Roommate Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Indiana law says, what's specific to Indianapolis - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- The Indiana Code sections we read set no deadline for telling a landlord that a new roommate has moved in. The roommate paragraph in the lease is the document that sets any notice period.
- Ind. Code § 32-31-7-5 lists six tenant duties, and none is a duty to report an added occupant. § 32-31-3-10 defines a tenant as someone who occupies a rental unit "with the landlord's consent" and for consideration both parties agreed.
- § 32-31-8-7 lets a landlord refuse to rent on a reasonable occupancy standard, presumed reasonable if it permits two individuals per bedroom. That is a standard a landlord may screen by, not a notice clock for the tenant.
- Indianapolis zoning, in Revised Code § 740-202, defines a family to include not more than four unrelated people living as a single housekeeping unit. That definition comes from a separate code and answers a separate question.
- The Marion County health code measures floor space. § 10-801 sets 150 square feet for the first occupant and 100 more for each additional one, and 70 and 50 in a room used for sleeping.
Understanding the Roommate Clause
Before a partner or friend moves into an Indianapolis rental, three questions come up: whether the lease allows it, what approval it asks for, and how fast the landlord must be told. On timing, the Indiana Code sections we read set no deadline, which leaves the roommate paragraph in your lease as the document that answers it.
Indiana does tie tenancy to consent. Ind. Code § 32-31-3-10 defines a tenant as someone who occupies a rental unit "with the landlord's consent" and for consideration both parties agreed.
Three occupancy figures then appear, from three different sources. A state screening presumption, a city zoning definition and a county floor-space rule each answer their own question, and none of them is a notice period.
The state text behind this page was read in archived copies of the General Assembly's 2026 code. Read the current text of § 32-31-8-7 on iga.in.gov before you rely on it.
What renters assume
That Indiana gives an Indianapolis renter a grace period, a set number of days after someone moves in, before the landlord has to hear about it.
What is actually true
The Indiana Code sections we read attach no day count to adding an occupant, and none of the six tenant duties in § 32-31-7-5 is a duty to report one. The roommate paragraph in your lease is the document that sets any notice period.
The bars in the comparison on this page measure the deadline for telling a landlord about a new roommate. Two of the 24 rows carry a figure: New York City at 30 days and Seattle at 30 days under a Seattle rule. The other 22 rows carry none.
Twelve of those read no statute: Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Atlanta, Nashville, Philadelphia, Portland, Boston and Las Vegas. Charlotte, Minneapolis and Milwaukee read no set deadline.
Baltimore and Indianapolis read no set deadline; zoning family limit, and Kansas City no set deadline; zoning household limit. Detroit reads no statute; zoning family limit, Washington, DC lease controls consent, Columbus no statute; lease controls, and Newark no statute; city occupancy caps.
Indianapolis's label names a limit, not a clock. The family definition in § 740-202 describes who makes up one household, and the 30 days in Ind. Code § 32-31-5-4 is a landlord's written notice before modifying the rental agreement.
Plain English Version
Several separate rules sit under a roommate clause in Indianapolis. Whether someone may move in, and how fast you must say so, comes from your lease; the Indiana sections we read set no deadline for it.
Indiana lets a landlord turn down a rental on a reasonable occupancy standard, and presumes a standard reasonable if it allows two people per bedroom. The city's zoning code counts up to four unrelated people living together as a family, and the county health code sets floor space for each occupant.
Roommate Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Indianapolis, IN
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
REIMBURSEMENT. You must promptly reimburse us for loss, damage, or cost of repairs or service caused anywhere in the apartment community by your or any guest's or occupant's improper use or negligence. […]
Quoted from the published opinion in Churchill Forge, Inc. v. Brown, 61 S.W.3d 368 (Tex. 2001). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“You must promptly reimburse us”
You is whoever signed, and Indiana defines a tenant through the landlord's agreement. § 32-31-3-10 makes a tenant an individual who occupies a rental unit “with the landlord's consent” and “for consideration that is agreed upon by both parties.” A roommate the landlord never agreed to is not who that definition describes, and this sentence puts the household's bills on the people it does describe.
“damage, or cost”
Damage is where this sentence meets Indiana's tenant duty list. § 32-31-7-5 requires the tenant not to damage the premises, to use the systems and appliances in a reasonable manner, and to comply with reasonable rules in existence when the agreement is entered into. Those are the tenant's duties, and the list our record quotes carries no duty to report a new occupant.
