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Acme House Company is a DBA of Acme CA, Inc., operating as Casago Coachella Valley. California DRE #02420145. Michael E. Flannery, Designated Broker.
Coachella Valley · Regulation watch
Match the parcel to its city first. Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indian Wells, Indio and Coachella each run a separate short-term rental program, and a parcel outside all five falls to Riverside County. Then check your recorded documents, which in this valley can be the binding constraint.
Existing owner? Access your Owner Portal
Rules and jurisdictions
A marketing area is not a permit boundary. Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indian Wells, Indio and Coachella each run a different short-term rental program, and a parcel outside all five falls to Riverside County. Match the address to its authority first. A neighbouring city’s rule is never a fallback.
| Property area / authority | What the official page says to check | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| Palm Desert, incorporated city limitsCity of Palm Desert | The City defines a short-term rental as a privately owned residential dwelling offered for twenty-seven consecutive nights or less, and requires a permit before advertising or renting. Eligibility turns on the zone and on whether the owner is on site. The City page states short-term rentals are prohibited within the R1 and R2 zones, excluding On-Site Owner permits. PR and HPR require an HOA approval letter or an on-site owner. In HPR the page states existing off-site permits may be renewed but will permanently cease operation by December 31, 2026, and new off-site permits will not be permitted. A home in an HOA community must submit a Letter of Approval annually. The page also sets a meet-and-greet, the Good Neighbor Brochure, 24-hour operator availability, and monthly transient occupancy tax and Greater Palm Springs TBID returns whether or not the home was rented. | Short-Term Rentals — City of Palm Desert Checked 2026-09-20 |
| La Quinta, incorporated city limitsCity of La Quinta | The City page states that Municipal Code section 3.25.055 imposes a permanent ban on new STVR permits in the General and Primary categories, and that those permits can only be issued to properties inside a short list of exempt areas. Two pathways sit outside the ban. A Homeshare permit requires the owner to occupy the property throughout the visitor’s stay. A Large Lot exemption is open to a single parcel of 25,000 square feet or more that meets the criteria in section 3.25.057, considered by Council at a public hearing; if approved the owner may then apply for a permit. The City publishes a weekly active and suspended permit list and a public portal map, so an existing permit can be checked by parcel before anyone relies on it. | Short-Term Vacation Rentals — City of La Quinta Checked 2026-09-20 |
| Indian Wells, incorporated city limitsCity of Indian Wells | The City page states that an owner seeking a new short-term rental license and permit is restricted to a 29-night minimum throughout the year, with one exception: a 7-night minimum from one week before the tennis tournament until three days after it ends. A homeowners association may opt out of the City’s minimum-stay regulation only, using the City’s opt-out form; the license, the tax and every other part of the ordinance still apply. Licenses grandfathered in July 2015 are described as permanently expired. The ordinance requires a local contact reachable 24 hours a day, seven days a week, a Good Neighbor Brochure with the rental agreement, and quarterly transient occupancy tax returns even when nothing was rented. | Short Term Residential Rentals — City of Indian Wells Checked 2026-09-20 |
| Indio, incorporated city limitsCity of Indio | The City page states that an owner needs a business license, a short-term rental permit and registration to collect transient occupancy tax. Since June 15, 2017 the business license and the STR permit have been issued as one combined document, and the permit renews automatically with the business license. The page states that from February 15, 2022 the fee to obtain and annually renew the permit is $1,633.00 in addition to the business license fee and tax. The current ordinance was adopted at the December 1, 2021 Council meeting, and the page links the indemnification agreement, the Good Neighbor Brochure, the acknowledgement form and a map of registered rentals. The page describes no separate festival-week permit, so ask the City how April event weekends are treated for your address before advertising one. | Short Term Rentals — City of Indio Checked 2026-09-20 |
| Coachella, incorporated city limitsCity of Coachella | The City runs its own short-term vacation rental ordinance and tax registration system. The page states plainly that a legal owner cannot rent or advertise for rent without an active City permit, and that submitting an application does not grant the right to rent or advertise. Only an individual or entity with legal interest on county records or the recorded grant deed may be listed as owner. Permits are not transferable to another person, entity, assessor’s parcel number or owner, and a lapsed permit has to be applied for as if new. Hosting platforms do not collect the TBID assessment, and the operator keeps records for three years. The page gives two different tax rates and two different reporting frequencies in different places, so confirm the current rate and filing schedule with the City in writing. | Short Term Rentals — City of Coachella Checked 2026-09-20 |
