Is Airbnb Legal in Indio? 2026 Rules, Permits & Taxes

Permit required

Yes

Taxes on a stay

13%

Fine for hosting without a permit

$3,000

Listings showing a permit number

84%

Latest rule change

Jan 1, 2026

Listing figures: AirROI, 12 months to October 2026. A number on a listing doesn't prove the permit or license is valid, and a missing one doesn't prove there is none.

The rules in brief

Who needs it

The owner of any residential dwelling rented for 30 consecutive days or fewer. The permit is required before the home is advertised, not only before the first guest arrives.^1,5,6

Issued by

City of Indio Finance Department (the Permit Administrator)

Valid for

12 months from the date of issue. The permit expires on its anniversary or when the property is sold or transferred, and it cannot be transferred to another owner or parcel. The city inspects before a new permit and every five years after; in the years between, the owner can submit a signed self-certification.

Processing

The city has up to 30 days to process a complete application and schedules the inspection within 30 days of receiving it; any corrections must be finished within 30 days of notice.

On listings

The number must appear on every listing

Platform checks

The ordinance bars a hosting platform from completing a booking for a home that is not on the city's online registry of active permits, and requires platforms to prompt hosts for the permit number and report each listing to the city.

Fees

Who qualifies

• The applicant must be the legal owner named on the recorded grant deed; tenants and month-to-month renters cannot hold a permit
• One residential dwelling per permit; clusters or compounds of rentals run together are prohibited
• In an HOA or CC&R community, a letter from the association's board allowing short-term rentals; no permit where the CC&Rs prohibit them
• A passed city building, fire and health and safety inspection, with working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and a bedroom count that matches county and city records
• Proof of at least $1,000,000 in general liability insurance (or equal platform coverage), a 24-hour local contact person living in the Coachella Valley, a parking plan and a signed indemnification agreement
• Not an accessory dwelling unit, junior accessory dwelling unit, mobile or manufactured home, RV or commercial structure

How to apply

1. 1 Confirm you are the owner on the recorded deed and, in an HOA or CC&R community, get the association's letter allowing short-term rentals.
2. 2 Apply on the city's online short-term rental portal with your ID, a parking plan, a photo of the front of the home, your listing URLs, the 24-hour local contact person, proof of $1,000,000 liability insurance, and the signed indemnification and inspection consent forms.
3. 3 Pay the $1,633 permit fee and the business license fee and tax, then pass the city's building, fire and health and safety inspection.
4. 4 Set up your monthly report on the city's portal for the 13% hotel tax and the 1% tourism assessment, and submit your listing URLs to the city within 30 days of approval.

Permit rules

City permit before advertising or renting

An owner needs a City of Indio short-term rental permit before advertising or renting a home for stays of 30 nights or fewer; applying does not give the right to rent or list.^1,6

Permit number, occupancy and vehicle limit in every ad

Every advertisement must show the permit number in the form "City of Indio Short-Term Rental Permit No.", along with the maximum occupancy, the number of permitted bedrooms, the maximum number of vehicles and a photo of the front of the home; the permit must also be posted inside near the main entrance.¹

Platforms may not book homes missing from the city registry

The ordinance bars a hosting platform from completing a booking for a home that is not on the city's online registry of active permits, and requires platforms to prompt hosts for the permit number and report each listing to the city.¹

Permit lasts 12 months and ends on sale

A permit is valid for 12 months and expires on its anniversary or when the property is sold or transferred. Renewal is annual, and a lapsed permit means applying again as a new rental.¹

Permits do not pass to a buyer

A permit is tied to the owner and the parcel. When a home is sold the seller must tell the city, the permit becomes void, and the new owner applies for a new permit before renting.^1,6

Revocation and a one-year wait

The city can suspend or revoke a permit, including for a third or later permit or noise violation during the permit term, and an owner whose permit is revoked cannot apply again for one year.¹

Advertised price must include mandatory fees

Since July 1, 2024, California's Honest Pricing Law (SB 478) bars a host or platform from advertising a short-term rental price that leaves out mandatory fees; government taxes and fees may be listed separately.⁹ In force since July 1, 2024

The owner holds the permit; no residency rule or night cap

The permit goes to the owner of the home. The chapter does not require the owner to live there and sets no annual cap on rental nights.¹

Applicant must be on the recorded deed

Only individuals or entities with a legal interest in the property can be listed as owners on the application, matching the county records and recorded grant deed.⁶

Tenants cannot rent short-term

Someone who leases a condominium, apartment, house or other home, including a month-to-month renter, cannot use it as a short-term rental, and a guest cannot sublease it.¹

No accessory dwelling units, mobile homes or RVs

Accessory and junior accessory dwelling units, mobile and manufactured homes, recreational vehicles and commercial or industrial buildings cannot be used as short-term rentals, nor can sheds, garages, tents or other structures on the lot.¹

No clusters or compounds

Two or more rentals run together, where guests have exclusive access to more than one rental or to shared facilities such as a pool, are prohibited.¹

HOA letter or CC&R check required

In an owners' association, the application needs a letter from the association's board confirming that short-term rentals are allowed. A permit is not issued where the CC&Rs prohibit them.¹

Rentals of 30 nights or fewer are covered

The permit rules apply to any rental of a residential dwelling for not more than 30 consecutive calendar days; the chapter sets no minimum number of nights.¹

$1,000,000 liability insurance

Owners must show general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 that covers short-term rental use, or show that each stay is booked through a platform with equal or greater coverage, at issue and at each renewal.¹