“by your or any guest's”
A guest is someone the lease tolerates. Indiana's occupancy figure is about whom a landlord agrees to house at all: § 32-31-8-7 lets a landlord refuse to rent “on the basis of a reasonable occupancy standard”, and presumes a standard reasonable if “it permits two (2) individuals per bedroom”. Infants under one year are left out of that count.
“occupant's improper use”
Occupant has a fixed meaning in the Marion County health code. § 10-207 defines an occupant as “any individual over one year of age living, sleeping, cooking or eating in or having possession of a dwelling unit or a rooming unit.” § 10-801 then sets at least 150 square feet of floor space for the first occupant and 100 more for each additional one, with 70 and 50 in a room used for sleeping.
The co-signer's defence failed. JoAnn Brown signed an apartment lease as a cotenant with her adult son. He was alleged to have started a fire that damaged the complex, the landlord sued only her, and she argued she could not be charged for damage she had not caused. The Texas Supreme Court disagreed, reversed the summary judgment she had won and held this sentence enforceable against a cotenant who was not herself negligent. The route ran through two sections. Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052(b) gives a landlord no duty to repair damage caused by the tenant, an occupant or a guest, so § 92.006(e) had no repair duty to stop the parties contracting over; and the fair-notice doctrine did not apply, because the sentence does not shift the landlord's own negligence onto the tenant. The court added that neither statute, common law nor the Restatement bars “requiring a tenant to reimburse the landlord for damages negligently caused by the tenant or one occupying the premises with the tenant's consent.” A dissent would have held the sentence unenforceable outright because it was not underlined or conspicuous, as § 92.006(e)(4) requires. This is 2001 Texas law, decided on the Texas Property Code - state-specific, and not a national rule.
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Indiana Law on Roommate Clause
- The tenant duty list is where a notice duty would sit, and it is not there. Ind. Code § 32-31-7-5 lists six duties: complying with health and housing code obligations, keeping the areas the tenant uses reasonably clean, using the systems and appliances reasonably, not damaging the premises, keeping smoke detectors working, and to "Comply with all reasonable rules and regulations in existence at the time a rental agreement is entered into" and with amended rules "as provided in the rental agreement."
- Who counts as a tenant turns on the landlord's consent. Ind. Code § 32-31-3-10 defines a tenant as "an individual who occupies a rental unit: (1) for residential purposes; (2) with the landlord's consent; and (3) for consideration that is agreed upon by both parties." A rental unit under § 32-31-3-8 includes a home used by "two (2) or more individuals who maintain a common household." Separately, § 32-31-1-17 provides that "An occupant of land without special contract is liable for the rent to any person entitled to receive the rent."
- The occupancy figure in our record is a standard a landlord may screen by, not a notice clock for tenants. Ind. Code § 32-31-8-7 says the landlord-tenant statutes do not stop a landlord "from refusing to rent a rental unit on the basis of a reasonable occupancy standard", and presumes a standard reasonable if "it permits two (2) individuals per bedroom", does not count infants under one year, and adds sleepers for a den, library, finished basement or loft that could reasonably be used as a sleeping area. A landlord need not treat a kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom, hallway or closet as a sleeping area.
- The day count our record finds in Chapter 5 runs on the landlord. Ind. Code § 32-31-5-4 provides that "Unless otherwise provided by a written rental agreement between a landlord and tenant, a landlord shall give the tenant at least thirty (30) days written notice before modifying the rental agreement." The section names no deadline for a tenant who wants to add an occupant.
Sources include Ind. Code § 32-31-7-5; Ind. Code § 32-31-3-10; Ind. Code § 32-31-3-8; Ind. Code § 32-31-8-7; Ind. Code § 32-31-5-4; Ind. Code § 32-31-1-17; Ind. Code § 32-31-1-20; Ind. Code § 32-31-8-5; Indianapolis Rev. Code § 740-202; Marion County Public Health Dept. Code § 10-801; Marion County Public Health Dept. Code § 10-207 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Start with what the Indiana Code sections we read leave open. They set no deadline for telling a landlord that a new roommate has moved in, and the roommate paragraph in the lease is the document that sets any notice period.
The tenant duty list is where a reporting rule would sit, and the one we read has none. Ind. Code § 32-31-7-5 lists six duties: complying with health and housing code obligations, keeping the areas the tenant uses reasonably clean, using the systems and appliances reasonably, not damaging the premises, and keeping smoke detectors working.
The list also requires the tenant to "Comply with all reasonable rules and regulations in existence at the time a rental agreement is entered into", and with amended rules "as provided in the rental agreement." Read any house rules on guests or occupants with that sentence in mind.
