Carmel, IN Short-Term Rentals: Parking Rules (2026)

No Carmel ordinance reviewed establishes a dedicated parking standard for short-term rentals, such as a required number of off-street spaces per bedroom or a prohibition on on-street guest parking. Instead, STR guests are subject to the same residential parking and zoning rules that apply to any home in the relevant district, including general standards on off-street parking, driveway and yard parking, and any neighborhood or subdivision restrictions. Carmel's historic STR controls operated through its Unified Development Ordinance bed-and-breakfast framework (Z-629-17) and the Board of Zoning Appeals special-exception process, where a hearing officer could attach conditions; parking was not published as a fixed numeric STR requirement. Under Indiana's statewide framework, after House Enrolled Act 1210 (2026) a city may continue to enforce generally applicable health, safety, and zoning standards on short-term rentals, but may not use such standards as a pretext to ban or cap them. Hosts should ensure guests have adequate off-street parking, comply with any homeowners-association covenants that restrict parking, and avoid blocking sidewalks, fire lanes, or violating posted on-street parking limits. Because the city did not publish an STR parking number and state law constrains local authority, confirm any current parking conditions with Carmel's Department of Community Services or as attached to a zoning approval.