If you are buying with rental income in mind, the most important number is not the nightly rate. It is whether the home is allowed to rent at all. Every city in this valley writes its own short-term rental rules, and they range from welcoming to a full stop. Here is where each one stands today, with a link to the office that has the final say.

A quick definition before we start. A short-term rental, or STR, is generally a stay of fewer than 30 days. Most cities draw the line at 27 to 30 nights. Rent for longer than that and you are usually in seasonal or long-term territory, which is a different and far less regulated conversation.

Quick reference

Before you buy: three things to confirm

Palm Springs

Palm Springs is the most established short-term rental market in the desert and also the most carefully managed. Rentals are legal, but they are treated as a secondary use of a home, and the city controls how many operate in each neighborhood. You need a Vacation Rental Registration Certificate before you advertise or host.

The defining rule is the density cap. The city will not issue a certificate in any neighborhood where vacation rentals already make up 20 percent or more of the homes. When a neighborhood is at its cap, new applicants join a waitlist and are issued in the order their complete applications were filed. Before you fall for a specific house, check the neighborhood's current percentage.

There is also a limit on how often you can rent. New permittees, meaning applications filed after October 17, 2022, are allowed 26 rental contracts per year. Existing permittees may rent more. In November 2025, the City Council adopted Ordinance 2118 and removed the reduction that would have lowered the existing-permittee allowance on January 1, 2026, so those higher counts remain in place for now.

Two lighter options are worth knowing. A Junior certificate allows up to six rental contracts per year at a reduced fee and is not subject to the neighborhood cap. A Homeshare certificate lets an owner host guests while living on-site during the stay. Homes with five or more bedrooms are treated as Estate homes and carry extra requirements.

Official source: City of Palm Springs, Vacation Rentals

Palm Desert

Palm Desert allows short-term rentals, but the answer depends entirely on the property's zoning, so two homes a mile apart can land in very different places. The city defines a short-term rental as a stay of 27 nights or less, and every operator needs a permit.

Here is how the zones break down under Municipal Code Chapter 5.10:

• R-1 and R-2 (standard residential): prohibited unless it is an on-site owner permit, meaning you live in the home during the stay.
• RE (Residential Estate): the most flexible category, eligible for on-site or off-site owners.
• PR (Planned Residential) and HPR (Hillside Planned Residential): allowed when the home is in a functioning HOA that permits rentals and provides an approval letter, or when the owner is on-site.
• Downtown and the Downtown Edge overlay: generally allowed; confirm eligibility with city staff.

Operating rules are specific. Stays must be a minimum of three days and two nights. Overnight occupancy is capped at two guests per bedroom, daytime guests are limited between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., and the maximum tops out at 20 for homes of five bedrooms or more. Owners do an in-person meet and greet, keep a 24-hour contact, and hand guests the Good Neighbor brochure. Fines start at $1,000.

This zoning split matters more than usual right now, because DSRT Surf is opening beside Desert Willow. Buyers looking to capitalize on proximity to the new attraction should confirm both the parcel's zone and the HOA's position before assuming a rental plan works.

Official source: City of Palm Desert, Short-Term Rentals

Indian Wells

Indian Wells permits short-term rentals, but it discourages true short stays with a minimum-night rule that shapes the whole strategy. For new permits, the minimum stay is 29 consecutive nights for most of the year. The one carve-out is the BNP Paribas Open. During the tournament window, from one week before through three days after, the minimum drops to 7 nights, which is when demand in this small luxury city peaks.

The important exception is the HOA opt-out. The municipal code lets a homeowners association opt out of the city's minimum-stay rule, so inside certain communities the 29-night floor may not apply. You still need a city license and permit, you still pay the tax, and you still follow every other rule. If a rental plan here depends on short stays, confirming whether the specific HOA has opted out is the first call to make.

Official source: City of Indian Wells, Short-Term Residential Rentals

Indio

Indio is the easiest valley city for a new operator to enter. There is no neighborhood density cap and no minimum-night rule, which is why festival season, Coachella and Stagecoach, drives so much of the market. You do need to do it properly. The city issues the short-term rental permit and the business license as a single combined document, and the permit renews automatically each year with the business license.

