Published 2026-09-25 · 19 min read

Indiana Landlord-Tenant Law 2026: The Plain-English Guide

Quick answer - Indiana: Indiana sets no deposit cap, but landlords must send an itemized notice and the balance within 45 days of termination and delivery of possession (IC 32-31-3). Nonpayment takes a 10-day notice, entry requires reasonable notice, and Indiana has no repair-and-deduct statute.

Indiana landlord-tenant law is short, codified, and mostly landlord-friendly — no deposit cap, no rent control, a 10-day notice for nonpayment — but the version of it that circulates in older guides, including the previous version of this page, gets several of its sharpest rules wrong. Indiana does not punish a late deposit return with double damages. It has no repair-and-deduct statute. It does have a statute governing landlord entry, despite the common claim that entry is unregulated. And since 2020 it has had a real anti-retaliation chapter, which those guides usually omit entirely. Two newer chapters matter for 2026 as well: eviction-record sealing (IC 32-31-11, effective July 1, 2022) and expedited removal of true squatters (IC 32-31-12, added by Senate Enrolled Act 157 in 2025, effective July 1, 2025).

The core law is Indiana Code Title 32, Article 31: Chapter 1 (tenancy and notice rules), Chapter 3 (security deposits), Chapter 5 (rental agreements, access, and possession), Chapter 6 (emergency possessory orders), Chapters 7 and 8 (tenant and landlord obligations), Chapter 8.5 (retaliation), Chapter 9 (tenants who are victims of certain crimes), Chapter 11 (eviction-record nondisclosure), and Chapter 12 (squatters). This guide works through deposits, rent and preemption, termination notices, eviction, habitability, entry, and retaliation in that order, citing the statute for every rule, and flags each correction of the old version in the text.

Indiana landlord-tenant law at a glance

Which statutes apply, and the disclosures landlords miss

The residential landlord-tenant statutes apply to rental agreements for dwelling units located in Indiana (IC 32-31-2.9-3), with exclusions in IC 32-31-2.9-4 for arrangements such as institutional residences, occupancy under a contract of sale by the purchaser, fraternal or social organization housing, transient hotel and motel occupancy, and certain employee occupancy — unless the arrangement was created to avoid the statutes. The tenant-obligations chapter applies only to dwelling units let under a rental agreement entered into after June 30, 2002 (IC 32-31-7-1), and Chapter 5 applies to agreements entered into or renewed after June 30, 1999 (IC 32-31-5-1). Waivers are void across the system: a waiver of the deposit chapter is void (IC 32-31-3-17), as is a waiver of Chapter 5 (IC 32-31-5-1(c)), of the tenant-obligations chapter (IC 32-31-7-4), and of the retaliation chapter (IC 32-31-8.5-0.5). A lease clause that contradicts these chapters does not override them.

Three disclosure and paperwork duties are routinely missed:

• Manager and agent disclosure (IC 32-31-3-18). At or before the start of the rental agreement, the landlord (or a person authorized to sign for the landlord) must disclose and furnish in writing the names and addresses of a person residing in Indiana who is authorized to manage the dwelling unit, and a person residing in Indiana who is reasonably accessible to the tenant and authorized to act as the owner's agent for service of process and for receiving notices and demands. The duty binds successor landlords, owners, and managers. A person who fails to make the disclosure becomes the landlord's agent for service of process, notices, and performing the landlord's duties, and a tenant who has to hunt the information down may recover the expenses reasonably incurred to discover it. Out-of-state owners should treat this as a hard requirement, not a formality.
• Smoke-detector acknowledgment (IC 32-31-5-7). At delivery of the unit, the landlord must require the tenant to acknowledge in writing that the unit is equipped with a functional smoke detector, and neither party may waive the smoke-detector requirements of IC 22-11-18-3.5 in the rental agreement or a separate writing.
• Flood plain (IC 32-31-1-21). Chapter 1, § 21 requires disclosure of a structure located in a flood plain, as that section defines it — check the section before leasing a low-lying property, and put the disclosure in the rental agreement where it applies.

Federal law adds the pre-1978 lead-based paint disclosure for most older housing; that duty is federal, not a creature of Article 31, but it belongs in the same signing packet.

