STR guests must follow the same noise rules as any resident. In unincorporated Polk County the county nuisance/noise ordinance controls; inside a city the municipal noise ordinance and quiet hours apply. Hosts are responsible for guest behavior.
Polk County has no STR-only noise standard. Excessive or disturbing noise from an unincorporated rental is handled under the Polk County nuisance ordinance, enforced by the county and sheriff. Rentals inside Des Moines, Ankeny, West Des Moines or Urbandale are subject to that city's noise ordinance, which typically sets quiet hours (often 10 p.m.-7 a.m.) and prohibits noise plainly audible at the property line. Many hosts add explicit quiet-hour house rules so a single complaint does not escalate to a citation.
Noise/nuisance violations draw municipal or county citations and fines; repeat disturbances can jeopardize a city rental permit and lead to abatement orders.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Polk County allows backyard composting but regulates it through the Health Nuisance Regulation: a compost pile that harbors vermin, produces offensive odors,...
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Polk County has no ordinance for or against artificial turf on residential lots. Installation on unincorporated land is generally unrestricted; cities and HO...
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Polk County has no ordinance banning native or prairie landscaping, and the county promotes native roadside vegetation. The one legal limit: your planting ca...
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Iowa has no state ban on collecting rainwater, and Polk County sets no rain-barrel ordinance. Residents may capture roof runoff in barrels or cisterns; only ...
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Polk County sets no lawn-watering schedule. Central Iowa's water is managed by Central Iowa Water Works / Des Moines Water Works, which can impose voluntary ...
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Iowa Code 317.10 requires every landowner to destroy all noxious weeds on their land as directed by the county board of supervisors. Polk County's Weed Commi...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in this county.
See how West Des Moines's noise rules rules stack up against other locations.
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