Short-term rental permit rules in St. Joseph County, IN — also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration — list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Indiana Code 36-1-24 bars St. Joseph County and its cities from banning short-term rentals in residential zones; South Bend requires annual rental registration by September 1 and an occupancy inspection.
Indiana preempts local STR bans. IC 36-1-24-8 makes an owner-occupied short-term rental a permitted residential use that zoning may not disallow, and IC 36-1-24-9 bars enforcing zoning to prohibit or unreasonably restrict non-owner-occupied rentals, though a unit may require a special exception. St. Joseph County therefore cannot ban STRs on residentially zoned unincorporated land. South Bend requires every non-owner-occupied rental, including STRs, to register annually with DCI-Neighborhoods before September 1 and pass an occupancy inspection under the property maintenance code; the city caps investors at four STR properties. Mishawaka and the county add their own registration.
Operating an unregistered South Bend rental brings a $300 civil penalty per unit, plus $100 for an incomplete filing. Zoning denials of STR use are appealable under IC 36-7-4.
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