(A) Compliance by owner, agents and occupants. The owner and/or owner's agent shall use reasonably prudent business practices to ensure the property used as a short-term rental is used in a manner that complies with all applicable laws, rules and regulations pertaining to its use and occupancy, an including applicable codes regarding fire, building and safety, and shall further use reasonably prudent business practices to ensure the occupants of the short-term rental do not create noise in violation of Chapter 95C of the Indio Municipal Code or other disturbances, engage in disorderly conduct, or violate any applicable law, rule or regulation pertaining to the use and occupancy of the subject short-term rental.
(B) Overnight maximum occupancy limits.
(1) The owner shall limit overnight occupancy of the short-term rental to a specific number of occupants. Overnight occupancy shall not exceed four persons plus no more than two persons per bedroom within each short-term rental as set forth in the chart below. As used in this section, OVERNIGHT OCCUPANCY shall mean during the hours of 10:00 p.m. through 8:00 a.m. of the following day.
Bedrooms | Occupancy |
Bedrooms | Occupancy |
0-Studio | 4 |
1 | 6 |
2 | 8 |
3 | 10 |
4 | 12 |
5 | 14 |
6 | 16 |
7 | 18 |
8 or more | 20 |
(2) Any short-term rental located on a parcel or lot that is 14,500 square feet or more in size, may have a gathering of up to and including 40 persons. Such gatherings shall comply with the applicable operational standards and regulations of this chapter except that no special event permit is required.
(3) Any gathering of 25 to 39 persons at a short-term rental located on a parcel or lot that is less than 14,500 square feet in size or a gathering of 41 persons or more at a short-term rental requires a special event permit pursuant to the process set forth in the Unified Development Code or as such other process as set forth in § 37.021 of the Indio Municipal Code.
(C) Minimum age of renter. The owner shall not rent a short-term rental to a person that is under the age of 21.
(D) Maintenance of rental contracts to city. Owners shall maintain all short-term rental contracts (in electronic or paper form) for a period of three years from the date of occupancy. The exact number of occupants shall be included in the contract as well as all city municipal code requirements regulating occupancy limits, noise, outdoor amplified music prohibition, public nuisance, parking, trash, no commercial activities and other code requirements related to the use and occupancy of the short-term rental.
(E) Submission of informational form. The owner shall obtain from the responsible person an "informational form," in the form provided by the city, which contains but is not limited to the following: (a) the name, address, telephone number and a copy of the valid government identification of the responsible person; (b) a list of the names of all occupants of the short-term rental; and (c) a list of all vehicle information and license plate numbers of the responsible person and occupants and guests. The Permit Administrator is authorized to amend the information required in the informational form pursuant to adoption of an administrative regulation as set forth in § 37.021.
(F) Prior to occupancy procedures. Prior to occupancy of a short-term rental, the owner or owner's agent or representative shall advise of or require the following from the responsible person:
(1) Provide the responsible person with the local contact person's 24-hour availability information;
(2) Require the responsible person to execute the informational form and an acknowledgment form, which provides that responsible person understands that he or she is legally responsible for compliance by all occupants of the short-term rental and their guests with compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations pertaining to the use and occupancy of the short-term rental and that the responsible person must be present at the property during the duration of the short-term rental period ("acknowledgment form").
Both the informational form and the acknowledgment form shall be maintained by the owner for a minimum of three years and be made readily available upon request of the city.
(G) Posting of permit and owner's local contact person. The owner shall post a copy of the short-term rental permit, the name and phone number of the local contact person and a notice in the form required by the city of the applicable regulations near the primary entrance inside of the short-term rental.
(H) Twenty-four hour availability. During the period of a short-term rental, the owner or owner's agency and/or the owner's local contact person shall be available 24 hours per day, seven days per week to respond to complaints from third parties regarding the condition, operation, or conduct of the occupants of the short-term rental, including responding in person at the location of the short-term rental. The local contact person's response to complaints can be made by telephone, text message or in person, however, in no event shall the response time exceed 15 minutes if responding by telephone or text or 45 minutes if an in-person response is required because of the severity of the complaint. If the local contact person is contacted directly by the city, the local contact person shall respond within 15 minutes of the city's telephone call or text message. If the city requests an in-person response, the local contact person shall respond in person at the location of the short-term rental within 45 minutes of the city's request. In all circumstances, complaints that the occupants of the short-term rental has created unreasonable or unlawful noise or disturbances in violation of Chapter 95 of the Municipal Code or the provisions of this chapter or is engaging in disorderly conduct, requires an in-person response by the local contact person.
