This article applies to all rental agreements entered into or extended on or after the effective date. A rental agreement entered into before the effective date is governed by prior law until extended, modified, or renewed.
A landlord may evict a tenant for nonpayment of rent by serving the tenant with a written notice demanding payment or possession. The notice must state: 'To (insert name of tenant here): You are notified to vacate the following property not more than ten (10) days after you receive this notice unless you pay the rent due on the property within ten (10) days: (insert description of property here).' If the tenant pays all rent due within 10 days of receiving the notice, the tenancy is not terminated. If the tenant does not pay within 10 days, the landlord may file an eviction action in court.
A governmental unit may not enact or enforce an ordinance or resolution that would control the amount of rent charged for privately owned residential or commercial real property.
A landlord who owns a structure in which the lowest floor or basement is at or below the 100-year frequency flood elevation must disclose in the rental agreement that the structure is located in a flood plain.
As used in this chapter, 'security deposit' means a deposit paid by a tenant to the landlord or the landlord's agent to be held for all or a part of the term of the rental agreement to secure performance of any obligation of the tenant under the rental agreement. The term includes: (1) a required prepayment of rent other than the first full rental payment period of the lease agreement; (2) a sum required to be paid as rent in any rental period in excess of the average rent for the term; and (3) any other amount of money or property returnable to the tenant on condition of return of the rental unit in a required condition.
Upon termination of a rental agreement, a landlord shall return to the tenant the security deposit minus any amount applied to: (1) unpaid rent; (2) the amount of damages that the landlord has suffered or will reasonably suffer by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with law or the rental agreement; and (3) unpaid utility or sewer charges that the tenant is obligated to pay under the rental agreement; all as itemized by the landlord with the amount due in a written notice that is delivered to the tenant not more than forty-five (45) days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession. The landlord is not liable under this chapter until the tenant supplies the landlord in writing with a mailing address to which to deliver the notice and amount. Unless otherwise agreed, a tenant is not entitled to apply a security deposit to rent.
A landlord may apply a security deposit to the following: (1) the payment of accrued rent; (2) the amount of damages that the landlord has suffered or will reasonably suffer by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with law or the rental agreement; (3) unpaid utility or sewer charges that the tenant is obligated to pay under the rental agreement.
Not more than forty-five (45) days after the termination of occupancy, a landlord shall mail to a tenant an itemized list of damages claimed for which the security deposit may be used. The list must set forth: (1) the estimated cost of repair for each damaged item; and (2) the amounts and lease on which the landlord intends to assess the tenant. The landlord shall include with the list a check or money order for the difference between the damages claimed and the amount of the security deposit held by the landlord.
A tenant who fails to provide the landlord in writing with a mailing address to which to deliver the notice and remaining deposit forfeits the right to receive the itemized list and remaining security deposit.
Before or at the commencement of a tenancy, a landlord shall disclose in writing to the tenant: (1) the name and address of the person authorized to manage the dwelling unit; and (2) the name and address of the person authorized to receive service of process, notices, and demands on behalf of the landlord. This disclosure must be provided in the rental agreement or in a separate written document.
If a tenant abandons a dwelling unit, the landlord may take possession of the dwelling unit without resort to judicial process. Abandoned personal property remaining in the unit after abandonment must be handled in accordance with this chapter. The landlord must provide notice before disposing of abandoned personal property.
When a tenancy is created by a rental agreement for a term shorter than one year (such as a month-to-month tenancy), the landlord must give the tenant at least thirty (30) days' written notice before changing the rent or any other provision of the rental agreement, unless another notice period has been agreed to in the rental agreement. During a fixed-term lease, the landlord may not raise the rent or change the lease terms unless otherwise stated in the lease or agreed to in a signed writing.
(a) A landlord may enter a tenant's dwelling unit for the following purposes: inspection; making necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements; supplying necessary or agreed services; or showing the unit to prospective tenants, purchasers, or contractors. (b) Except in the case of emergency or when the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the premises, a landlord: (1) may not enter a tenant's dwelling unit without the consent of the tenant; (2) shall give the tenant reasonable written or oral notice of the landlord's intent to enter; and (3) may enter only at reasonable times. (c) Except as authorized by judicial order, a landlord may not deny or interfere with a tenant's access to or possession of the tenant's dwelling unit by: (1) changing the locks or adding a device to exclude the tenant; (2) removing the doors, windows, fixtures, or appliances; or (3) interrupting, reducing, shutting off, or causing termination of any utility service to the tenant.
At the beginning of each tenancy, a landlord must provide the tenant with written notice that the rental unit has a working smoke detector. The tenant must acknowledge in writing that the unit has a working smoke detector.
