An Indiana rental agreement is a legal contract between a landlord overseeing a rental property and a tenant who wishes to use it. Indiana landlord-tenant law governs and regulates these agreements.
Indiana Rental Agreement Types
An Indiana roommate agreement is a legal contract between two or more people (“co-tenants”) who share a rental property according to rules they set, including for things like splitting the rent. This agreement binds the co-tenants living together, and doesn’t include the landlord.
Indiana Required Lease Disclosures
- Landlord’s Name and Address (required for all leases) – Indiana leases must contain the name and address of the landlord or authorized agent. This enables smooth communication of any important legal notice.
- Flood Zone Disclosure (required for some leases) – Indiana leases for properties that fall below the designated 100-year flood elevation level must provide notice of flood zone status.
- Lead-Based Paint Disclosure (required for some leases) – For any property built before 1978, federal law requires that an Indiana residential lease must contain a lead-based paint disclosure with an EPA informational pamphlet, plus notice of any lead hazards on the property.
To learn more about required disclosures in Indiana, click here.
Indiana Landlord Tenant Laws
- Warranty of Habitability – Indiana landlords can only rent out habitable property, which means providing certain features essential to basic health and safety like heat, plumbing, electricity, and sound structural elements. Landlords must repair any issues within a reasonable time after proper notice from the tenant. Failure to repair lets a tenant sue the landlord or terminate the lease. Tenants usually aren’t allowed to repair and deduct, or withhold rent.
- Evictions – Indiana landlords may evict for rent default, lease violations, or illegal acts, among other things. Before filing eviction, landlords must serve tenants with prior notice to pay or quit, depending on the eviction type. This means most evictions in Indiana take several weeks. This may be extended if the property is covered by the federal CARES Act and the eviction is for nonpayment of rent, because Indiana courts have held that such evictions require a minimum 30 days of advance notice.
- Security Deposits – Indiana does not put a cap on the maximum a landlord can charge for a security deposit. Upon lease termination, a landlord has 45 days to return any unused portion of the deposit to the tenant.
- Lease Termination – Indiana lets tenants terminate a month-to-month lease with one month of advance notice. A fixed-term lease can’t be terminated early without active military duty, landlord harassment, uninhabitable property, or domestic abuse.
- Rent Increases and Fees – Indiana landlords can raise rent by any amount between lease periods, whenever they want, with no particular requirements for justification, as long as they provide at least 30 days of advance notice. Late fees have no maximum, except for a $25 limit on returned check fees.
- Landlord Entry – Indiana landlords may enter rental property for purposes reasonably related to the tenancy, like maintenance, inspections, and property showings. Before entering, a landlord must provide “reasonable” advance notice (by custom, at least 24 hours), except in emergency situations.
- Settling Legal Disputes – Indiana allows hearing landlord-tenant disputes in its small claims courts, as long as the amount in controversy is under $6,000. Unlike many states, Indiana’s small claims courts are allowed to hear eviction cases. However, some counties, such as Marion County, operate their own small claims court system with different thresholds.
To learn more about landlord tenant laws in Indiana, click here.
Sources
- 1 Hazelwood v. The Common Wealth Apartments, No. 23A-EV-1404, 9 (Ind. App. Mar. 22, 2024)
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“…the notice provision did not expire with the temporary eviction moratorium… a thirty-day notice to vacate [is] required by 15 U.S.C. § 9058(c) before initiating eviction proceedings…”
Source Link - 2 Ind. Code § 24-7-5-5.5
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A lessor may contract for and charge a returned payment fee not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25) for each return by a bank or other depository institution of a dishonored check, electronic funds transfer, negotiable order of withdrawal, or share draft issued by the lessee.
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