Monroe County - Unincorporated
South Central Indiana Airbnb and short term rental laws.
Renting the home you live in: Allowed for one room while you are home
Renting a home you don’t live in: Allowed only in rural zones
Whole home rentals are allowed only in the rural AGR, FOR, CVR, and AP zones, with spacing, parking, and posted rule standards. In other home zones you can rent one room only if you live there.
PERMIT
There is no separate short term rental permit. The county zoning code allows two uses with standards: an owner occupied short term rental and a tourist home or cabin.
How to apply
Building or converting a home for either use needs a plot plan review from the Monroe County Planning Department. Apply through the county online permit portal. You must show proof that you registered for the county innkeeper’s tax.
Where rentals are allowed
A tourist home or cabin is a whole home rented for less than 30 days to eight guests or fewer, with the owner usually not on site. It is allowed with standards only in the AGR, FOR, CVR, and AP zones. An owner occupied short term rental is allowed with standards in AGR, FOR, CVR, RNH, RES, LD, CD, HD, and AP. A bed and breakfast run by a live in operator with four guest rooms or fewer is allowed with standards in nine zones. You cannot rent an accessory dwelling unit as a short term rental.
Guest limits
A tourist home can host eight guests or fewer, with no more than two guests per guest room. An owner occupied short term rental can rent one guest room.
Caps
You can have one tourist home per lot, with no bed and breakfast or other main home on that lot. A tourist home must sit at least 200 feet from any next door main building that is not a tourist home, or from the next door setback line if no building is there. This spacing rule does not apply next to federal or state managed land. The lot must first meet lot size, septic, and driveway rules. There is no countywide cap.
Safety and inspections
The code says tourist homes should have a working smoke detector, fire extinguisher, and carbon monoxide detector. There is no routine short term rental inspection.
Parking, trash, and noise
Tourist home guests must park on a paved or gravel driveway, never on the street, in a yard, or in a setback. You need 1 space per rented room plus the spaces the home already needs. Post rules outside the main door with emergency numbers, a 24 hour owner or manager phone number, noise rules, trash rules, fishing license rules, and maps of the property lines and parking. Remove all trash before each new guest arrives.
Local contact
Post a 24 hour owner or manager phone number outside the tourist home’s main door.
Penalties
A violation is a Class C ordinance violation. The fine is up to $500 for a first violation and up to $1,500 for a repeat. Each day counts as a new violation. The county can also go to court and hold back permits.
Last changed
February 12, 2026
Apply
Official rules
More information
- CDO Chapter 811: Use table by zone
- CDO 811-6(I): Owner occupied rental standards
- CDO 811-6(J): Tourist home standards
- CDO Table 3-814: Parking minimums
- CDO Table 1-841: Plot plan review
- CDO Chapter 845: Enforcement
- Monroe County Code 115-3(A): Class C fine amounts