When must an Indiana landlord return a security deposit? (IC 32-31-3)

No cap, no interest, no separate-account rule

Chapter 3 defines a security deposit and regulates its use and return, but it sets no maximum amount, requires no interest, and imposes no segregation or separate-account duty. What Indiana regulates intensely is the exit: what the deposit may be applied to, the 45-day itemized notice, and what a landlord forfeits by missing it. Do not import another state's escrow habits into an Indiana file, and do not assume the absence of a cap makes the return rules forgiving — they are the opposite.

The only four uses (IC 32-31-3-13)

A security deposit may be used only for the following purposes:

• To reimburse the landlord for actual damages to the rental unit or any ancillary facility that are not the result of ordinary wear and tear.
• To pay all rent in arrearage under the rental agreement, and rent due for premature termination of the rental agreement by the tenant.
• To pay for the last payment period of a residential rental agreement — only if a written agreement between landlord and tenant stipulates that the deposit will serve as the last payment of rent due.
• To reimburse the landlord for utility or sewer charges paid by the landlord that were the tenant's obligation under the rental agreement and were unpaid by the tenant.

Section 3-12(a) describes the same accounting from the return side: on termination, return the deposit minus amounts applied to accrued rent, damages the landlord has suffered or will reasonably suffer because of the tenant's noncompliance with law or the rental agreement, and unpaid utility or sewer charges the tenant was obligated to pay — all itemized in the written notice. Two corollaries follow. Unless otherwise agreed, a tenant is not entitled to apply a security deposit to rent (§ 3-12(a)) — the deposit is not the last month's rent by default. And the section does not preclude either party from recovering other damages to which they are entitled (§ 3-12(c)); the deposit accounting is a regulated way of collecting part of a claim, not a cap on one. The owner of the dwelling unit at the time of termination is bound by § 3-12 (§ 3-12(d)), so a buyer who takes a property with tenants in place inherits the return duty — take the deposits as a closing credit and calendar the clocks yourself.

The 45-day clock, the forwarding address, and the itemized list

The return duty runs from two events: termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession. The written notice itemizing each amount applied, with the amount due, must be delivered to the tenant not more than 45 days after both have occurred (§ 3-12(a)). The damages notice has its own text: not more than 45 days after the termination of occupancy, the landlord shall mail the tenant an itemized list of damages claimed for which the deposit may be used under § 3-13, setting forth the estimated cost of repair for each damaged item and the amounts and lease on which the landlord intends to assess the tenant, and must include with the list a check or money order for the difference between the damages claimed and the deposit held (§ 3-14). Read together, the safe practice is to run the clock from the earlier of the two triggers, mail the list, and enclose the balance payment with it — a statement without the money, or money without the itemization, is a half-completed duty.

One precondition protects landlords who genuinely cannot send the money: the landlord is not liable under Chapter 3 until the tenant supplies the landlord in writing with a mailing address to which to deliver the notice and amount (§ 3-12(a)). Collect that address at move-out, on a signed form, and if the tenant refuses or leaves without one, document the request — the statute conditions the landlord's liability on receiving it, but a landlord who never asked invites a credibility fight.

Worked example (weekdays verified): a tenancy terminates and the tenant delivers possession on Monday, March 2, 2026, leaving a $1,500 deposit and having supplied a forwarding address in writing. The itemized notice and the balance are due not more than 45 days later — by Thursday, April 16, 2026. Suppose the lawful deductions are $220 of actual damage beyond wear and tear (itemized per item, with estimated repair costs) and $0 of accrued rent or utility charges. The § 3-14 mailing must list each damaged item and its estimated repair cost and enclose a check or money order for $1,280. Work backward: inspect and photograph in the first week, price each item from invoices or contractor estimates while the 45 days are still young, and mail early enough that the mailing itself lands inside the window.

Use our Security Deposit Deadline Finder and deductions guide to sanity-check a claim before you send it, and see the dedicated Indiana security deposit law page for the deposit rules in depth.

What missing the notice actually costs — correcting the double-damages myth

The previous version of this page stated that bad-faith withholding costs "up to 2x the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney's fees." That is not Indiana law, and no section of Chapter 3 contains a multiplier. The real sanction is different and, for a careless landlord, worse:

• Forfeiture of the damages (§ 3-15). Failure by a landlord to provide the § 3-14 notice of damages constitutes agreement by the landlord that no damages are due, and the landlord must remit to the tenant immediately the full security deposit. Miss the mailing and the $220 of real, photographed damage in the example above is legally gone — not reduced, not argued about, gone.
• Liability for the amount withheld (§ 3-16). A landlord who fails to comply with §§ 3-14 and 3-15 is liable to the tenant in an amount equal to the part of the deposit withheld by the landlord, plus reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
• Recovery of the deposit due (§ 3-12(b)). If a landlord fails to comply with § 3-12(a), the tenant may recover all of the security deposit due the tenant and reasonable attorney's fees.

