Indiana HEA 1210 (2025) — Strengthened STR Preemption / No Numeric Rental Caps (IN)

Tracked preemption from the Indiana overlay bundle.

Overview

Effective
2026-07-01
Sunset
Authority
state
Scope
state:IN
Primary-source summary
**Last reviewed**: April 2026 **Activity level**: **Moderate** — Indiana applies broad Home Rule to municipalities and counties (IC 36-1-3), but the General Assembly retains plenary authority and has layered several narrow preemptions onto the IC 36-7-4 "600 Series" zoning enabling act. Active preemptions cover short-term rentals (IC 36-1-24, strengthened by HEA 1210 of 2025), manufactured housing (IC 36-7-4-1106 and IC 36-7-2-12), and rental-rate / inclusionary-zoning controls (IC 32-31-1-20). Recent sessions have favored **incentive-based** housing policy (HEA 1005 of 2023 and HEA 1005 of…

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

always true

Preempted fields

2 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
zoning_ordinance.str_numeric_capwaiveProhibits municipalities from capping the number of residential rental properties (numeric quotas) by ordinance.
zoning_ordinance.str_grandfather_bed_and_breakfastoverridenarrowedRetroactively redefined 'bed and breakfast' in the 2018 HEA 1035 grandfather clause, undermining Carmel's claim to grandfather status.

Citation

Authority source
Indiana HEA 1210 (2025 session, signed 2026-03-12 per contemporaneous coverage; amending Ind. Code § 36-1-24)
§ Amending IC 36-1-24
https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2025/bills/house/1210

Research notes

Effective July 1, 2026 generally; Carmel and Fishers have until January 2028 to comply. Voids Carmel's restrictive STR ordinance and similar caps. Note: preemptions.md prose dates signing to March 2025, but the structured preemptions.json and contemporaneous news (Current in Carmel 2026-03-25, Daily Journal 2026-03-13) place the signing at March 12, 2026 — overlay carries the corrected 2026-03-12 signing context and the July-1-2026 effective date.