| Unincorporated Riverside County onlyCounty of Riverside Planning | This program applies only to a parcel outside every incorporated city, so confirm parcel status first. The County defines a short-term rental as a dwelling rented for less than 30 consecutive calendar days but not fewer than two consecutive days and one night, and says it can include an ADU, junior ADU, second unit, guest quarter or ranchette unit. Commercial and venue activity — weddings, receptions, concerts, festivals and parties over the maximum occupancy — is prohibited without the correct event permit, as is renting a recreational vehicle, yurt, tent or treehouse. The page states the Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 927.3 and Ordinance No. 671.25 on August 25, 2026, that 927.3 is effective September 24, 2026, that the renewal grace period has been eliminated, and that updated registration fees effective October 25, 2026 are $1,077 initial and $775 renewal. Which version is in force. Ordinance No. 927, as amended through 927.2, is the instrument this row links today, and it governs until 927.3 takes effect. County Planning states the Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 927.3 on August 25, 2026 under Board agenda item 3.74, and that it is scheduled to take effect September 24, 2026; Section 17 of the published text sets the effective date at thirty days after adoption. Reading that published 927.3 text on 2026-09-20, no Coachella Valley community is named in it — its added-restriction sections apply to Wine Country and Idyllwild only — so an unincorporated valley parcel is governed by the general countywide provisions, and four of those change. Hosted Stay becomes a status the Planning Department must verify and designate, and may suspend or revoke on violation; where it applies the occupancy ceiling rises by two at every lot size, to twelve on half an acre or less, eighteen up to two acres and twenty-two above that, against an unchanged base of ten, sixteen and twenty at 200 square feet per person. A short term rental is redefined as a stay of less than thirty consecutive calendar days and twenty-nine nights total, and hourly rental is expressly prohibited. A new Urgent Circumstance provision lets the Code Enforcement, Planning or TLMA director immediately suspend or revoke a certificate under the summary abatement process of Ordinance No. 725. Notice is newly defined to include a notice of violation, a cease and desist letter or an administrative citation, and the required identification sign must now be readable from the public right-of-way. Administrative citations are unchanged at $1,500, $3,000 and $5,000, and a responsible guest must still be at least 21 outside Wine Country. Updated registration fees under Ordinance No. 671.25 are scheduled for October 25, 2026. Confirm the version in force with County Planning before you act. | Short-Term Rental Program — County of Riverside Planning Checked 2026-09-20 Ordinance No. 927, as amended through 927.2 Checked 2026-09-19 Ordinance No. 927.3, scheduled 2026-09-24 Checked 2026-09-20 |
| Transient occupancy taxImposed locally, not by the state | California’s tax agency lists the tax and fee programs it administers, and transient occupancy tax is not among them: CDTFA runs sales and use tax and the special tax programs, which are separate obligations. TOT here is imposed and collected by each city, at its own rate and on its own schedule. Palm Desert’s page states an 11% monthly TOT plus a 1% Greater Palm Springs TBID assessment that Airbnb does not collect for you. Indian Wells states its rate rose to 12.25% effective January 1, 2019, remitted quarterly. Coachella and Indio publish their own rates and portals. Read the rate off your own city’s page, not a neighbour’s. | Business Taxes and Fees in California — CDTFA Checked 2026-09-20 Short-Term Rentals — City of Palm Desert Checked 2026-09-20 Short Term Residential Rentals — City of Indian Wells Checked 2026-09-20 |
| HOA, condominium, CC&Rs, leases and recorded deed restrictionsPrivate governing documents | No city or county source decides whether a private community allows the rental use you have in mind, the guest count, the parking plan or access to shared amenities. This valley is unusually dependent on that answer, because so much of its housing sits inside country clubs and gated associations. Several city programs point straight back here: Palm Desert requires an annual HOA Letter of Approval in defined zones, and Indian Wells lets an association opt out of the City minimum stay. Pull the current recorded documents, the association rules and any written approval for the exact home, and treat the public permit and the private clearance as two separate questions. | Further verification needed |
Steps in order
Doing these out of order is how owners spend money on a home that cannot be operated the way they planned.