Operating rules are straightforward but enforced. Overnight occupancy is capped at 20 guests, the permit number has to appear on every listing, renters must be at least 21, and larger gatherings require a special event permit. The framework lives in Chapter 37 of the Indio Municipal Code. Some HOAs, such as Indian Palms, allow rentals, so the community rules still matter.

Official source: City of Indio, Short-Term Rentals

Joshua Tree and the High Desert

Joshua Tree is a different conversation because it is a different county. The community is unincorporated, so the short-term rental rules come from San Bernardino County, not a city, and they are administered by County Land Use Services under Chapter 84.28. The county accepts permit applications for homes in its mountain and desert areas, and the market remains active, but the requirements are detailed.

Expect a county short-term rental permit, a business license, a Transient Occupancy Registration, and a building, fire, and safety inspection before you operate. The county also requires liability insurance with a minimum of $500,000 in coverage and adherence to a Good Neighbor policy.

Two limits matter most for buyers. Density is capped by parcel size, one rental on parcels under two acres and up to two on parcels over two acres. And the county caps any single person or entity at two permits total. Owners who already hold more are grandfathered but cannot add new ones. Occupancy is set by the size of the home, up to a maximum of 12 guests.

Official source: San Bernardino County, Short-Term Rentals

La Quinta

La Quinta has a permanent ban on new short-term rental permits in its general residential categories, under Municipal Code Section 3.25.055. Existing permits continue and renew, but the city is not adding new ones in standard neighborhoods. There are a few real paths in. Homeshare permits are allowed when the owner stays on-site throughout the visit. Large lots, a single parcel of 25,000 square feet or more, can apply for an exemption through a public hearing. And a handful of designated areas and developments are eligible, including the SilverRock and Estates at Griffin Lake plans and projects whose own CC&Rs permit rentals. Outside those lanes, plan on a 30-day minimum.

Official source: City of La Quinta, Short-Term Vacation Rentals

Cathedral City

Cathedral City voters upheld a measure that phased short-term rentals out of most residential neighborhoods. What remains are the exceptions. Rentals are still allowed inside specific common-interest resort communities whose governing documents permit them, such as Desert Princess, along with owner-present home shares. In a standard residential neighborhood, the practical rule is a 30-day minimum. Where rentals are allowed, the city still requires a permit, a minimum stay, a 24/7 contact, and the permit number on advertising, and the penalties for operating without a permit are steep.

Official source: City of Cathedral City, Vacation Rental Information

Rancho Mirage

Rancho Mirage is the clearest line in the valley. As of July 1, 2022, all short-term rental activity is prohibited in every zone of the city under Municipal Code Section 17.30.270. That includes whole-home rentals, home-sharing, and even advertising a property for short-term rental, whether or not anyone books it. The minimum stay is 28 nights. The city issues no short-term rental permits, and enforcement is active, with tiered fines. If a rental plan is the goal, Rancho Mirage is not the city for it.

Worth noting for buyers looking at new construction: this ban applies citywide, including Cotino, the Storyliving by Disney community.

Official source: City of Rancho Mirage, Short-Term Rentals

A word on the county lines

It is worth repeating because it trips up so many buyers. A large number of homes that feel like they belong to a city are actually in unincorporated Riverside County or San Bernardino County. The mailing address says one thing, the jurisdiction says another, and the rental rules follow the jurisdiction. Riverside County runs its own short-term rental program for its unincorporated areas, separate from any city. Before you assume a home follows Palm Springs rules or Indio rules, confirm who actually governs the parcel.

Official sources: Riverside County for unincorporated valley areas, and San Bernardino County for the high desert.

The bottom line

The rules in this region are not a reason to avoid a rental property. They are a reason to do your homework before you write an offer. The right move is to confirm three things on the specific address, the jurisdiction, the permit and whether it transfers, and the HOA's position, before the income assumptions in a pro forma mean anything.

If you are weighing a particular home or community, tell me the address. I will find out exactly what it is allowed to do, today, before you commit. That is a faster and more reliable answer than any listing description.