outside the county's 34 incorporated cities, each of which regulates rental noise under its own code.