4 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana.
Verified from official government sources
Indiana Code 36-1-24 (HEA 1035, 2018) preempts local bans on short-term rentals: an owner-occupied STR is a permitted residential use, and non-owner-occupied STRs cannot be effectively prohibited. Vanderburgh County does not have a county STR-specific permit, but Evansville requires annual residential rental registration with the Building Commission and a certificate of occupancy. Operators must collect the 7% Vanderburgh County innkeeper's tax and the 7% Indiana sales tax on stays under 30 days.
Vanderburgh County imposes an 8% county innkeeper's tax on lodging rentals under 30 days under IC 6-9-2.5 and Vanderburgh County Code Ch. 3.12, in addition to Indiana's 7% state sales tax. Properties in the City of Evansville must also register annually as residential rentals with the Evansville-Vanderburgh Building Commission ($5 per parcel, $100 max per owner) under Evansville Municipal Code Ch. 8.40 (Ord. G-2014-29).
Vanderburgh County has not adopted a parking rule unique to short-term rentals. STR parking is governed by the off-street parking standards in the Evansville-Vanderburgh Unified Development Ordinance (Title 18 City / Title 17 County) - typically two off-street spaces for a single-family dwelling - plus on-street parking restrictions in Evansville Municipal Code Title 12. Front-yard parking on grass and blocked sidewalks are common violation categories.
Neither Vanderburgh County nor the City of Evansville sets a numeric guest cap specific to short-term rentals. Indiana Code 36-1-24-8 makes owner-occupied STRs a permitted residential use, and any local cap on occupants must be reasonable. In practice, occupancy is constrained by the Evansville-Vanderburgh property maintenance code's general dwelling space-per-occupant standards and the building/fire code limits applicable to the specific structure.
1 cities in Vanderburgh County have their own short-term rentals rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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