Noblesville does not restrict short-term rentals to an owner's primary residence. Indiana Code 36-1-24-8 makes a short-term rental of a primary residence a permitted residential use that 'may not be disallowed by any zoning ordinance,' and Indiana Code 36-1-24-9 lets a local unit require a special exception, special use, or zoning variance for a non-primary-residence STR but bars any rule that prohibits or unreasonably restricts them. Noblesville has not activated a non-primary-residence STR special-exception process.
Indiana Code 36-1-24-8 sits at the heart of the state's STR framework: 'A short term rental of owner occupied short term rental property is a permitted residential use under any applicable zoning ordinance and may not be disallowed by any zoning ordinance in a zoning district or classification that permits residential use.' For non-owner-occupied properties, Indiana Code 36-1-24-9 allows the local unit to 'require a special exception, special use, or zoning variance for the short term rental property,' but it also commands that the local unit 'may not interpret and enforce the unit's zoning regulations for a special exception, special use, or zoning variance in a manner that is intended or has the effect of prohibiting or unreasonably restricting short term rentals.' Noblesville's Unified Development Ordinance, as of the current 2025 supplement, does not require any STR to be the owner's primary residence and does not maintain a non-primary-residence STR special-exception process. The closest analog is UDO Section 159.125, which requires Bed and Breakfast Establishments to be owner-occupied single-family homes; that rule applies only when the operation is a B&B as defined in the code (up to eight guest rooms, BZA approval, health inspection), not when the operation is a typical short-term rental. Investor-owned, second-home, and corporate-owned STRs are therefore lawful in Noblesville on the same footing as primary-residence STRs.
Because Noblesville has no primary-residence-only rule, there is no primary-residence violation to enforce at the municipal level. A future Noblesville ordinance under IC 36-1-24-9 could require a special-exception or variance for non-owner-occupied STRs, but only subject to the constraint in Section 36-1-24-4 that the rule may not have the express or practical effect of prohibiting STRs. Operating a B&B-scale operation at a non-owner-occupied home is a violation of UDO Section 159.125's owner-occupancy condition, enforceable through the Department of Planning and Development.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Noblesville, IN
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Noblesville, IN
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