The teeth are fee-shifting and forfeiture, not a multiplier: an unitemized $400 withholding can cost the $400, the rest of the deposit, and the tenant's lawyer. Lump-sum statements fail the statute — Indiana appellate decisions have repeatedly held that a list without the estimated cost for each damaged item, or a single undifferentiated figure, does not comply with § 3-14. Price every item separately, or expect to return everything.

What are Indiana's rules for rent and fees?

No rent control — and cities cannot create it. IC 32-31-1-20(b) provides that a unit (a local government, as defined in IC 36-1-2-23) may not regulate rental rates for privately owned real property, through a zoning ordinance or otherwise, unless the regulation is authorized by an act of the General Assembly. The preemption is broader than rent. Under § 1-20(c), a local unit likewise may not regulate, unless authorized by the General Assembly, any of the following aspects of a landlord-tenant relationship for privately owned real property: the screening process a landlord uses in approving tenants; security deposits; lease applications; leasing terms and conditions; disclosures concerning the property, the lease, or the rights and responsibilities of the parties; the rights of the parties to a lease; and any fees charged by a landlord. An ordinance or regulation that violates subsection (c) is void and unenforceable. That answers most "does Indianapolis / Bloomington have its own rule?" questions for deposits, applications, fees, and lease terms: on those subjects the state statute is the whole code, and a contrary local rule is void. Two qualifications matter. The section does not apply to privately owned real property for which government funds or benefits have been allocated by the United States, the state, or a political subdivision for the express purpose of providing reduced rents to low- or moderate-income tenants (§ 1-20(a), subject to IC 36-1-3-8.5) — subsidized housing plays under different rules. And preemption does not repeal health and housing codes: the landlord's duty under IC 32-31-8-5(2) is precisely to comply with all health and housing codes applicable to the premises, and local code enforcement remains the mechanism that enforces them.

Raising rent and changing terms. Indiana has no statute capping the size of a rent increase and no stand-alone rent-increase notice statute for a fixed term — during a fixed term, the lease price is the contract. For changes that take effect going forward, two clocks do the work. First, IC 32-31-5-4: unless otherwise provided by a written rental agreement, a landlord shall give the tenant at least 30 days' written notice before modifying the rental agreement. Worked example (weekdays verified): written notice given on Friday, May 1, 2026 makes Sunday, May 31, 2026 the 30th day — a modification noticed on May 1 cannot take effect before May 31, and a landlord who wants a June 1 increase should serve the notice in April, not count on the arithmetic landing kindly. Second, an increase a periodic tenant will not accept operates through the termination clocks below: the old tenancy ends on proper notice and any continued occupancy is on the new terms. See how to raise rent legally.

Late fees. Article 31 sets no late-fee cap and no grace period. The lease controls: a late fee that is not in the rental agreement has no statutory hook, and a fee dispute is a contract dispute. Put the amount and the trigger day in the lease, apply it as written, and remember that a fee is not "rent in arrearage" for deposit purposes unless it fits the categories in IC 32-31-3-13 — when in doubt, itemize it separately and expect an argument.

How much notice is required to end a tenancy in Indiana?

Indiana separates ending a tenancy without cause (Chapter 1's determination rules) from ending one for cause (the nonpayment rule in Chapter 1, and the tenant-obligation enforcement track in Chapter 7). Confusing the two tracks is the most common notice error in the state.

No-cause endings.

