Rental Property Rules in Indiana (2026)
42 rules on the books across Indiana, 19 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Rent Control
Local limits on how much landlords can raise rent each year, including which properties are covered and exemptions for newer buildings.
Indiana: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsIndiana prohibits local rent control. Indiana Code 32-31-1-20 bars any unit of local government from regulating rental…
Read full rule →Elkhart County
Few RestrictionsIndiana law bars Elkhart County from capping or stabilizing rents on privately owned rental housing. IC 32-31-1-20(b)…
Read full rule →South Bend
Few RestrictionsSouth Bend has no rent control, and Indiana law forbids it. IC 32-31-1-20 bars any city, town, or county from…
Read full rule →St. Joseph County
Few RestrictionsRent control is illegal in St. Joseph County. Indiana Code 32-31-1-20 bars any unit, including South Bend, Mishawaka…
Read full rule →Just Cause Eviction
Protections requiring landlords to have a valid reason to evict tenants, such as nonpayment of rent, lease violations, or owner move-in.
Indiana: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsIndiana follows state landlord-tenant law under IC 32-31, which permits eviction on lease expiration or breach without…
Read full rule →South Bend
Some RestrictionsSouth Bend cannot require just cause to evict. Indiana bars cities from regulating the landlord-tenant relationship…
Read full rule →Elkhart County
Few RestrictionsIndiana has no just-cause eviction law, and Elkhart County cannot create one. IC 32-31-1-20 bars local units from…
Read full rule →St. Joseph County
Few RestrictionsIndiana has no just-cause eviction. In St. Joseph County a landlord may end a tenancy without giving a reason. For…
Read full rule →Rental Registration
Requirements for landlords to register rental properties with the city, including inspection programs, fees, and occupancy standards.
Indiana: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsIndiana Code 36-1-20 restricts the scope of local rental inspection and registration programs. Cities may operate…
Read full rule →South Bend
Heavy RestrictionsSouth Bend requires every non-owner-occupied rental to register annually by September 1 for a $5 fee, and to pass a…
Read full rule →Bloomington
Significant RestrictionsIn the City of Bloomington, no owner may let a residential rental unit to a tenant without first registering it with…
Read full rule →Columbus
Significant RestrictionsIn the City of Columbus, Indiana, every residential rental unit must be registered with the City, annually by the…
Read full rule →Evansville
Significant RestrictionsEvery residential rental building in Evansville must register annually with the Building Commission each spring, paying…
Read full rule →Fishers
Significant RestrictionsEvery Fishers home rental unit, a single-family home or townhome let for occupancy, must be registered with and…
Read full rule →Hammond
Significant RestrictionsIn the City of Hammond, Indiana, every landlord must register rental property with the Inspections Department by April…
Read full rule →Indianapolis
Significant RestrictionsOwners and landlords of rental units in Marion County must register with the Department of Business and Neighborhood…
Read full rule →Elkhart County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Elkhart County has no rental registration program, but its two cities do. Elkhart requires every rental…
Read full rule →Kokomo
Some RestrictionsKokomo requires every landlord to register rental units with the city's Rental Housing Officer before renting them out…
Read full rule →St. Joseph County
Some RestrictionsSouth Bend requires every non-occupant landlord to register rentals annually by September 1. Indiana Code 36-1-20-5…
Read full rule →Security Deposit Rules
Caps on how much landlords may collect as security deposits, return deadlines, itemized-deduction requirements, and tenant remedies for wrongfully withheld deposits.
Landlord Entry & Notice
How much advance notice a landlord must give before entering an occupied unit, the permitted reasons (repairs, showings, inspections), allowed hours, and the emergency exceptions under state law.
Repairs & Habitability
The implied warranty of habitability, how long a landlord has to fix essential services (heat, water, plumbing, mold), and tenant remedies such as repair-and-deduct, rent withholding, or breaking the lease.
Indiana: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsIC 32-31-8-5 requires an Indiana landlord to deliver the rental 'in a safe, clean, and habitable condition,' comply…
Read full rule →Bartholomew County
Some RestrictionsBartholomew County's Minimum Housing Standards, Chapter 152, require every rental dwelling unit in unincorporated…
Read full rule →Bloomington
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Bloomington, every residential rental unit must meet the exterior, interior and structural maintenance…
Read full rule →Boone County
Some RestrictionsChapter 155 of the Boone County Code, the Housing and Environmental Standards Ordinance, applies uniformly to every…
Read full rule →Columbus
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Columbus, Indiana, no one can occupy or rent a dwelling unit that fails § 15.24.090: windows equal to…
Read full rule →Evansville
Some RestrictionsEvansville registers rental dwellings cited as 'substandard' under the Property Maintenance Code, and every registered…
Read full rule →Fishers
Some RestrictionsFishers' Property Maintenance Code bars anyone from occupying or renting out a structure that fails its minimum upkeep…
Read full rule →Fort Wayne
Some RestrictionsFort Wayne's housing code requires landlords to supply heat maintaining at least 68°F in every habitable room…
Read full rule →Gary
Some RestrictionsGary's Housing Code requires every rental dwelling unit to have a working kitchen sink, a private bathroom with a flush…
Read full rule →Greenwood
Some RestrictionsThe City of Greenwood's Property Maintenance Code, City Code § 6-287, requires every owner to keep a rental structure…
Read full rule →Hammond
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Hammond, Indiana, every dwelling's heating system must hold at least 68°F, measured three feet above the…
Read full rule →Kokomo
Some RestrictionsKokomo's Rental Housing Code, Chapter 160 of the Code of Ordinances, sets minimum maintenance standards for every…
Read full rule →Lafayette
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Lafayette, Indiana, the 2024 International Property Maintenance Code, adopted at Section 13.03.010…
Read full rule →Morgan County
Some RestrictionsRental dwellings in unincorporated Morgan County, Indiana must meet minimum health and sanitary standards under the…
Read full rule →Muncie
Some RestrictionsThe City of Muncie's 2002 Housing Code sets baseline habitability rules for every rental dwelling. Units need a private…
Read full rule →South Bend
Some RestrictionsSouth Bend runs every rental unit through its Rental Safety Verification Program: the Department of Community…
Read full rule →Vanderburgh County
Some RestrictionsVanderburgh County sets minimum habitability standards for every occupied rental in its Property Maintenance Code…
Read full rule →Late Fees & Grace Periods
Whether late rent fees are capped, any required grace period before a fee can be charged, and limits on bounced-check (NSF) and other add-on charges under state law.
Lease Termination & Notice to Vacate
Notice required to end a month-to-month tenancy, the rules and penalties for breaking a fixed-term lease early, and early-termination protections for active-duty military, domestic-violence survivors, and medical hardships.
Eviction Notice & Process
The notice a landlord must give before filing to evict, pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit periods, no-cause termination notice, how long the court eviction process takes in this state, and the tenant's options to respond or cure.
Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession
When an occupant without a lease gains legal protections, the line between a trespasser and a squatter, how many years of continuous possession adverse possession requires in this state, and how an owner lawfully removes a squatter.