Tippecanoe County – Lafayette

Submit the Transient Rental Registration Permit application to the City Engineer’s Office.

 

$100 application fee.

 

Lafayette sets no renewal or expiration date for the permit. The state one year permit rule does not apply here because Lafayette adopted its rules before 2018.

 

Lafayette has three types. A transient guest house is a whole home with no owner on site. It is allowed by right in R3, R4, MRU, CB, and CBW zones. It needs a special exception from the Area Board of Zoning Appeals in R2 and rural zones. It is not allowed in R1, R1A, R1B, and R1U zones since July 1, 2024. A transient guest rental is an owner occupied home rented while the owner is away. It is allowed by right in any zone that allows single family homes by right. A transient guest room has the owner present and counts as a home occupation. A guest house is not allowed in an ADU or its main house.

 

No citywide guest limit. Special exceptions from the zoning board have set guest limits as conditions, such as eight people.

 

A guest rental can be rented up to 60 days per calendar year. A guest room is limited to two rooms, a duplex unit, or two apartment units. No citywide cap on permits.

 

No short term rental inspection.

 

The outside of the home cannot be changed to look less like a home. Guest rentals and guest houses cannot have outdoor signs. Guest rooms need one extra off street parking space. Special exceptions can add quiet hours and gathering limits.

 

The application asks for the owner and operator name, phone, address, and email. No 24 hour contact rule.

 

The owner must get a permit before renting. Zoning violations cost $50 to $1,500 each, and each day counts as a new violation. Violators also pay attorney fees and court costs.

 

Lafayette adopted its short term rental permit in 2017, before Indiana’s short term rental law took effect on July 1, 2018. Indiana law exempts towns whose rules came before January 1, 2018.

 

July 1, 2024