• Tenancy at will — 1 month. A tenancy at will may be determined by a one (1) month notice in writing, delivered to the tenant (IC 32-31-1-1(a)). A tenancy at will cannot arise or be created without an express contract (§ 1-1(b)), and a tenancy in which rent is paid month to month is the standard periodic case practitioners calendar on the one-month rule. Worked example (weekdays verified): written notice delivered Monday, June 1, 2026 determines the tenancy one month later, Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
• Short periodic tenancies — one interval. Where a tenancy of not more than three (3) months, by express or implied agreement, extends from one period to another, notice equal to the interval between the periods is sufficient to determine it (IC 32-31-1-4). A month-to-month tenancy fits this pattern as well — one month of notice for a one-month interval — and a week-to-week arrangement takes a week's notice.
• Year-to-year — 3 months. A tenancy from year to year may be determined by notice given to the tenant not less than three (3) months before the expiration of the year (IC 32-31-1-3). Section 1-5 supplies a statutory form for the year-to-year notice. Worked example (weekdays verified): for a year expiring Thursday, December 31, 2026, notice must be given on or before Thursday, October 1, 2026. Miss October 1 and the tenancy runs another year. This is the rule that catches agricultural and other annually renewing arrangements, where nobody calendars the determination date until it has passed.
• Fixed terms. Where the landlord agrees to rent for a specified period, or the time for determination of the tenancy is specified in the contract, no notice to quit is required to end the lease at its term (IC 32-31-1-8(1)–(2)) — the tenancy ends by its own terms, and an occupant who stays on without permission is a tenant at sufferance, another no-notice category (§ 1-8(4)).

Service of notices (IC 32-31-1-9). Notice required under §§ 1-1 through 1-7 may be served on the tenant personally. If the tenant cannot be found, notice may be served on a person residing at the premises, and the person serving it must explain the contents of the notice to the person being served. If no such person is found on the premises, notice may be served by affixing a copy to a conspicuous part of the premises. Keep proof: who served it, when, by which method, and — for the second method — that the contents were explained.

How does eviction work in Indiana?

Nonpayment — the 10-day notice (IC 32-31-1-6). If a tenant refuses or neglects to pay rent when due, a landlord may terminate the lease with not less than ten (10) days' notice to the tenant, unless the parties otherwise agreed, or the tenant pays the rent in full before the notice period expires. Full payment inside the window defeats the termination; partial payment does not, on the statute's terms. Section 1-7 supplies an optional statutory form: it notifies the tenant to vacate not more than ten days after receiving the notice unless the rent due is paid within ten days. Worked example (weekdays verified): a 10-day notice served Monday, March 2, 2026 runs through Thursday, March 12, 2026; if the rent is not paid in full by the end of March 12, the landlord may file on March 13. The previous version of this page called the 10-day notice the notice "for nonpayment or lease violations." That is wrong, and the error matters: § 1-6 is a nonpayment rule only.

Other violations — notice plus a reasonable time (IC 32-31-7-7). For breaches of the tenant's statutory obligations — the Chapter 7 duties listed in the habitability section below — the landlord's track is IC 32-31-7-7, not a 10-day notice to quit. Except as provided for damage the landlord has already repaired, a landlord may not bring an action under Chapter 7 unless the landlord gives the tenant notice of the noncompliance and the tenant has been given a reasonable amount of time to remedy it. The statute fixes no number of days; reasonableness tracks the severity of the problem, so document accordingly — a written notice that names the specific obligation violated, the facts, and a concrete cure window proportioned to the problem is the file a court wants to see. If the noncompliance caused physical damage the landlord has repaired, the landlord instead gives notice specifying the repairs made and documenting the cost (§ 7-7(c)). No Chapter 7 notice is required if the tenant's occupancy has already terminated (§ 7-7(d)). A prevailing landlord under § 7-7 may obtain actual damages, attorney's fees and court costs, injunctive relief, and any other appropriate remedy (§ 7-7(f)).

When no notice to quit is required (IC 32-31-1-8). Notice is not required to terminate a lease in six situations: (1) the landlord agreed to rent for a specified period of time; (2) the time for determination of the tenancy is specified in the contract; (3) a tenant at will commits waste; (4) the tenant is a tenant at sufferance; (5) the express terms of the contract require rent to be paid in advance and the tenant refuses or neglects to pay it in advance; and (6) the landlord-tenant relationship does not exist. Category (6) is the bridge to the 2025 squatter chapter, below — a person who was never a tenant is not owed a tenant's notice.

In court. After the applicable notice expires, the landlord files for possession in the court with jurisdiction where the property sits — in practice, for most residential cases, the small claims docket of the county's courts (in Marion County, the township small claims courts). The previous version of this page promised hearings "typically within 2–3 weeks" and resolution in "3–5 weeks" as if those were rules. They are not: no statute in Article 31 sets a statewide hearing schedule, and timing varies by county and court. What the statutes guarantee is the sequence — correct notice, expiry, filing, a court order, and execution of that order by the sheriff or constable. A landlord who changes the locks on the strength of an expired notice alone has not evicted anyone; he has committed the violation described in the entry section below. Bring the lease, the notice with its proof of service, the rent ledger, and dated photographs; possession cases are won on paper. Full process: how to evict a tenant.

