Indiana Eviction Laws

Notre Dame Law School’s Eviction Clinic has published a report examining how well Indiana’s eviction laws measure up to guidelines recently established by the American Bar Association. The conclusion? Not great.

The ABA created 10 recommendations for residential eviction law for state, local, and other governing bodies to implement.

The recommendations include: establishing steps to limit the stress that eviction judgments take on families by encouraging negotiated settlements, ensuring fairness in eviction hearings, limiting evictions in cases where renters are in compliance with their lease obligations or are able to quickly resolve any non-compliance, and sealing court records in appropriate cases so that families are not prevented from renting new homes.

The Eviction Clinic report looks at each of the 10 ABA guidelines and then discusses how Indiana law measures up to each.

The report points out, for example, that Indiana renters may be evicted from their homes with little notice and without having violated their leases. Renters are rarely represented by attorneys and are required to defend themselves without knowledge of the law. Eviction hearings do not provide a complete opportunity for renters to present a defense. Eviction court records are not automatically sealed and the mere fact of having faced an eviction complaint may prevent a renter from passing screening for future housing.

Read the full report — “Eviction Protections for Renters: Does Indiana Make the Grade?” — here.