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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAn ordinance in Fishers that would cap the percentage of single-family rental houses in the community’s subdivisions and create a registry program for landlords could receive a vote Monday evening.
The Fishers City Council will host a public hearing to give people a chance to speak their minds about the ordinance, which would require landlords to register rental houses and receive a permit that would remain valid until the owner decided to sell the property. The plan calls for limiting the percentage of single-family rental units per subdivision to 10%.
Council members could either vote on the ordinance at Monday’s meeting or choose to continue discussing the rental program at their meeting on May 19. Monday’s meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Fishers Municipal Center at 1 Municipal Drive.
City leaders are concerned that single-family rentals account for at least 10% of the total houses in 50 subdivisions across the city. In some subdivisions, such as Brooks Chase and Brookston Place on the city’s east side, the percentage of single-family rentals reaches 30% to 40%.
They say almost half of the single-family rentals in Fishers are owned by out-of-state landlords and 25% are owned by institutional investors.
Houses that are registered as rentals before Dec. 31 would be grandfathered into the plan and would not be subject to the 10% cap until they are sold to a new owner, who would be required to register the home. An application would be denied if a subdivision has reached the 10% limit.
Landlords who do not register a rental house by Dec. 31 would be subject to a $250 fine. Operating a rental house without a permit would result in a $1,000 fine for the first violation and fines ranging from $5,000 and $7,500 for subsequent violations.
Exemptions would include people renting a house to family members or legal dependents, people renting out a house due to a job relocation, people who are on military deployments and people who are renting out a house because selling it would cause undue burden.
If passed, the ordinance would go into effect Jan. 1, 2026.
Debate over the rental ordinance has been passionate at times since the city introduced its plan in January.
Some homeowner associations and OneZone, the joint chamber of commerce in Carmel and Fishers, have expressed support for the rental cap and registry system. OneZone issued a statement last month that said the rental registration program “will provide important transparency and accountability for rental properties,” while the 10% cap “will help preserve homeownership opportunities, protect property values and support the overall quality of life in Fishers.”
Former Fishers City Councilor Jocelyn Vare hosted a town hall last month where representatives from the MIBOR Realtor Association and Hamilton County Area Neighborhood Development Inc. and other real estate professionals argued that reducing the number of single-family rentals would raise monthly costs for renters and provide fewer opportunities in Fishers for people who want to live in a house but are not in a position to purchase one.
On Monday, some Fishers residents received text messages from Hoosier Homeowners Alliance urging them to voice opposition to the rental registration and cap proposal, WXIN-Channel 59 reported. Hoosier Homeowners Alliance is associated with the Indiana Association of Realtors.
“The Fishers City Council is looking to control who you can sell your home to—meaning you may be required to accept a LOWER offer on your home because of government overreach,” the message said.
Mayor Scott Fadness released a statement the following day refuting the group’s claim.
“Yesterday, residents received intrusive and misleading messages from a national special interest group opposing our efforts to preserve the opportunity for families to own their homes and maintain our neighborhoods’ vibrancy,” he wrote. “I apologize for any confusion these messages have caused, and in response, we have put together additional information that addresses the opposition’s statements.”
The mayor referred residents to an information page here.
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