Indio, CA short-term rental permit

What Indio asks of you

• Under Ordinance No. 1766, a short-term rental is a privately owned residential dwelling rented for not more than thirty consecutive calendar days.^[6]

• The city's letter of January 14, 2022 puts a new permit at $1,944 in total. That sum adds an $84 business license fee, a $223 code compliance fee and a $4 state fee to the $1,633. A renewal totals $1,679.^[7]

• A permit cannot pass to another person, entity or parcel. Let it expire, and the city treats your next application as a new short-term rental.^[5]

• Overnight occupancy may not exceed four persons plus two persons per bedroom, which gives 10 for three bedrooms. The ordinance's chart stops at 20 for eight bedrooms or more.^[6]

• The ordinance starts the overnight count at 10:00 p.m. each evening. The count runs until 8:00 a.m. of the following day.^[6]

• A lot of 14,500 square feet or more may host a gathering of up to 40 persons with no special event permit. On a smaller lot, a gathering of 25 to 39 persons needs one.^[6]

• The owner may not rent to a person under the age of twenty-one.^[6]

• Section 37.012(H) gives the local contact 15 minutes to answer a complaint by telephone or text. An in-person response is due within 45 minutes when the complaint calls for one.^[6]

• The definition of the local contact in the same ordinance says thirty minutes for an in-person response. That person must reside in the Coachella Valley.^[6]

• Sunday through Thursday, sound may not carry past the property line once 9:00 p.m. has passed. On Friday and Saturday the cutoff moves to 10:00 p.m., with 8:00 a.m. as the morning limit all week.^[6]

• Each advertisement carries the line "City of Indio Short-Term Rental Permit No." followed by the number. It also shows the maximum occupancy, the permitted bedrooms and the maximum number of vehicles.^[6]

• A copy of the permit hangs near the primary entrance inside, with the local contact's name and phone number.^[6]

• An accessory dwelling unit cannot serve as a short-term rental in Indio. The same prohibition covers a home held under a long-term lease.^[6]

• Weddings, receptions and large parties are prohibited unless a special event permit is obtained.^[6]

• Advertising a home is prima facie evidence that it operates as a short-term rental.^[6]

• In its January 14, 2022 letter, the city announces fines of up to $1,000 per occurrence. Repeat violators may lose the permit for up to a year.^[7]

• A third violation related to permitting or noise during the permit term may bring revocation. A revoked owner waits one year before applying again.^[6]

What California asks wherever you host

These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.

• No state license exists for short-term rentals in California. The state's 2025 act on booking platforms says it does not preempt a local short-term rental ordinance.^[1]

• Since July 1, 2024, every mandatory fee has to sit inside the rate you advertise. Only government taxes and fees may be added later.^[2]

• State law caps city fines when a short-term rental violation threatens health or safety. The first ceiling is $1,500. A second violation within the year reaches $3,000, each later one $5,000.^[3]