Emergency possessory orders (IC 32-31-6). Chapter 6 is Indiana's fast lane, and it runs in both directions. A tenant deprived in violation of IC 32-31-5-6 may petition for an emergency order; on a finding of probable cause to believe the landlord violated or threatened to violate § 5-6 and that the tenant will suffer immediate and serious injury, loss, or damage, the court shall order the landlord to return possession and refrain from violating the section (§ 6-6). A landlord facing waste has the mirror remedy: "waste" for this section does not include failure to pay rent, and on a finding that the tenant has committed or threatens to commit waste and that the landlord has suffered or will suffer immediate and serious injury, loss, or damage, the court shall order the tenant to return possession, refrain from committing waste, or both (§ 6-7). Under § 6-8, the clerk issues a summons stating the date, time, and place of the emergency hearing, and an emergency adjudication does not bar later claims between the parties unless those claims were themselves adjudicated (§ 6-10). Use Chapter 6 for genuine emergencies — a unit being destroyed, a lockout in progress — not as a shortcut around the ordinary notice track for ordinary arrears.

Eviction records can be sealed (IC 32-31-11). Since July 1, 2022, Chapter 11 has limited what an eviction filing does to a tenant who did not actually lose. Under § 11-3, if a landlord files an eviction action and the action is dismissed, a judgment in favor of the tenant is entered, or a judgment against the tenant is subsequently overturned or vacated on appeal, the court, upon motion by the tenant, shall order the clerk and the operator of any state, regional, or local case management system not to disclose or permit disclosure of any records in the case, and shall direct the clerk to redact or permanently seal the court's own records. The order is issued at the time of the dismissal, the tenant's judgment, or the finality of the overturning opinion, without an additional hearing. Section 11-4 provides a petition route for eviction actions resolved before July 1, 2022, or for which a nondisclosure order was not otherwise issued; the statewide eviction-sealing court form also implements petitions where a money judgment has been paid in full and where seven years have passed on a judgment with no money owed. One practice point for landlords: a case you file and abandon can be sealed at the tenant's motion if it is dismissed for failure to prosecute, so do not file cases you do not intend to pursue.

Squatters are not tenants (IC 32-31-12, SEA 157 of 2025). Effective July 1, 2025, Chapter 12 — added by Senate Enrolled Act 157, Public Law 191-2025 — defines a "squatter" as an individual who occupies the property of another and who does not have, and has never had: a rental agreement; the permission of the owner; or another legal interest in the property. The "never had" element is the whole ballgame: a holdover former tenant, an ex-guest whose permission was once given, or anyone who ever had a rental agreement is not a squatter under this chapter and must be removed through the ordinary court process. For a true squatter, the owner may execute an affidavit stating that a squatter is occupying the owner's property; on presentation of the affidavit, the law enforcement agency must dispatch one or more officers to remove the squatter within 48 hours, or a later period if necessary for reasons of public safety. An officer must remove the squatter unless the officer discovers credible evidence that the person is not a squatter. Officers and agencies acting under the chapter receive immunity, and the chapter creates a cause of action for wrongful removal — a person is wrongfully removed if the affiant knowingly makes a materially false statement on the affidavit. Treat the affidavit as what it is: a sworn statement made under exposure for a false one. If there is any history of permission, payment, or paperwork, file the eviction instead.

What repairs must an Indiana landlord make? (IC 32-31-8 and IC 32-31-7)

Habitability in Indiana is statutory, and the duties are listed. Under IC 32-31-8-5, a landlord shall do the following:

• Deliver the rental premises to the tenant in compliance with the rental agreement, and in a safe, clean, and habitable condition.
• Comply with all health and housing codes applicable to the rental premises.
• Make all reasonable efforts to keep common areas of the rental premises in a clean and proper condition.
• Provide and maintain the following items in good and safe working condition, if provided on the premises at the time the rental agreement is entered into: 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 — a heating system must be sufficient to adequately supply heat at all times; elevators, if provided; and appliances supplied as an inducement to the rental agreement.

Note the qualifier on the systems list: the duty attaches to systems provided at the start of the agreement. A unit rented without air conditioning does not acquire a statutory AC duty because a tenant wants one; a unit rented with a furnace has a non-optional duty that the furnace adequately supply heat at all times.

The tenant's side of the bargain (IC 32-31-7-5). A tenant shall: comply with all obligations imposed primarily on a tenant by applicable health and housing codes; keep the areas of the rental premises occupied or used by the tenant reasonably clean; use electrical, plumbing, sanitary, and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems, elevators if provided, and the facilities and appliances of the premises in a reasonable manner; refrain from defacing, damaging, destroying, impairing, or removing any part of the rental premises; comply with all reasonable rules and regulations in existence when the rental agreement was entered into, and with amended rules as provided in the agreement; and keep each smoke detector functional and not disabled, as detailed below. At the termination of occupancy, the tenant must deliver the premises in a clean and proper condition, excepting ordinary wear and tear (IC 32-31-7-6) — the sentence that anchors the deposit's wear-and-tear line.

Enforcement — and the repair-and-deduct correction. The previous version of this page told readers that Indiana tenants may, after written notice and a reasonable time, "repair-and-deduct (with statutory procedures), terminate the lease, or sue for damages." The first two remedies do not exist in that form. Indiana has no repair-and-deduct statute and no rent-withholding statute in Chapter 8. A tenant who stops paying rent over an unrepaired defect, without more, hands the landlord a nonpayment case under IC 32-31-1-6. The enforcement track the legislature actually enacted is IC 32-31-8-6:

• The tenant gives the landlord notice of the noncompliance with a provision of Chapter 8.
• The landlord is given a reasonable amount of time to make repairs or provide a remedy; the tenant may not prevent the landlord from having access to the premises to do so.
• The landlord fails or refuses to repair or remedy the condition described in the notice.
• Only then may the tenant sue in a court with jurisdiction. A prevailing tenant may obtain actual damages and consequential damages, attorney's fees and court costs, injunctive relief, and any other remedy appropriate under the circumstances. The landlord's liability for damages begins when the landlord has notice or actual knowledge of the noncompliance and has refused to remedy it or failed to remedy it within a reasonable time, whichever occurs first (§ 8-6(e)).

For a landlord, the operational translation is simple: the written repair notice is a litigation document from the moment it arrives. Log it, date it, give a dated response, complete the repair inside a time proportioned to the problem — same day for no heat in winter or a sewage failure, scheduled and documented for a dripping faucet — and keep the work order and photographs. "Reasonable time" is decided after the fact, by a judge reading your file. Code enforcement is the parallel track: because § 8-5(2) makes code compliance itself a landlord duty, a health or housing code complaint is also evidence of statutory noncompliance — and, as the next sections show, it is protected activity under the retaliation chapter.

Smoke detectors (IC 22-11-18-3.5; IC 32-31-7-5(6); IC 32-31-5-7). A dwelling must have at least one functional smoke detector installed according to the manufacturer's instructions, outside each sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms, on the ceiling or a wall not less than four inches and not more than twelve inches from the ceiling, and on each additional story of the dwelling, including basements, cellars, and habitable attics. Detectors must be battery operated or hard wired, accessible for servicing and testing, and maintained and tested by the occupant at least once every six months. The owner (or the owner's manager or rental agent) is responsible for installation, and for replacement and repair within seven (7) working days after being given written notification of the need (§ 3.5(e)). Worked example (weekdays verified): written notification received Monday, March 2, 2026 makes the seventh working day Wednesday, March 11, 2026 — count Tuesday March 3 as day one and skip the weekend. The tenant's duties are the mirror image (§ 7-5(6)): ensure each detector remains functional and is not disabled; if it is battery operated, replace the batteries as necessary; if it is hard wired and the tenant believes it is not functional, give the landlord notice under IC 22-11-18-3.5(e)(2). And at delivery, the tenant signs the written acknowledgment that the unit is equipped with a functional detector (§ 5-7) — test every detector at the walkthrough, in the tenant's presence, and file the signed form.

When can an Indiana landlord enter, and is self-help eviction banned? (IC 32-31-5-6)

The previous version of this page stated that "Indiana has no state statute on entry notice" and offered 24 hours as standard practice. The premise is false. Indiana has regulated entry since the recodification of Chapter 5, in one of the most tenant-protective sections in Article 31 — IC 32-31-5-6, titled "Landlord prohibited from interfering with access, possession, or essential services; unit entry by landlord."

