A guide for Jeffersonville short-term rental owners
Jeffersonville requires a permit for every short-term rental in the city. That includes homes where the owner lives on site. It includes a spare room, a carriage house, and a whole house. The rule took effect when the city adopted Article 8.11 of its Unified Development Ordinance on November 6, 2024.
We are Joseph and Laura Sauer. We run Hearth and Haven Hosting from New Albany, right next to Jeffersonville. I have lived in the Clarksville, Jeffersonville, New Albany area for 30 years. This article covers what the Jeffersonville permit rule says, what it costs, and what happens to an owner who skips it.
Every rule below comes from the city ordinance, the state law that sits above it, or the city’s own registry.
Every short-term rental in Jeffersonville needs a permit
Article 8.11 says a permit is required for every short-term rental. Owner-occupied homes are included. There is no carve out for renting one room, or for renting only during Derby week. If you rent for less than 30 nights at a time, you are in.
One permit per property covers all the units on it. A duplex with two short-term units gets one permit. A house with a rented garage apartment gets one permit. The permit belongs to the property and the owner, and the owner makes the application.
The city registry listed 121 permitted addresses as of August 7, 2026. WDRB put the count of short-term rentals citywide in Jeffersonville at 330 in July 2024. Those two counts come from two sources and two dates. The registry count as of August 2026 came in under the July 2024 news count.
The permit costs $150 once and renews at no charge
The Jeffersonville permit fee is $150. It is paid one time, and it is not refundable. Renewal comes every year and costs $0. The city aims to send a renewal notice 30 days before the permit expires.
Indiana law sets those terms as a ceiling for every city and county in the state. Where a local permit exists, state law says one permit per property, issued within 30 days, expiring in 1 year, with a fee capped at $150 and a renewal fee of $0. Jeffersonville’s fee is at the state cap. The application is made by the owner, and the city may ask for the property manager’s name, address, email, and phone.
Owner-occupied rentals are allowed anywhere, and non-owner-occupied rentals downtown need a special exception
Jeffersonville allows owner-occupied short-term rentals in any residential district. If you live in the home and rent a room or a finished basement, zoning is not a barrier. You still need the permit. State law backs this up. Owner-occupied short-term rentals are a permitted residential use anywhere in Indiana where homes are allowed, and cities and counties cannot zone them out.
The zoning step applies to homes where the owner does not live. Inside the area the city calls Downtown and Adjacent Neighborhoods, a non-owner-occupied short-term rental needs a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals when the property is zoned CN, CO, M1, R1, R2, R3, or R4. That is the downtown core and the neighborhoods next to it.
Whether a specific address falls inside that area, and which district it sits in, depends on your property and your district. The office that answers that question is Jeffersonville Planning and Zoning at 812-285-6413. Call before you close on a house and before you list one.
State law shapes this step too. A city may require a special exception, special use, or variance for a non-owner-occupied short-term rental. A city may not use that process to prohibit them. A denial can be appealed.
The permit comes with operating standards
Jeffersonville’s ordinance lists standards every permitted rental follows.
- The rental fits the neighborhood it sits in.
- Guests do not encroach on the neighbors.
- Trash goes in closed containers and gets picked up weekly.
- City noise rules apply to guests the same as to anyone.
- The rental creates no nuisance.
State law limits what a local government can regulate about a short-term rental. Local rules may cover only fire and building safety, sanitation, traffic, pollution, noise, property maintenance, nuisance, and an emergency contact. Those rules must be enforced the same as for any home on the block. Jeffersonville’s standards fit inside that list.
Changes must be reported, the permit stays with the seller, and a lapsed renewal costs non-conforming status
Any change to the permit information must be reported to the city within 30 business days. A new phone number, a new manager, a new mailing address, all of it.
The permit does not transfer when the property sells. A buyer starts fresh with a new application and a new $150 fee. If you are buying a Jeffersonville home that already runs as a short-term rental, the seller’s permit ends at closing and yours begins when the city issues it.
Short-term rentals that were already operating when the ordinance passed had until March 6, 2025, to register for non-conforming status. That status is tied to the permit. It is lost if the permit is not renewed within 6 months of expiry.
The renewal costs $0. A missed renewal costs the non-conforming status once the 6 months have passed.
Skipping the permit is an infraction on every booking
Indiana law says renting without a required permit is a Class C infraction per transaction. Jeffersonville requires a permit. So each booking taken without one counts on its own. Ten bookings in a month means ten separate infractions.
State law also sets the terms for losing a permit you already hold. A permit can be revoked only after 3 or more citations in one calendar year, and the revocation lasts up to 1 year. One citation does not end a permit.
Taxes are a separate job from the permit
The permit is a zoning and safety document. Taxes are separate, with their own rules and their own deadlines.
Stays under 30 nights in Jeffersonville carry 7% Indiana sales tax plus 6% Clark County innkeeper’s tax, for 13% in total. The Clark County rate has been 6% since December 1, 2019. Before that date it was 4%.
Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit both the sales tax and the innkeeper’s tax on stays booked through them. An owner who books only through those two platforms does not have to register with the state for sales tax.
Direct bookings are different. The operator registers for a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate at $25 per location, files in INTIME, and remits monthly. The filing is due 30 days after the month ends if average monthly tax was $1,000 or less, and 20 days after if it was over $1,000. Clark County innkeeper’s tax on direct bookings is filed with the Indiana Department of Revenue.
Sales tax applies to more than the nightly rate. Cleaning fees, pet fees, damage fees, resort fees, parking fees, and cancellation fees are all taxed. Stays of 30 or more consecutive nights are exempt from both the sales tax and the innkeeper’s tax.
A permit checklist for a Jeffersonville home
Each line is one phone call, one form, or one calendar entry.
- Confirm the zoning district and whether the address sits inside Downtown and Adjacent Neighborhoods. Planning and Zoning, 812-285-6413.
- If the home is non-owner-occupied and inside that area in CN, CO, M1, R1, R2, R3, or R4 zoning, apply for the special exception before listing.
- Apply for the short-term rental permit. Pay the $150. Keep the permit number with the property file.
- Put the expiration date on the calendar with a reminder 30 days ahead. Renew at $0 every year.
- If the home held non-conforming status, treat the 6-month renewal window as a hard stop.
- Report any change in owner, manager, or contact information within 30 business days.
- Write the trash schedule, the closed container rule, and the city noise rules into the guest guide and the listing.
- If you take direct bookings, register for the $25 Registered Retail Merchant Certificate and set a monthly INTIME filing date.
- Check that smoke detectors sit outside each sleeping area and on each level, including the basement, as Indiana law requires.
The bottom line
Every short-term rental in Jeffersonville needs a permit. The fee is $150 one-time, and the renewal is $0 every year. Non-owner-occupied homes in the downtown area and the neighborhoods next to it need a special exception before they operate. Skipping the permit turns every booking into a Class C infraction under state law, and a lapsed renewal can cost non-conforming status. The tax on stays under 30 nights in Jeffersonville is 13%. The platforms remit it on their own bookings. Direct bookings are the owner’s job.
Have any questions, or want a personal property analysis on a specific property? Call or text Joseph at 812-778-2235, email [email protected], or visit hearthandhavenhosting.com.
Safe travels,
Joseph and Laura
Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers!