Worcester County, MD Short-Term Rentals: Noise Rules (2026)

Section ZS 1-351(b)(9) of the Worcester County zoning article, added 10-15-2019 by Bill No. 19-3, is the party rule. It prohibits the hosting of functions and events in association with any short-term rental. The list names wedding ceremonies, wedding receptions, family reunions, birthday and anniversary celebrations, and corporate and employee appreciation parties, and it reaches other similar gatherings of persons other than the authorized lodgers. It applies whether or not any compensation or barter has been paid or received, so a free family party is covered the same as a ticketed one. The text sets no hour or decibel limit; it bans the gatherings themselves. The rule applies in unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland. Ocean City, Berlin, Snow Hill and Pocomoke City have separate codes.

Two neighboring requirements in the same section limit crowd size. Under § ZS 1-351(b)(2) the property is limited to a single rental contract for any overnight period, and under (b)(3) the total number of occupants cannot exceed the sum of the occupants permitted in each bedroom, with every bedroom occupied by more than one person needing not less than fifty square feet of unobstructed floor area for each occupant.

Disturbances also reach the license itself. Under § TR 2-106(g)(6), after giving the owner an opportunity to be heard, the County Commissioners can revoke, suspend or refuse to renew a rental license for any activity on the premises detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of the public, and for recurrent offensive conduct or behavior of any person or persons on the property causing a public nuisance or disturbance, as determined by the County Commissioners. The rental license application under § TR 2-106(d)(6) must list an owner, property manager or resident agent who can be contacted twenty-four hours a day during any rental period, and the owner must keep a record of every lodger's name, address, phone number and dates of lodging under § ZS 1-351(b)(6).