A tenant shall: (1) comply with all obligations imposed primarily on a tenant by applicable provisions of health and housing codes; (2) keep the areas of the rental premises occupied or used by the tenant reasonably clean; (3) use electrical systems, plumbing, sanitary systems, HVAC, elevators, and appliances in a reasonable manner; (4) refrain from defacing, damaging, destroying, impairing, or removing any part of the rental premises; (5) comply with all reasonable rules and regulations in the rental agreement; and (6) ensure each smoke detector in the unit remains functional and not disabled, and replace batteries in battery-operated detectors as needed.
A landlord may bring an action to enforce a tenant obligation under IC 32-31-7. Before bringing such an action (other than after the tenancy has ended), the landlord must: (1) give the tenant written notice of the tenant's noncompliance; and (2) give the tenant a reasonable amount of time to remedy the noncompliance. If the noncompliance has caused physical damage that the landlord has repaired, the landlord shall give notice specifying the repairs made and documenting the cost. If the landlord prevails, the court may award actual damages, attorney fees and court costs, injunctive relief, and any other appropriate remedy.
A landlord shall: (1) deliver the rental premises to a tenant in compliance with the rental agreement, and in a safe, clean, and habitable condition; (2) comply with all health and housing codes applicable to the rental premises; (3) make all reasonable efforts to keep common areas of a rental premises in a clean and proper condition; and (4) provide and maintain in good and safe working condition, if provided at commencement of the rental agreement: electrical systems; plumbing systems sufficient to accommodate a reasonable supply of hot and cold running water at all times; sanitary systems; heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems (heating must be sufficient to supply heat at all times); elevators if provided; and appliances supplied as an inducement to the rental agreement.
A tenant may bring an action to enforce a landlord's obligation under IC 32-31-8. Before bringing such an action, the tenant must: (1) give the landlord notice of the noncompliance; (2) give the landlord a reasonable amount of time to make repairs; and (3) confirm the landlord has failed or refused to repair. The landlord's liability begins when the landlord has notice or actual knowledge of noncompliance AND has refused to remedy or failed to remedy within a reasonable time. If the tenant prevails, the court may award actual and consequential damages, attorney fees and court costs, injunctive relief, and any other appropriate remedy.
This statute does not prohibit an owner or landlord from refusing to rent a rental unit based on a reasonable occupancy standard. An occupancy standard is presumed reasonable if: (1) it permits two individuals per bedroom; and (2) the owner or landlord does not include infants less than one year of age in the count and increases the number of individuals by considering whether the unit contains a den, library, finished basement, or loft that could reasonably be used as a sleeping area. A kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom, hallway, or closet need not be considered a sleeping area.
A landlord may bring an eviction action when a tenant or a member of the tenant's household, or a guest of the tenant, uses the leased premises to: commit a drug offense under IC 35-48-4; or engage in prostitution or other criminal activity that constitutes a nuisance. An eviction on these grounds does not require a cure period and may proceed on an unconditional quit basis.
A landlord seeking to evict a tenant for committing or permitting a public nuisance on the premises must provide the tenant with a 45-day unconditional notice to quit. This notice does not give the tenant an opportunity to cure and requires the tenant to vacate within 45 days.
Indiana small claims courts have jurisdiction over civil actions where the amount in controversy does not exceed $10,000. Eviction actions (possession only) may be filed in small claims court regardless of the amount of rent at issue. In Marion County, the small claims limit may be higher — check with the court clerk for the current limit.
Indiana law prohibits housing discrimination based on: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability. These protections mirror the federal Fair Housing Act. Indiana state law does not add additional protected classes beyond those in the federal FHA, but does reaffirm those federal protections at the state level.
If a tenant's rent check is returned for insufficient funds (NSF), the landlord may charge a fee. The maximum NSF fee in Indiana is $25 per returned check.
A landlord must disclose to each new tenant the water or sewage disposal services provided and must include an itemized statement of the fees charged for those services. The disclosure must include the following statement: 'If you believe you are being charged in violation of this disclosure or if you believe you are being billed in excess of the utility services provided to you as described in this disclosure, you have a right under Indiana law to file a complaint with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.'
Indiana eviction process: (1) Serve written notice — 10-day pay or quit for nonpayment; reasonable cure-or-quit for lease violations; 45-day unconditional for public nuisance. (2) If tenant does not comply, file a Complaint for Eviction (Possession) in the Circuit Court or Superior Court of the county where the property is located. (3) Court issues a summons and sets a hearing date — typically 5–20 days after filing. (4) Hearing is held; if the landlord prevails, the court enters a judgment for possession. (5) If the tenant does not vacate voluntarily after the judgment, the landlord obtains a Writ of Possession (also called an Order of Removal in some courts). (6) The sheriff executes the Writ of Possession and removes the tenant. Total timeline: approximately 30–60 days in uncontested cases; longer in contested matters. There is no self-help eviction in Indiana — changing locks, removing doors, or shutting off utilities to force a tenant out is illegal.
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