Indio does not cap the number of nights a permitted short-term rental may operate per year. The defining limit is the rental length: a "short-term rental" is any rental of 30 consecutive days or fewer (Section 37.002). Longer stays are long-term tenancies outside Chapter 37. A proposed citywide density cap exists only as an unfilled placeholder, not enacted law.
Indio's Chapter 37 does not impose an annual cap on how many nights a permitted short-term rental may be booked, unlike some cities that limit unhosted rentals to a fixed number of nights per year. Instead, the operative limit is the definition of the use itself. Section 37.002 defines a SHORT-TERM RENTAL as any privately owned residential dwelling offered for rent for a period of not more than 30 consecutive calendar days in exchange for consideration. A booking longer than 30 consecutive days falls outside Chapter 37 and is treated as a long-term tenancy. The transient occupancy tax framework reinforces the short-stay focus: the 1% Greater Palm Springs TBID assessment applies to short-term rentals of 27 days or less. The only night- or quantity-style caps the city has considered are in a draft amendment: proposed Section 37.018 would have set a citywide cap of an unspecified percentage of housing parcels that may be short-term rentals and a 500-foot separation between rentals, but that text was expressly marked "PLACEHOLDER FOR COUNCIL DISCUSSION" with the percentage left blank, so it is not currently enforceable law. Because this is an actively evolving ordinance, owners should confirm whether the City Council has since adopted any density or night limits. Practical limits still apply through the special-event-permit thresholds and occupancy caps in Section 37.012(B), which constrain large gatherings.
Renting beyond 30 consecutive days as a "short-term rental" misclassifies the tenancy; the use must instead comply with long-term housing and landlord-tenant law. Operating any short-term rental without a valid permit, regardless of nights, is a violation of Section 37.019 enforceable as a misdemeanor or administrative citation under Chapter 12, each day a separate offense.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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