Indio, CA Short-Term Rentals: Host Platform Liability (2026)
Key Facts
- Registry check
- Booking blocked without valid registry number
- Tax duty
- Platforms must collect transient occupancy tax
- Disclosure
- Listing, host, dates, price reported to city
- State law
- Platform rules yield to conflicting state law
Summary
Indio requires hosting platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo to collect transient occupancy tax, disclose listings to the city, and block bookings for properties not on the city's short-term rental registry.
Hosting platforms shall be responsible for collecting all applicable transient occupancy tax and remitting the same to the city.
(B) Subject to applicable laws, hosting platforms shall disclose to the city on a regular basis each short-term rental listing located in the city, the names of the persons responsible for each such listing, the address of each such listing, the length of stay for each such listing and the price paid for each stay.
(C) Hosting platforms shall be required to prompt hosts to include the city-issued permit registration number in their listing(s), in a format designated by the city. Hosting platforms shall not complete any booking transaction for any residential dwelling or other property purporting to be a short-term rental in the city unless it is listed on the city's registry created under § 37.013, at the time the hosting platform receives a fee for the booking transaction.
(D) A hosting platform operating exclusively on the internet, which operates in compliance with subsections (A), (B) and (C) above, shall be presumed to be in compliance with this chapter.
(E) The provisions of this section shall be interpreted in accordance with otherwise applicable state and federal law(s) and will not apply if determined by the city to be in violation of, or preempted by, any such law(s).
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4796010; v13 updated 2026-02-04; through 02-04-2026).
Full Breakdown
Under Municipal Code § 37.014, any company that lists Indio short-term rentals online is treated as a hosting platform with direct compliance duties, not just a passive marketplace. Platforms must collect and remit transient occupancy tax on every booking, disclose each listing's host, address, length of stay, and price to the city, and prompt hosts to display their city permit number. A platform must not complete a booking transaction for a listing that isn't on the city's short-term rental registry once it collects a booking fee. Platforms following these rules are presumed compliant, but the section yields to conflicting state or federal law.
Violations & Fines
Hosting platforms that book unregistered rentals or fail to disclose listings and collect occupancy tax face code enforcement and can be required to remove noncompliant listings from their site.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Airbnb list an unregistered Indio short-term rental?
Who collects the transient occupancy tax on an Indio short-term rental booking?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Indio
California rules heatmap·Compare Indio to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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Host Platform Liability in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle host platform liability.