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Councilors introduce rental‑permit ordinance to cap single‑family rentals at 10% and require registration
Summary
Councilors introduced an ordinance requiring registration and permitting of single‑family rental dwellings in Carmel and limiting permitted rentals to 10% per subdivision or citywide; supporters called it a tool to preserve neighborhood character while opponents and HOA questions will be reviewed in committee.
The Carmel Common Council on April 21 introduced an ordinance that would require owners of residential rental dwellings to register and obtain a permit before letting single‑family homes or townhouses for 30 or more consecutive days, and would cap permitted single‑family rentals at 10% of homes within any subdivision or citywide.
Councilor Andrew Taylor, sponsor of the measure, said the proposal grew out of a Housing Task Force recommendation to "protect our single family neighborhoods." Ted Nolting, attorney for the council sponsors, described the ordinance elements and the administrative process: before Jan. 1, 2026, owners would register and the Department of Community Services would issue permits if the property had no outstanding ordinance violations, utilities were current and the 10% threshold was not exceeded.
Nolting said the draft includes exemptions for owners who are temporarily absent, active military, certain life events (divorce, death, assisted living), properties offered for sale, inherited properties, and units already in use as short‑term rentals or under purchase contracts. He described penalties in the draft as a $500 fine for advertising without a permit, $2,500 for actually letting without a permit, and $100 per day after 30 days of noncompliance. Appeals would go to Carmel City Court.
Nut graf: Sponsors say the ordinance aims to balance neighborhood preservation with property rights; councilors asked staff to send the draft to committee for legal and fiscal review before any final vote.
Public comment at the meeting included multiple speakers supporting rental restrictions. Jack Russell, president and CEO of 1Zone Chamber, told councilors the chamber supports a registration and permitting program and described a long‑term goal of preserving “neighborhood integrity” and homeownership opportunities. Ed Shaughnessy, a longtime homeowner, said investor‑owned properties have "overwhelm[ed] a neighborhood association” and called caps “a tool that they can use.” Jim Thomas spoke on behalf of neighbors near a proposed development and said the ordinance was “greatly desired by the neighbors.”
Councilors signaled they want to proceed cautiously. Several urged homeowners’ associations that are already adopting covenants or caps to continue that work; Councilor Taylor said HOA changes should continue regardless of council action. Sponsors will send the ordinance to committee for review first by finance and then by land‑use staff, as arranged by the sponsors.
Ending: The ordinance was introduced and referred to committee; no council vote occurred on final adoption.
