Elkhart County, IN Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

Rental registration in Indiana is a city tool, and Elkhart County runs none for its unincorporated area: no county registry, permit, or mandatory inspection outside city limits. The cities differ sharply. The City of Elkhart requires every rental unit to register with the Building & Code Department and obtain an inspection certificate under Chapter 161 of its code (Ordinance 6040). Goshen, one of the few Indiana cities that both registers and inspects, cycles through every rental at least once every three years under Ordinance 4860, charging about $15 per unit each year. Indiana now caps rental registration fees at $5 per unit (IC 36-1-20-5), though programs established before July 1, 1984 are exempt from that limit.