Carmel, IN Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

No Carmel ordinance reviewed sets a specific maximum number of overnight guests for a short-term rental. The city's short-term-rental controls were built around its Unified Development Ordinance (Z-629-17), which regulated STRs as a bed-and-breakfast use requiring a Special Exception and a primary-residence eligibility test, rather than through a published guest-count formula. Indiana's statewide framework expressly preserves a local government's ability to set reasonable occupancy limits: even after House Enrolled Act 1210 (2026) barred local rental caps and bans, cities retain authority over safety standards, building and fire codes, inspections, registration, and occupancy limits, provided those rules do not operate as a de facto ban. In practice, the effective occupancy ceiling for a Carmel STR is usually driven by general residential standards, such as building and fire code limits and any applicable definition of 'family' or maximum unrelated occupants in the zoning code, rather than a dedicated STR number. Because the city had not published a specific STR occupancy figure and the 2026 state law reshaped local authority, hosts should confirm the current applicable limit directly with Carmel's Department of Community Services and ensure the dwelling meets building and fire code occupancy requirements for the number of guests advertised.