Lawmakers try to stop Fishers, Carmel rental caps ahead of city council votes, in 11th-hour move

Indianapolis Star

21-04-2025

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Carmel and Fishers' controversial plans to regulate the number of rental properties in their communities could be squashed by the Indiana legislature.
In an 11th hour move, language to prevent local governments from putting caps on rentals was added on Monday morning to House Bill 1389, a bill limiting local governments ability to restrict vehicle and outdoor equipment sales.
The language that would impact the Hamilton County cities wasn't discussed in committee prior to Monday's conference committee on HB 1389, during what's supposed to be the final week of the legislative session. The Fishers ordinance could be voted on at a city council meeting Monday night.
'It really fits in 1389 because we're talking about local regulations,' said Rep. Jim Pressel, who authored the legislation. '(It's) what units of government should be able to regulate and what they shouldn't frankly."
Fishers officials have said its first-of-its-kind proposal is an effort to curb large corporate investors from buying swaths of single-family homes and converting them to rentals.
Some homeowners and renters in Fishers have been joined by real estate interests in pushing back against the ordinance, which would place a 10% cap on the number of rentals allowed in a subdivision.
In Carmel, the discussion is just getting under way.
Carmel's ordinance would limit rental units to 10% of all homes within any subdivision or the City of Carmel as whole. That ordinance will be introduced at Carmel's city council meeting Monday night.
Both city's ordinances would establish rental property registries.
Brian Burdick, an attorney with Barnes & Thornburg, spoke on Fishers' behalf during Monday's conference committee.
'(Fishers) has had an incredible problem over the last five or six years where a number of significant hedge funds have moved in and have purchased up nearly half of the homes in neighborhoods to turn into rental properties,' Burdick said.
Fishers' ordinance is about preventing a barrier to first-time home buyers, who are getting outbid for homes by hedge funds, he added.
'There's a lot of constitutionality issues around the issue,' Burdick said. 'Our firm has drafted the ordinance with constitutional lawyers to get around this very issue and to balance property rights.'
Amy Krieg, the government affairs director with Accelerate Indiana Municipalities, also spoke against the legislative add on.
'We aren't supportive of this language at this time, and it is important communities retain the tools to create cohesive and livable neighborhoods,' said Krieg, whose organization advocates for hundreds of Indiana municipalities.
On the other hand, representatives of several interest groups spoke in favor of the legislative provisions that would stop Fishers' and Carmel's ordinance before they even took effect.
'As an organization, we have a longstanding position of supporting private property rights and we also are an inherently free market organization,' said Maggie McShane, representing the Indiana Association of Realtors.
Families with young children and young people trying to save to buy a home would be impacted by the rental restriction ordinances, McShane said.
Representatives from the Indiana Apartment Association and the Indiana Builders Association both spoke in support of adding language to House Bill 1389 that would squash Fishers' and Carmel's ordinances.
"We from our standpoint believe this is bad housing policy,' said Brian Spaulding, president of the Indiana Apartment Association, of the Fishers ordinance. 'It's going to result in increases in the cost of rent overall when you're capping that supply.'
A Fishers spokesperson said Mayor Scott Fadness was unavailable for immediate comment but was talking with legislators to sort out the implications of the General Assembly's action.
Lawmakers from both chambers still need to sign off on the proposed final language in HB 1389, so the bill could still change before it crosses the finish line.