ADU Pass
Fort Wayne
Allen County portion
Also in: No County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 16 ZIP codes.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: unclear
Indiana leaves ADU regulation to local municipalities under home-rule or Dillon-rule authority. Fort Wayne permits ADUs subject to local conditions per its zoning ordinance.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 150 | $1,600 | $36,000 | $37,600 |
| 600 | 600 | $1,600 | $144,000 | $145,600 |
| midpoint | 525 | $1,600 | $126,000 | $127,600 |
| maximum | 900 | $1,600 | $216,000 | $217,600 |
Fee breakdown
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes Long-term rental of ADU generally permitted; landlord-tenant law and any city rental-registration ordinance apply.
- Short-term rental: with-restrictions STR rules vary by city. Fort Wayne regulates STRs separately from ADU permitting; check local STR ordinance and HOA covenants.
- Office rental: with-restrictions Detached office rental requires home occupation permit or rezoning.
- Home office: yes Home occupation permitted with restrictions on signage and customer traffic.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal artist studio is a permitted accessory use.
- Agriculture: with-restrictions Limited urban agriculture permitted in residential zones; livestock varies by district.
- Relative support: yes Family-occupancy ADU explicitly permitted in single-family zones.
Utilities
- Water: Fort Wayne Water Utility · 30d connect · $4,500
- Sewer: Fort Wayne Sewer / Wastewater · 30d connect · $5,500
- Electric: Fort Wayne Electric Utility · 21d connect · $1,800
- Gas: Fort Wayne Gas Utility · 30d connect · $1,500
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 7mo · typical 10mo · worst 16mo
Financing
State ADU loans:
Insurance impact
HOA prevalence & preemption
Indiana has no HOA-ADU preemption; HOA covenants restricting ADUs are enforceable.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: City of Fort Wayne Municipal Code — Accessory Dwelling Units, adopted 2020-01-01, last amended 2024-04-01
- 2024-01-01 — City of Fort Wayne ADU code refresh (city-ordinance)
Conforming local-code amendments aligning with current Indiana accessory-dwelling framework.
Effect: Codified permissive ADU standards consistent with state law and local zoning.
Allen County — county ADU rules and overlays
County ADU ordinance
Allen County sits in Indiana, which has not enacted a statewide ADU preemption or by-right ADU statute. Authority over ADU zoning, setbacks, parking, size limits, owner-occupancy, and permitting therefore rests with the local jurisdiction. The county adopts its own zoning ordinance for unincorporated territory, and each incorporated municipality inside the county adopts its own.
State-floor overlay: No Indiana statewide ADU preemption is in force as of 2026-04-27. The county and its incorporated municipalities retain full authority over ADU zoning and permitting.
County regulatory overlays
Allen County administers flood-hazard, and (where mapped) coastal, wildland-fire, historic, and airport overlays that shape ADU project feasibility. The most consistent overlay across the county is FEMA NFIP floodplain regulation; other overlays apply to specific geographies inside the county.
- FEMA NFIP Special Flood Hazard Areas in Allen County — A new ADU in a mapped SFHA must be elevated to or above the Base Flood Elevation; cost impact on the project is often material.
- Historic districts and individually-listed historic resources
County permitting (unincorporated parcels)
Allen County issues building permits for parcels in unincorporated territory through its development services / planning department, with separate review tracks for zoning conformance, building-code compliance, on-site sewage where applicable, floodplain compliance, and addressing. Inside incorporated municipalities, city departments handle their own permits; the county's authority is geographically limited to unincorporated territory. An ADU permit application is typically processed as a residential building permit with a zoning verification step against the county's ordinance for the parcel's zoning district.
Indiana state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
Indiana enacted statewide ADU-permissive housing legislation in the 2026 session. House Enrolled Act 1001 (HEA 1001), authored by Rep. Doug Miller (R-Elkhart), was signed by Governor Mike Braun on 2026-04-14. The bill makes ADUs and commercial-to-residential conversions permitted uses by right unless a city, town, or county affirmatively opts out by 2026-12-31 via local ordinance. The bill also caps building permit fee increases (180-day delay before new permit-fee ordinances take effect), restricts certain residential design and aesthetic regulations, and requires every Indiana local government to hold a public housing-supply hearing in 2026 and report annually to the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. Earlier related bills (HB 1005 in 2025) addressed parts of the housing framework but did not preempt local ADU rules; HEA 1001 is the first true statewide ADU floor.
State financing programs
Indiana does not operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) administers general homeownership, down-payment-assistance, and affordable-housing-development programs that can apply to properties with ADUs when eligibility criteria are met, but none target ADU construction directly. HEA 1001 (2026) gave IHCDA a new oversight role — receiving annual housing-progress reports from every local government — but did not create new ADU financing.
State housing programs
Indiana's primary state-level ADU program is the new HEA 1001 (2026) framework: ADU-by-right permitting unless opted out, capped permit-fee escalation, restricted design regulation, and required local public hearings and annual progress reporting to IHCDA. There is no statewide pre-approved ADU plan catalog, no statewide ADU impact-fee waiver, and no statewide ADU rebate program. Earlier discussion in HB 1005 (2025) of broader housing-process reforms set the policy stage for HEA 1001.
- HEA 1001 ADU-by-right framework — ADUs are permitted uses statewide unless a city, town, or county opts out by ordinance before 2026-12-31. Localities that opt in (the default) must process ADU applications ministerially within their ordinary permit framework.
- HEA 1001 building-permit-fee cap — Local building-permit-fee increases must be published 180 days before they take effect. Limits on the size and frequency of increases apply after 2026-12-31.
- HEA 1001 local housing-supply hearing and reporting requirement — Every Indiana city, town, and county must hold a public hearing on housing supply in 2026 and submit annual progress reports to IHCDA on housing approvals, denials, and timelines.
Federal (United States) — ADU-relevant rules and programs
Federal ADU law
The United States has no federal statute that directly regulates accessory dwelling unit entitlement or design. Land-use authority over ADUs resides with states and local governments under the traditional police power. Federal engagement is limited to financing (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA/USDA), flood insurance (FEMA/NFIP), and discretionary housing programs (HUD), which are recorded in sibling sections of this file.
Federal financing programs
Federal housing-finance agencies and GSEs set nationwide underwriting rules that govern whether an ADU can be financed, appraised, and counted toward mortgage qualifying income. The relevant actors are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (HUD), VA, and USDA Rural Development.
Federal tax credits
There is no ADU-specific federal tax credit. ADUs may incidentally qualify for existing federal energy-efficiency and clean-energy tax credits when the ADU construction includes qualifying measures.
Federal housing programs
HUD administers several discretionary programs that can fund ADU-related activity at the grantee's election, but none is an ADU-specific program.
ZIP Codes
- 46802
- 46803
- 46804
- 46805
- 46806
- 46807
- 46808
- 46809
- 46814
- 46815
- 46816
- 46818
- 46819
- 46825
- 46835
- 46845
Post Office
- 1529 W Dupont Rd, 46825
- 1737 Saint Marys Ave, 46808
- 1800 Hazelwood Ave, 46805
- 2525 Independence Dr, 46808
- 4171 Diplomat Plaza Ctr, 46806
- 6013 Bluffton Rd, 46809
- 6041 Stellhorn Rd, 46815
- 7025 Old Trail Rd, 46809