Establish from the parcel record whether the property is inside Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indian Wells, Indio or Coachella, or in unincorporated Riverside County. Palm Desert publishes an interactive zoning map and a public STR portal; La Quinta publishes a weekly permit list and a public portal map; Indio publishes a map of registered rentals. Use them.
Eligibility, not procedure, is the first question. In Palm Desert it turns on zone and on-site owner status. In La Quinta it turns on whether the parcel sits in an exempt area, qualifies for Homeshare, or qualifies as a large lot. In Indian Wells it turns on the minimum stay you can live with.
Transient occupancy tax is imposed locally, and every one of these cities runs its own registration and remittance. Several also carry a Greater Palm Springs TBID assessment that hosting platforms do not collect on your behalf. Register before the first booking, and file even in months with no revenue.
Pull the CC&Rs, the association rules, the condominium documents and any lease. Get written approval where it is needed, including the annual HOA Letter of Approval Palm Desert requires in defined zones. This step routinely overrides everything above.
Most programs here require a Good Neighbor Brochure with the rental agreement, a permit number in every advertisement, and a local contact reachable 24 hours a day. Palm Desert also requires an on-site meet-and-greet and a response within 30 minutes of a complaint.
Open questions
La Quinta's page, checked 2026-09-20, states that Municipal Code section 3.25.055 imposes a permanent ban on new STVR permits in the General and Primary categories, issuable only to properties inside a short list of exempt areas, with Homeshare permits (owner present throughout the stay) and a Large Lot exemption under section 3.25.057 for a single parcel of 25,000 square feet or more sitting outside the ban. Palm Desert's page states short-term rentals are prohibited in the R1 and R2 zones except under an On-Site Owner permit, and that in HPR existing off-site permits will permanently cease operation by December 31, 2026 with no new off-site permits issued. Indian Wells does not ban them but restricts a new licence to a 29-night minimum for most of the year. Indio and Coachella run open permit programs. None of the five published a numeric permit cap or waiting list on the page read today.
No, but it changes the business entirely. Indian Wells' page states that an owner seeking a new short-term rental licence and permit is restricted to a 29-night minimum throughout the year, with a 7-night minimum from one week before the tennis tournament until three days after it ends. A homeowners association may opt out of the minimum-stay regulation only; the licence, the transient occupancy tax and the rest of the ordinance still apply. Licences grandfathered in July 2015 are described as permanently expired.
Yes. A recorded CC&R, association rule or condominium document can prohibit short-term rental outright, and can separately restrict guest counts, parking and amenity access. That matters more here than in most markets because so much of the valley's housing sits inside country clubs and gated associations. Two of the city programs point back at private documents themselves: Palm Desert requires an annual HOA Letter of Approval in defined zones, and Indian Wells lets an association opt out of the City minimum stay.
The city. California's tax agency publishes the list of tax and fee programs it administers and transient occupancy tax is not among them; CDTFA runs sales and use tax and the special tax programs, which are separate obligations. Palm Desert's page states an 11% monthly TOT plus a 1% Greater Palm Springs TBID assessment, and notes Airbnb will not collect the TBID for you. Indian Wells states 12.25% effective January 1, 2019, remitted quarterly. Read your own city's page.
The Riverside County Short-Term Rental Program. The County page, checked 2026-09-20, defines a short-term rental as a dwelling rented for less than 30 consecutive calendar days but not fewer than two consecutive days and one night, prohibits commercial and venue activity without the correct event permit, and states that the Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 927.3 on August 25, 2026, effective September 24, 2026, with the renewal grace period eliminated. Confirm the parcel really is unincorporated first.
Next step
Continue to the Owner Portal for a property-specific conversation. Prospective owners choose I’m considering the program. Existing owners sign in as an owner. Nothing about your home is sent from this page.
