1. Why we are looking at Indian Rocks
Indian Rocks is a planned community in Salem Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, governed by Indian Rocks Property Owners Association, Inc. of Ledgedale. Like most Poconos lake and resort communities, it has a property owners’ association that collects assessments and adopts rules—and, in many communities, rules about renting. Those rules are only as strong as the authority behind them in the recorded governing documents.
Short-term rental policy: The association’s published 2023 fee schedule requires a landlord to submit a short-term rental application and pay an annual application fee and a license fee. (Source: Fines and Fees 2023.)
2. Does Indian Rocks charge short-term rental fees?
Indian Rocks charges owners who rent short-term a $1,000.00 per year non-refundable application fee and a $100 license fee, plus $25.00 per short-term rental application, according to the association’s published 2023 Fines and Fees schedule. Current amounts may differ.
| Charge | Amount (as stated by source) | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Short-term rental non-refundable application fee | $1,000.00 per year | Short-term rentals |
| Short-term rental license fee | $100 | Short-term rentals |
| Fee per short-term rental application submitted | $25.00 per application | Short-term rentals |
| Long-term rental nonrefundable rental application fee | $500.00 per renter | Long-term rentals |
Source: Fines and Fees 2023 (Indian Rocks Property Owners Association).
Fee information last checked October 1, 2026. Fee schedules change; tell us if yours is different.
Whether that charge is legally enforceable depends in part on the recorded governing documents. If you pay it because you rent, we will review the declaration and the charge for free.
Indian Rocks Governing Documents
- Fee Schedule Fines and Fees 2023 Source: Association website. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
Documents are listed for reference. We have not published an analysis of these provisions; the source documents control.
Have the Indian Rocks Declaration or Covenants?
Send us the HOA name and tell us about the fee. We are happy to review the governing documents and evaluate the STR charge FOR FREE.
Don’t have them? Submit the HOA name anyway. Declarations are usually recorded with the county recorder of deeds, and the association’s resale packet or member portal often includes them.
3. Why the recorded declaration matters
A planned community declaration is treated as a contract between the association and its members. Rules and bylaws adopted later do not override it: under Pennsylvania’s Uniform Planned Community Act, if the declaration and the bylaws conflict, the declaration prevails (68 Pa.C.S. § 5203(c)).
In Chan, the Commonwealth Court held that a bylaw amendment regulating short-term rentals—including enrollment and annual fees—was void and unenforceable because “authorization for such regulation is not provided in the Declaration.” Whether the same is true at Indian Rocks depends on what Indian Rocks’s own declaration and amendments say. Some declarations do give associations authority over rentals; courts look at the specific language.
4. Short-term rentals and residential use
Associations sometimes argue that renting is a “commercial” use. In Ruffed Grouse Ridge, the Commonwealth Court held that renting a home to private parties—short-term or long-term—did not violate a covenant limiting use to “private residential purposes only,” so long as the renters used it for residential purposes. The court focused on how renters actually use the home, not on how long they stay. The result for any community still turns on its own covenant language.
5. What types of charges should Indian Rocks owners send us?
- Annual STR permit fees — A yearly charge to be allowed to rent short-term.
- Annual rental assessments — An extra assessment billed only to owners who rent.
- Per-rental or per-stay charges — A charge every time a guest checks in.
- Renter-registration fees — Fees to register a tenant or rental with the association.
- Guest-registration charges — Charges tied to registering renters as guests.
- Mandatory STR amenity charges — Amenity, beach, or facility fees imposed because the home is rented.
- Rental inspection fees — Inspections required only of rented homes.
- Special security charges — Security fees billed to renting owners.
- Rental-processing fees — Administrative or “processing” charges for rentals.
- Badges, wristbands, or passes — Passes required only because a property is rented.
- Other rental-triggered fees — Anything you are charged because you rent short-term.
Listing a charge here is not a claim that Indian Rocks imposes it, or that it is unlawful. The declaration controls the analysis.
Sources for this page
- Fines and Fees 2023 — Indian Rocks Property Owners Association, January 1, 2023 (retrieved October 1, 2026). Association source.
- Short-term Rental Friendly Pocono Communities — PoconoVacationHomeSales (retrieved October 1, 2026). Secondary source.