(I) Amplified sound. At a minimum, the occupants of the short-term rental shall comply with the noise standards identified in Chapter 95C of the Municipal Code. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Municipal Code, no radio receiver, musical instrument, phonograph, compact disk player, loudspeaker, karaoke machine, sound amplifier, or any machine, device or equipment (including a cellular phone or other similar device) that produces or reproduces any sound that is audible from the outside of any short-term rental beyond the property line between the hours of 9:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Any machine, device or equipment that amplifies music inside any short-term rental shall not be heard beyond the property line of the short-term rental at all times at any time of day or night.
(J) Noise outside of short-term rental. Occupants of the short-term rental shall be prohibited from using all outdoor amenities and/or engaging in outdoor games or any outdoor activities that create noise between the hours of 9:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday. A sign stating these restrictions must be clearly visible near any such spa/pool and posted on all interior doors leading to the exterior amenities.
(K) Trash containers. The owner and/or occupants shall not allow trash and refuse to be stored within public view, except in proper containers for the purpose of collection by the city's authorized waste hauler on scheduled trash collection days and in compliance with Section 95A of the Municipal Code. The owner of the short-term rental shall provide sufficient trash collection containers and service to meet the demand of the occupants.
(L) No commercial vehicles or storage of delivered materials. The short-term rental use shall not involve the use of commercial vehicles for the delivery of materials to and from the premises beyond those commercial vehicles normally associated with residential uses nor storage of delivered materials beyond those items which would normally be associated with a residential use of property by the owner, or any occupant.
(M) No commercial activities. The owner shall use reasonably prudent business practices to ensure that the short-term rental is used for residential purposes only.
(N) Retention of residential character. The owner of a short-term rental shall not change the residential character of the outside appearance of the residence, either by the use of colors, materials, lighting and/or advertising mechanism.
(O) Required information for advertisements. The owner shall include the current permit registration number on or in any advertisement appearing in any newspaper, magazine, brochure, television trade paper, internet website, etc., that promotes the availability or existence of the short-term rental in a place or location deemed acceptable by the Permit Administrator in the following format: "City of Indio Short-Term Rental Permit No. _____". In the case of audio-only advertising of the same, the permit number shall be read as part of the advertising. In addition, the following shall be clearly identified in any advertisement: (1) maximum occupancy; (2) the number of permitted bedrooms; (3) maximum number of vehicles allowed; and (4) a photo of the front of the short-term rental.
(P) Transient occupancy tax. The owner and/or owner's agent shall comply with all provisions of §§ 34.35 through 34.48 of the Municipal Code concerning transient occupancy taxes, including, but not limited to, submission of a return in accordance with § 34.41 of the Municipal Code, which shall be filed even if the vacation rental unit was not rented during each such reporting period.
(Q) Submission of internet listings. All internet listing sites (e.g. website URLs) and listing numbers associated with a short-term rental shall be submitted to the city by the owner or owner's agent within 30 days of approval of the short-term rental permit and any revisions thereafter shall be submitted to the Permit Administrator.
(R) Modification of operational requirements and standards. The operational requirements and standards may be modified by the Permit Administrator upon request of the owner based upon site-specific circumstances for the purpose of allowing reasonable accommodation of a short-term rental occupant as may be required by state or federal disability laws. All requests must be in writing and shall identify how the strict application of the standard conditions creates an unreasonable hardship to a property such that, if the requirement is not modified, reasonable use of the property for a short- term rental would not be allowed. Any hardships identified must relate to physical constraints to the subject site and shall not be self-induced or economic. Any modifications of the standard conditions shall not further exacerbate an already existing problem.
(Ord. 1766, passed 12-14-21)