A city or town in Indiana can’t prevent residents from beekeeping — but homeowners associations still can. A state House bill, HB 1337 , aims to change that.
Under the bill, HOAs wouldn’t be able to keep people from having beehives as long as they’re actively maintained for honey and adhere to other Indiana laws.
Ryan Lewis moved to the town of Leo-Cedarville outside of Fort Wayne with the hope of beekeeping with his family. He said nothing in the HOA documents he received said he couldn’t keep bees and all his neighbors were OK with it. Still, his HOA rejected his request.
“They called the bees a livestock and they denied me because it was an ‘offensive or noxious activity.’ So our bees have to be somewhere else until they can approve it,” Lewis said.
READ MORE: How do I follow Indiana’s legislative session? Here’s your guide to demystify the process
Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text “Indiana” to 765-275-1120. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on statewide issues, including our project Civically, Indiana and our 2024 legislative bill tracker .