City inspection before issue and every five years

The city inspects the building, fire and health and safety conditions and checks the bedroom count before it issues a permit, and again every five years; in between, the owner may submit a signed self-certification.¹

Working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

No permit is issued without functioning smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, heating and cooling, electricity and plumbing, or if unpermitted construction or an unsafe condition is found.¹

Overnight guests: four plus two per bedroom

Overnight occupancy, between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., is limited to four people plus two per bedroom: 4 in a studio, 6 with one bedroom, 8 with two, 10 with three, and up to 20 with eight or more bedrooms.¹

Gatherings: 40 on large lots, special event permit above that

A rental on a lot of 14,500 square feet or more may hold a gathering of up to 40 people. On smaller lots, a gathering of 25 to 39 people needs a special event permit, as does any gathering of 41 or more.¹

No weddings or commercial events without a permit

Weddings, receptions, large parties and sales events are prohibited at a rental unless the owner first obtains a special event permit.¹

Quiet hours at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.

Guests may not use outdoor amenities or make outdoor noise from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and amplified sound may not carry past the property line in those hours.¹

24-hour local contact who lives in the Coachella Valley

The owner must name a local contact person, living in the Coachella Valley, who is reachable day and night and answers complaints within 15 minutes by phone or text, or within 45 minutes in person when the complaint calls for it.¹

Renters must be 21 or older

An owner may not rent a short-term rental to anyone under 21.¹

Parking plan with the application

The application must include a parking plan showing where all guest vehicles can legally park on the property, and ads state the maximum number of vehicles.¹

Median nightly rate, booked nights

$485

Taxes on that night (13%)

$63

Guest pays, before Airbnb and cleaning fees

$548

What the host still handles

• A City of Indio business license, issued together with the short-term rental permit and renewed with it each year
• A city portal account to report all gross rents (platform and direct bookings) and pay the 1% tourism assessment every month, even in months with no bookings
• The 13% hotel tax on any booking that Airbnb or another platform does not collect, paid through the same monthly report^2,6,10

• Short-term rental violations that are infractions: a fine of up to $1,000 for a first violation, $2,000 for a second within one year and $3,000 for each additional violation within one year; each day a violation continues is a separate violation.^1,3
• Operating without a valid permit is prohibited, and advertising counts as proof of operation. The city can charge a violation as a misdemeanor or issue an administrative citation, and the owner answers for violations by guests and the local contact person.¹
• The permit can be suspended or revoked, including for a third or later permit or noise violation during the permit term; after a revocation the owner cannot apply for a new permit for one year.¹
• Late hotel tax: a penalty of 10% of the tax due, a second 10% penalty if still unpaid after 30 more days, 25% more for fraud, and interest of 0.5% a month.²

1. July 22, 2026 Not in force
   Draft rewrite of the rental chapter before the Planning Commission

   A draft ordinance to amend and restate Chapter 37 was presented to the Planning Commission on July 22, 2026 with a new events chapter and noise-code changes. It would bar using a rental as a party house, cap daytime occupancy at the overnight limit plus four and never more than 24 people, make permits personal to the named owner, allow a buyer to apply before closing, and require platforms to delist properties whose permits are invalid. It takes effect 30 days after adoption and was still a draft in the city's published materials, so the current rules above apply.⁷

2. January 1, 2026
   State Short-Term Rental Facilitator Act takes effect

   California's Short-Term Rental Facilitator Act of 2025 (Government Code sections 50990 to 50996) took effect and lets a city make it apply locally so it can require platforms to report listings. Indio's draft ordinance would adopt it.⁷

3. March 5, 2025 Not in force
   Council reviews draft amendments to the rental chapter

   At a study session on March 5, 2025 the City Council reviewed draft amendments to Chapter 37 that would add grounds for denying permits, cap gatherings at 20 people day and night, and require platforms to remove non-compliant listings. No amendment from that draft appears in the city's online code.^1,8

4. July 1, 2024
   California Honest Pricing Law takes effect

   SB 478 began requiring advertised prices, including short-term rental prices, to include all mandatory fees.⁹

5. February 21, 2024
   Short-term rental fines set at $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000

   Ordinance 1809 rewrote the city's code enforcement chapter and set fines for short-term rental infractions at up to $1,000 for a first violation, $2,000 for a second within a year and $3,000 for each additional one.^1,3

6. February 15, 2022
   Permit fee set at $1,633 a year

   Since February 15, 2022 the fee to obtain a short-term rental permit and to renew it each year has been $1,633, on top of the business license fee and tax.⁵

Estimate what an Indio home could earn

1. 1. Chapter 37: Regulation of Short-Term Rentals, Indio Code of Ordinances · City of Indio (eCode360)
2. 2. Chapter 34, Subchapter 3: Transient Occupancy Tax, Indio Code of Ordinances · City of Indio (eCode360)
3. 3. Chapter 12, Subchapter 8: Administrative Citations, Indio Code of Ordinances · City of Indio (eCode360)
4. 4. California Revenue and Taxation Code section 7280 - Occupancy taxes · California Legislative Information
5. 5. Short Term Rentals · City of Indio Finance Department
6. 6. Short Term Rental FAQ · City of Indio Finance Department
7. 7. Planning Commission agenda, July 22, 2026 (item 5.2: events, noise and short-term rental ordinances) · City of Indio
8. 8. City Council staff report, March 5, 2025: Short Term Rental and Temporary Use Permit Ordinances · City of Indio
9. 9. SB 478 - Hidden Fees (Honest Pricing Law) · California Attorney General
10. 10. Occupancy tax collection and remittance by Airbnb in California · Airbnb Help Center