Accessory Structures in Indiana (2026)

In unincorporated Allen County, the Zoning Ordinance allows one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) per residential lot. An…

Anderson's Zoning Code does not create a standalone accessory-dwelling-unit permit. Accessory buildings are allowed in…

Carmel's UDO permits a guest house with cooking facilities as an accessory building only on lots of at least one acre…

Elkhart County allows an accessory dwelling unit only with a single-family home on one acre or more in the A-1…

Evansville allows one accessory dwelling unit per single-family or duplex lot, sized between 400 and 800 square feet…

Indianapolis-Marion County's Consolidated Zoning Ordinance permits one secondary dwelling unit (ADU) per single-family…

Unincorporated Lake County allows two ADU forms: a detached backyard cottage (special exception in A-1 and R) and an…

South Bend allows one accessory dwelling unit on every lot in every district. An ADU is capped at 75% of the main…

St. Joseph County zoning permits an accessory dwelling unit, capping a detached ADU at 1,200 square feet and requiring…

Tippecanoe County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot, but only in unincorporated rural zones, and only up to…

An accessory dwelling unit is allowed only on a lot with a single-family home or duplex as the principal use, under…

An accessory dwelling unit in unincorporated Tippecanoe County requires the property owner to actually live on site, in…

Vanderburgh County requires the property owner to live in either the principal home or the ADU itself under Section…

Evansville requires the owner of a lot with an accessory dwelling unit to live in either the principal home or the ADU…

Clark County allows accessory living quarters as Special Use #28, but only when clearly complementary to the main…

Vanderburgh County lets a lot with one accessory dwelling unit, but the property owner must live in either the…

Tippecanoe County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot in rural zones of the unincorporated area, but caps who…

In unincorporated Allen County, a detached accessory building such as a shed may not exceed 25 feet in height. On…

Anderson's Zoning Code treats a carport as an accessory structure. It must observe the same five-foot side and rear…

A carport in Carmel is an accessory structure under UDO Section 5.02: it must be detached from the house (except an…

In unincorporated Clark County, an accessory building or shed needs an improvement location permit before construction…

Evansville requires detached sheds and other residential accessory structures to sit at least two feet from any side or…

Indianapolis defines a shed (mini-barn) as a minor residential structure and requires it to sit at least 5 feet from…

On agricultural and residential lots in unincorporated Lake County, detached sheds, garages, and pole buildings must…

In LaPorte County's residential zoning districts, § 157.042(A) keeps accessory buildings, including sheds and detached…

Porter County caps how many sheds and other accessory structures a residential lot may hold, and how big they can be…

St. Joseph County's zoning ordinance sizes a residential storage shed by lot acreage, from a 19-foot, 960-square-foot…

Tippecanoe County exempts small storage buildings from its building-permit subchapter entirely: § 151.04 excuses any…

A shed or other accessory structure in unincorporated Vanderburgh County must stay subordinate in height and area to…

Fishers exempts small detached sheds from a building permit: portable multi-purpose accessory buildings of 200 square…

A storage shed in Elkhart County that is not on a permanent foundation and is 120 square feet or less skips the zoning…

The Allen County Zoning Ordinance has no separate garage-conversion permit. Converting a garage into living space or a…

Anderson defines a private garage as an accessory building housing up to three motor vehicles per family. Converting a…

Carmel caps a private garage plus accessory buildings at 75% of the principal building's ground-floor area. A detached…

Indianapolis does not have a standalone garage-conversion ordinance; converting a garage to a secondary dwelling unit…

Unincorporated Lake County has no rule banning garage conversions outright, but converting interior floor area into a…

Allen County's Zoning Ordinance has no separate tiny-home category. A dwelling must meet its district's minimum…

Anderson has no separate "tiny home" category. A dwelling must meet the district's minimum size and standards, and…

A tiny house on a permanent foundation is legal in Elkhart County if built to the Indiana Residential Code with a…

Unincorporated Lake County has no separate 'tiny home' ordinance. A tiny house used as a second dwelling fits the UDO's…