Morgan County, IN Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

The ordinance defines a RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNIT as any dwelling unit, rooming house or rooming unit, and § 150.16 applies it to all rental dwellings in the county and to rentals inside incorporated cities and towns unless that city or town has its own sanitary-conditions ordinance. No rental dwelling may be inhabited unless it meets the standards in § 150.17: operational heating capable of holding habitable rooms and bathrooms at 68°F, a kitchen with a sink, refrigerator under 45°F and cooking appliance, a working flush toilet, a lavatory sink and a bathtub or shower, each properly connected to water under pressure heated to no more than 120°F.

Under § 150.18(A), the Health Department gives the owner mailed notice at the address on file with the County Auditor before requesting entry to inspect, measure, sample or test; if the owner or occupant refuses entry, the department seeks a warrant from a judicial officer or magistrate, issued only on a finding of probable cause that a violation occurred. The Health Officer may bypass notice and enter directly where there is imminent danger to public health under I.C. 16-20-1. Complaints must be in writing, verified, and must state the dwelling's address, the owner's contact information, the complainant's relationship to the property, and the nature and date of the alleged violation.

A notice of violation under § 150.18(B) must explain the deficiency, give a reasonable deadline to fix it, and be both mailed to the owner and posted on the building; timely remedial action avoids a violation finding.