Who counts as a tenant turns on consent. § 32-31-3-10 defines a tenant as "an individual who occupies a rental unit: (1) for residential purposes; (2) with the landlord's consent; and (3) for consideration that is agreed upon by both parties." Under § 32-31-3-8, a rental unit includes a home used by "two (2) or more individuals who maintain a common household."
A separate section speaks to occupants and rent. § 32-31-1-17 provides that "An occupant of land without special contract is liable for the rent to any person entitled to receive the rent." Our Indiana record quotes it without applying it to a particular roommate.
The occupancy figure in the state sections is a screening standard. § 32-31-8-7 says the landlord-tenant statutes do not stop a landlord "from refusing to rent a rental unit on the basis of a reasonable occupancy standard". A standard is presumed reasonable if "it permits two (2) individuals per bedroom", leaves out infants under one year, and adds sleepers for a den, library, finished basement or loft that could reasonably be used as a sleeping area.
A landlord need not treat a kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom, hallway or closet as a sleeping area. The figure is a standard a landlord may screen by, not a notice clock for the tenant.
The day count our record finds in Chapter 5 runs on the landlord. Under § 32-31-5-4, "Unless otherwise provided by a written rental agreement between a landlord and tenant, a landlord shall give the tenant at least thirty (30) days written notice before modifying the rental agreement." The section names no deadline for a tenant who wants to add an occupant.
The copies behind this page are archived ones, so read each section's current text on iga.in.gov.
Indiana Tenant Protections
Begin with the lease. The Indiana Code sections we read set no deadline for telling a landlord about a new roommate, which leaves the roommate paragraph in your lease as the document that sets any notice period.
Next is the tenant duty list. Ind. Code § 32-31-7-5 lists six duties, none of them a duty to report an added occupant, and one of them is to comply with reasonable rules in existence when the rental agreement is entered into. Then come the definitions.
Section 32-31-3-10 defines a tenant as an individual who occupies a rental unit for residential purposes, with the landlord's consent, and for consideration agreed upon by both parties. Section 32-31-1-17 makes an occupant of land without special contract liable for the rent to any person entitled to receive it.
The state occupancy figure is a screening standard. Section 32-31-8-7 lets a landlord refuse to rent on a reasonable occupancy standard, presumed reasonable if it permits two individuals per bedroom, not counting infants under one year.
Separately, Indianapolis Revised Code § 740-202 defines a family to include not more than four human beings not related by blood, marriage, adoption, foster care or guardianship, living as a single housekeeping unit. Separately again, Marion County Public Health Department Code § 10-801 requires at least 150 square feet of floor space for the first occupant and 100 more for each additional occupant.
In a room used for sleeping it requires 70 square feet for the first occupant and 50 more for each additional one.
Read the current text of each section before relying on it.
What's Specific to Indianapolis
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Indianapolis answers a different question from the state sections, about the household and the space it needs. Two local codes do that work, and each states its own figure.
The zoning code describes the household. Revised Code § 740-202 defines a family as people related by blood, marriage, adoption, foster care or guardianship "or, not more than four human beings not so related, occupying a dwelling unit and living as a single housekeeping unit".
The same section defines a dwelling unit as rooms intended for use by people "living together as a family and maintaining a common household".
That is a land-use definition, and its history line ends "G.O. 23, 2026, § 1". Our record quotes it as enacted and does not say what follows when more than four unrelated people share a unit.
The county health code measures space. Under the Marion County Public Health Department's Chapter 10, § 10-801 requires at least 150 square feet of floor space for the first occupant and 100 more for each additional occupant.
In a room used for sleeping it sets 70 square feet for the first occupant and 50 more for each additional one.
Who counts is set out in § 10-207. An occupant is "any individual over one year of age living, sleeping, cooking or eating in or having possession of a dwelling unit or a rooming unit." Chapter 10 was read as the PDF linked from the department's housing program page, and its latest amendment note is Gen.Ord. 5-2024, effective September 27, 2024.
Ind. Code § 32-31-8-5(2) requires an Indiana landlord to comply with all health and housing codes applicable to the rental premises. The zoning figure, the county floor-space figures and the state's two-per-bedroom presumption come from three sources and answer three questions. This page states each as written and does not combine them.
Indiana also limits what a unit may regulate. § 32-31-1-20(c) bars a unit from regulating "Leasing terms and conditions" and "The rights of the parties to a lease" unless the general assembly authorizes it. We describe § 740-202 and Chapter 10 as enacted and are not predicting how § 32-31-1-20 would apply to either.
