No Hamilton County or Indiana rule requires a host to be present during a stay. Owner-occupied rentals get a by-right permitted-use status, but unhosted, non-owner rentals remain legal with a city Special Exception—cities may not ban them.
Neither the county nor state law mandates on-site host presence. Indiana Code 36-1-24 rewards owner-occupancy by making an owner-occupied short-term rental a permitted use, which in Fishers needs no permit. But an unhosted or non-owner rental is not prohibited—it simply requires a Special Exception (Fishers) or Board of Zoning Appeals approval (Carmel). The city may not use that process to prohibit or unreasonably restrict the rental. Practically, cities often ask non-owner hosts to name a local responsible party or agent reachable during stays, but full-time physical presence is not required.
Running a non-owner STR without the required special exception draws zoning citations and enforcement; naming no responsible contact can add code-enforcement issues.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Hamilton County's host presence rule rules stack up against other locations.
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