Carmel to open rental-registration portal Dec. 1; enforcement begins Jan. 1

Mike Caldwell, director of community services, told residents the city—xpects the online rental-registration portal to open Dec. 1 and said, “the early registration, is going to start December 1.” The software vendor is the same company that Fishers used, and the system will issue permits landlords must have to rent properties in Carmel.

Caldwell said enforcement will begin Jan. 1: “enforcement, will start January 1.” He told attendees landlords will have a month to register after the portal opens and that the system will identify registrations and legacy units. The ordinance includes a 10% cap on rentals per neighborhood; units registered prior to Jan. 1 are grandfathered as legacy units and may continue to exist even if the cap is later reached.

Under the ordinance, applicants must provide documentation related to HOA covenants. Caldwell said one amendment adds an HOA provision: an applicant must provide "proof, from the HOA that there are no bridal restrictions in," or provide evidence the HOA has delegated enforcement authority. Multiple residents asked how private covenants intersect with city requirements; staff repeatedly emphasized that HOAsretain authority over private covenants but that the city will require proof of whether covenants bar rentals for certain permit exemptions.

Caldwell said the registration fee is small and noted the state caps registration fees: the city nswered that the base registration fee will be $5 and that late fees may be assessed (staff said late fees could be up to $200). Landlords must register each property separately. Staff described outreach plans including mayoral communications, social media and news releases; they also said an early-signup list of several hundred addresses will be part of outreach.

Residents pressed staff about verification and enforcement mechanisms, whether the City would publish a public-facing registry, and how HOAs should monitor landlords. Caldwell said some data will be available to staff and enforcement will rely on a combination of the softwarelinking to utilities data (water use anomalies), complaint logs, and code-enforcement tracking. Staff said HOAs may continue private enforcement of covenants and suggested HOAs share known rental-owner contact lists to help outreach, but said the onus to register rests with property owners.

The city also will permit revocation of permits for repeated code violations (for example, three code citations or a property-related conviction). Staff said the registration is annual in its process and that they will continue to refine language and outreach in the months after launch.

Residents asked specific operational questions about legacy status when covenants change, change-of-ownership effects, and whether new tenants trigger a permit revocation; staff said some of those points require legal follow-up and clarified that permits issued before covenant changes may remain valid for their permit term but re-registration would be subject to current rules.

What remains to be decided: detailed public-facing data availability, exact web interface placement and how much registration information will be forward-facing on the city website. Staff committed to testing the system through November and to expanded outreach before the Dec. 1 portal opening.