On the notice question itself, our record of Revised Code Chapters 582, 851 and 852, of § 740-202 and of Chapter 10 finds no section setting a deadline for telling a landlord about a new occupant. Text searches of the Revised Code for "household", "unrelated" and "occupant" returned no such section.
The Revised Code was read on Municode, whose page says it is "Codified through Ordinance No. 42, 2026, passed June 1, 2026. (Supp. No. 47, Update 2)" and warns that it "may not reflect the most current legislation adopted by the Municipality".
Read § 740-202 as it stands on the day you need it.
The Indiana Code sections we read set no deadline for telling a landlord about a new roommate. A process written into the lease is the one both sides can point to.
Under Ind. Code § 32-31-3-10 a tenant occupies "with the landlord's consent" and for consideration both parties agreed. A name on the lease is the plainest record of that consent.
Revised Code § 740-202 defines a family to include not more than four unrelated people living as a single housekeeping unit. That is a zoning definition, quoted as enacted.
§ 10-801 sets 150 square feet for the first occupant and 100 for each additional one, and 70 and 50 in a room used for sleeping.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Ind. Code § 32-31-7-5; Ind. Code § 32-31-3-10; Ind. Code § 32-31-3-8; Ind. Code § 32-31-8-7; Ind. Code § 32-31-5-4; Ind. Code § 32-31-1-17; Ind. Code § 32-31-1-20; Ind. Code § 32-31-8-5; Indianapolis Rev. Code § 740-202; Marion County Public Health Dept. Code § 10-801; Marion County Public Health Dept. Code § 10-207, read on web.archive.org. The Indiana General Assembly's PDF of Indiana Code 32-31-7, read in a Wayback Machine copy captured September 29, 2026, is printed as Indiana Code 2026 and shows section 5 as added by P.L.92-2002 and amended by P.L.17-2008.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A state reporting deadline nobody can cite
If you are told Indiana law fixes a deadline for reporting a roommate, ask which section. The Indiana Code sections we read set no deadline for that notice.
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Two per bedroom presented as the whole rule
§ 32-31-8-7 presumes reasonable a landlord's standard that permits two individuals per bedroom, for deciding whether to rent. Infants under one year are not counted, and a den, library, finished basement or loft that could be slept in adds sleepers.
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A fifth unrelated adult moving in
§ 740-202 counts not more than four unrelated people living as a single housekeeping unit as a family. The definition belongs to the zoning code, not to the lease.
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A bedroom too small for another sleeper
§ 10-801 sets 70 square feet in a room used for sleeping for the first occupant and 50 more for each additional one. Measure before anyone moves in.
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A mid-lease rule change with no notice
Under § 32-31-5-4 a landlord gives at least 30 days written notice before modifying the rental agreement, unless a written rental agreement provides otherwise.
Your Rights as a Indianapolis Tenant
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Consent is part of being a tenant
Ind. Code § 32-31-3-10 defines a tenant as an individual who occupies a rental unit "with the landlord's consent" and "for consideration that is agreed upon by both parties."
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A shared home is still a rental unit
Under § 32-31-3-8 a rental unit includes a home used by "two (2) or more individuals who maintain a common household."
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Notice before the agreement changes
§ 32-31-5-4 requires at least 30 days written notice before a landlord modifies the rental agreement, unless a written rental agreement provides otherwise.
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Floor space is measured, not asserted
§ 10-801 sets 150 square feet for the first occupant and 100 for each additional one, and § 10-207 defines an occupant as an individual over one year of age.
What To Do - Step by Step
Find the roommate and guest terms
Look for who may live in the unit, whether approval is needed, and any notice period. The Indiana Code sections we read set no deadline, which leaves these terms as the text that answers it.
Read the house rules you signed with
§ 32-31-7-5 requires the tenant to comply with reasonable rules in existence when the rental agreement is entered into, and with amended rules as the agreement provides.
Count the household against the zoning definition
Revised Code § 740-202 counts not more than four unrelated people living as a single housekeeping unit as a family. Check where the new person falls first.
Measure the unit and each bedroom
§ 10-801 sets 150 square feet of floor space for the first occupant and 100 for each additional one, and 70 and 50 in a room used for sleeping.
Put the request in writing
Email the landlord with the person's full name and move-in date. Consent is part of the tenant definition in § 32-31-3-10, so keep the reply with your lease.
Check the current text before relying on it
Read § 32-31-7-5, § 32-31-3-10 and § 32-31-8-7 on iga.in.gov, and check § 740-202 and § 10-801 against the current city and county codes.