The entry rule (§ 5-6(g)). A landlord: (1) shall not abuse the right of entry or use a right of entry to harass a tenant; (2) shall give the tenant reasonable written or oral notice of the landlord's intent to enter the dwelling unit; and (3) may enter only at reasonable times. The statute fixes no number of hours, and no Indiana appellate decision writes one in — claims that Indiana law "requires 24 hours" or "requires 48 hours" are describing lease clauses and custom, not the statute. A 24-hour written notice clause in the lease remains the right practice: it converts an argument about reasonableness into a contract the landlord can prove compliance with. Log every entry — date, notice given, purpose, who entered — because the harassment prohibition is about patterns, and the log is the defense to a pattern claim.

The tenant's duty (§ 5-6(e)). A tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent to the landlord entering to inspect the unit; to make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements; to supply necessary or agreed services; or to exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors.

Entry without notice or consent (§ 5-6(f)). A landlord may enter without notice in the case of an emergency that threatens the safety of the occupants or the landlord's property, and may enter without the tenant's consent under a court order, or if the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the unit. Abandonment is a defined term (§ 5-6(b)): the tenants have failed to pay or offer to pay rent due, and the circumstances are such that a reasonable person would conclude the tenants have surrendered possession — and a rental agreement may not define abandonment differently. An empty-looking unit with the rent unpaid is not automatically abandoned; both halves must be true, and § 5-6 does not apply at all once abandonment is genuinely established (§ 5-6(a)).

Self-help is prohibited (§ 5-6(c)). Except as authorized by judicial order, a landlord may not deny or interfere with a tenant's access to or possession of the dwelling unit by any act, including: changing the locks or adding a device to exclude the tenant; removing the doors, windows, fixtures, or appliances; or interrupting, reducing, shutting off, or causing termination of electricity, gas, water, or other essential services. The service-interruption ban has a narrow carve-out: a landlord may interrupt, shut off, or terminate service as the result of an emergency, good-faith repairs, or necessary construction, and the subdivision does not make the landlord pay for a service the landlord never agreed to provide. The tenant side has a parallel duty (§ 5-6(d)): a tenant may not interrupt or shut off those services to the unit if doing so will result in serious damage to the rental unit. Personal property gets its own protection (§ 5-5): except as provided in IC 16-41-27-29, IC 32-31-3, or IC 32-31-4, a landlord may not take possession of, remove, deny access to, or dispose of a tenant's personal property to enforce a rental obligation — the one exception being property the tenant voluntarily tenders as security under a separate written agreement in exchange for forbearance from an eviction action. A tenant deprived by a violation of § 5-6 can obtain the emergency possessory order described in the eviction section above (IC 32-31-6-6). Every "shortcut" a frustrated landlord reaches for — locks, doors, breakers, valves — is itemized in this section. The court's order is the only key Indiana recognizes.

Retaliation: yes, Indiana has a statute (IC 32-31-8.5)

Guides that say Indiana has no anti-retaliation law are a chapter behind. The General Assembly added Chapter 8.5, Retaliatory Acts by Landlords, in 2020 (P.L.168-2020, § 18). Section 8.5-2 defines "protected activity" as any of the following actions taken by a tenant:

• Complaining to a governmental entity responsible for enforcing an applicable building or housing code about a violation with respect to the rental premises that materially affects health or safety.
• Complaining to the landlord in writing concerning the landlord's violation of IC 32-31-5-6 (access and possession) or IC 32-31-8-5 (landlord obligations).
• Bringing an action against the landlord under IC 32-31-6 (emergency possessory orders) or IC 32-31-8 (landlord obligations).
• Organizing or becoming a member of a tenant's organization.
• Testifying in a court proceeding or an administrative hearing against the landlord.

Read the second category precisely: it reaches only written complaints, and only complaints about those two statutes. A verbal complaint about a broken step is good practice to answer, but the statutory protection attaches to the five listed activities.

Section 8.5-4 defines a "retaliatory act" as any of the following actions taken by a landlord in response to a tenant's engaging in a protected activity: (1) increasing the amount of the tenant's rent; (2) decreasing, terminating, or interfering with services; or (3) bringing or threatening an action for possession, eviction, or early termination of the rental agreement. Section 8.5-5 then prohibits retaliatory acts — and, importantly, lists the ordinary business decisions that are not prohibited, which include declining to renew a lease at the end of its term, raising rent to a level consistent with comparable market rentals, decreasing services equally for all tenants, and pursuing a possession or eviction action grounded in the tenant's own default, such as unpaid rent, where the statutory conditions for bringing that action are met, including actions begun in good faith before the protected activity occurred. A tenant may assert the landlord's retaliatory act as a defense in an eviction or possession action, and the burden of proving the landlord's retaliatory intent is on the tenant.

