3 rules for unincorporated Elkhart County, Indiana.
Verified from official government sources
Rent control is illegal across Elkhart County. Indiana Code 32-31-1-20 forbids any unit — the county, Elkhart, Goshen, or any town — from regulating rental rates for privately owned property unless the General Assembly authorizes it. Landlords set and raise rent at market.
IC 32-31-1-20(b)
A unit (as defined in IC 36-1-2-23) may not regulate rental rates for privately owned real property, through a zoning ordinance or otherwise, unless the regulation is authorized by an act of the general assembly.
Indiana has no just-cause eviction law, and Elkhart County cannot create one. IC 32-31-1-20 bars local units from regulating the landlord-tenant relationship. A landlord ends a month-to-month tenancy with proper written notice, then must win a court judgment to remove a tenant.
IC 32-31-1-20(c)
A unit may not regulate, through an ordinance or otherwise, any of the following aspects of a landlord-tenant relationship with respect to privately owned real property located in the unit unless the regulation is authorized by an act of the general assembly
Unincorporated Elkhart County has no rental registration program, but its two cities do. Elkhart requires every rental to register and pass inspection under Chapter 161 (Ordinance 6040), and Goshen has registered and inspected rentals for over 25 years under Ordinance 4860.
IC 36-1-20-5(c)
A political subdivision may impose on an owner or landlord of a rental unit an annual registration fee of not more than five dollars ($5).
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