Noblesville, IN Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

The Noblesville Common Council's Unified Development Ordinance treats an ADU as an accessory use under § 159.121(D), permitted in all zoning districts subject to Planning and Development review. Beyond the design standards in subsections (a) through (e), which cover entrance placement, utility connection, and front-façade restrictions, subsection (f) narrows who may occupy the unit: it is initially intended for relatives or resident domestic employees, not a stand-alone rental for the open market. Subsection (g) caps density at one ADU per lot or parcel, so an owner cannot add a second accessory unit to increase rental capacity.

Because the ADU must share utility metering with the principal building under division (b), a property owner cannot bill an unrelated tenant separately for utilities, a further practical constraint on treating the ADU as an independent rental. The Department of Planning and Development administers accessory-use approvals citywide, and enforcement of the relatives-or-domestic-employees limitation runs through the same code-enforcement process used for other accessory-structure violations in Chapter 159. A homeowner planning to advertise a garage apartment or basement suite as a long-term rental should confirm with Planning and Development first, since the ordinance ties the unit's stated purpose to family or household-employee occupancy rather than an unrestricted rental market, and a permit issued for one purpose can be revisited if the actual use diverges from it.