Residential Rental and Lodging Establishment Inspection Program

Page last updated on May 21, 2025 at 12:54 pm

All rental properties (with the exception of Indiana University) located within the City of Bloomington corporate limits must be registered with and inspected by the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND). Upon satisfactory completion of the inspection process, as outlined below, a property will be issued a residential rental occupancy permit. Maintaining an unregistered rental carries a penalty fine of up to One Hundred Dollars ($100) per day.

Rental regulations are governed by the Residential Rental and Lodging Establishment Inspection Program, Title 16 of the Bloomington Municipal Code (BMC). The director of HAND has the authority given in BMC 16.01.080(b) to “adopt and promulgate rules and procedures; to interpret and implement the provision of [Title 16]; and to secure the intent thereof.”

Click here to see a list of HAND director Title 16 interpretations.

How to Obtain a Rental Occupancy Permit

Register your Property & Schedule an Inspection

Complete a Rental Property Registration Form and email it to HAND@bloomington.in.gov.

Within 48 hours of receipt of your registration form, a HAND staff member will call you to schedule an inspection of your property.

Inspection Process

The property owner, manager, maintenance person, tenant, or another authorized individual must be present to accompany the HAND inspector during the rental inspection. If no authorized individual is present to accompany the inspector, a fee will be assessed, and the inspection must be rescheduled.

An interior and exterior inspection will be conducted. Refer to the Pre-Inspection Addendum for detailed guidance regarding the items that will be checked for code compliance when a rental inspection is performed. A pre-inspection by the owner, manager, or maintenance personnel using this as a checklist may identify and help you to eliminate potential violations prior to your City inspection. If no violations are found at the initial inspection, the permit fee will be discounted by 25%. If the required documentation is not provided to the HAND inspector during the inspection, the owner/manager will have until 5:00 pm on the day of the inspection to provide HAND with the required documentation in order to receive the 25% fee reduction.
Shortly after the inspection is completed (2-3 weeks) you will receive a report that lists the necessary repairs.
You will have 60 days to complete all repairs, with the exception of select exterior repairs, which must be completed within one year.
If you wish to appeal any of the inspector's findings listed in the inspection report, you may file an appeal with the Board of Housing Quality Appeals (BHQA).

Schedule a Reinspection (if necessary)

After making the necessary repairs as itemized on your inspection report, and within 60 days of the date indicated on your inspection report, please call the HAND office to schedule a reinspection. Again, you or an authorized individual must accompany the inspector during the reinspection.

Referring to the inspection report, the inspector will look at the repairs to the structure and determine if they meet code standards.
If any items on the inspection report are found to be in out of compliance during the reinspection, the property must undergo additional reinspections until compliance is obtained.
One reinspection is included in the inspection fee, however any additional reinspections will each incur a $77 fee.

Billing

If, during the reinspection, all items are found to be in compliance, you will soon receive your bill for the permit fee. See the fees schedule for more information.

After payment is received, a residential rental occupancy permit for 3, 4, or 5 years will be issued. See the fees schedule for a detailed explanation of the criteria associated with the various permit lengths.

Required Documentation

These three documents must be provided to the HAND office or reviewed with the inspector within 60 days of the date of the inspection or a $25.00 fine will be levied per missing document. Please refer to the Pre-Inspection Addendum for details.