Bloomington, IN Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

The Unified Development Ordinance treats an ADU as a housing option for the City's workforce, seniors, and families with changing needs, but it ties that flexibility to a hard owner-occupancy condition. 030(g)(5)(G)i, an ADU is only allowed on a lot where either the primary dwelling unit or the ADU itself is occupied by the property's owner; a landlord who owns the lot but lives elsewhere cannot rent out both units. To document compliance, subsection (G)ii requires the owner to sign an affidavit stating which unit, primary or ADU, they occupy, file an updated affidavit any time they switch which unit they live in, and otherwise refile that affidavit every year with the Planning and Transportation Department.

The paperwork does not stop at the affidavit: subsection (H)i requires the petitioner, before a building permit for the ADU is even issued, to record a deed or title restriction with the Monroe County Recorder stating that the ADU can never be sold separately from the primary unit and that either the primary dwelling or the ADU must be occupied by the property's owner of record as a primary residence. That restriction runs with the land, so it binds future buyers, not just the person who built the ADU.

Subsection (H)ii gives the City teeth to enforce it: if the City ever determines the property violates the UDO or the recorded deed restriction, the ADU approval itself is withdrawn, and the City can require removal of the second kitchen, including its appliances and cabinets, under the broader accessory dwelling unit standards. Rental use of either unit separately triggers registration with the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development under a related subsection of the same ADU standards.