Two contrasts with other states deserve emphasis. Indiana's chapter contains no timing presumption: there is no rule that an adverse action within a set period after a complaint is presumed retaliatory — timing is evidence the tenant may use, not a presumption the landlord must rebut. And Indiana cities cannot add their own layer: under § 8.5-6, a local unit may not adopt or enforce any ordinance or regulation concerning retaliatory acts by landlords, and any that does is void and unenforceable. The operational rule follows: after any protected activity — above all a written habitability complaint or a code complaint — document the independent reason for every rent, service, or filing decision contemporaneously, price increases against comparable rentals, and apply service changes uniformly.

Discrimination, and tenants who are victims of crime

Indiana Fair Housing Law (IC 22-9.5). Under IC 22-9.5-5-1, a person may not refuse to sell or rent after a bona fide offer, refuse to negotiate, or otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling to any person because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability, or national origin; may not discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental, or in connected services or facilities, on those same grounds; and § 5-2 separately bars advertisements indicating a preference, limitation, or discrimination on those grounds. The statute's own exception is narrow: discrimination because a person has been convicted of the illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance. The Indiana Civil Rights Commission's fair-housing poster also lists ancestry and veteran status among the characteristics protected under Indiana civil rights law in housing — screen on documented, consistently applied, lawful criteria, and treat any list that omits those two as incomplete for Indiana purposes. Federal fair-housing law applies on top of the state chapter.

Victims of certain crimes (IC 32-31-9). Chapter 9 gives a "protected individual" — a tenant, applicant, or household member who is a victim of specified offenses, as the chapter defines the terms — rights that override an ordinary lease file. Under § 9-8, a landlord may not terminate a lease, refuse to renew or enter into a lease, or retaliate solely because the tenant, an applicant, or a household member is a protected individual, or solely because that person terminated a rental agreement as a protected individual under § 9-12. The § 9-12 termination right is limited and documented: the protected individual is liable for rent and other expenses prorated to the effective date of termination, is not liable for other rent or fees due only because of the early termination, and owes no damages or penalties if the termination is made at least fourteen days before the individual would first have had the right to occupy the unit. Deposits and refunds are handled as if the tenancy terminated by expiring under the rental agreement, the rights of other adult tenants continue unaffected, and the landlord's deposit accounting for the unit is not due until forty-five days after the tenancy of all tenants has terminated (§ 9-13). Do not improvise in a Chapter 9 file: the chapter prescribes the documentation a protected individual must supply.

Own rentals in more than one state? The 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset ($29) compiles deposit caps, notice periods, eviction rules, and rent-control law for all 50 states in one reference spreadsheet — so you never mix up which rule applies where.

A 10-step Indiana compliance checklist

1. At signing, deliver the IC 32-31-3-18 written disclosure — the Indiana-resident manager and the Indiana-resident agent for service of process and notices — and keep the signed copy; the duty binds your successors.

2. At delivery, test every smoke detector with the tenant present, complete the placement required by IC 22-11-18-3.5, and obtain the tenant's written acknowledgment of a functional detector under IC 32-31-5-7.

3. Take the deposit knowing Chapter 3 has no cap but no forgiveness: calendar the 45-day itemized notice from termination and delivery of possession the day the tenancy ends, and collect the tenant's forwarding address in writing at move-out.

4. Price every deposit deduction item by item with its estimated repair cost, stay inside the four uses in IC 32-31-3-13, and mail the § 3-14 list with a check or money order for the balance — a lump sum forfeits the damages under § 3-15.

5. Give at least 30 days' written notice before modifying the rental agreement unless your written agreement provides otherwise (IC 32-31-5-4), and price every increase against comparable rentals so it cannot be characterized as retaliation under IC 32-31-8.5.

6. Use the right termination clock: 10 days for nonpayment under IC 32-31-1-6 (full payment inside the window defeats it), 1 month in writing to end a tenancy at will, notice equal to the interval for short periodic tenancies, and at least 3 months before the year expires for year-to-year — served by a method IC 32-31-1-9 allows, with proof.

7. For lease and tenant-obligation violations, do not serve a 10-day notice to quit: give the IC 32-31-7-7 notice of noncompliance, allow a reasonable time to remedy it, and document both before filing.

8. Enter only on reasonable written or oral notice, at reasonable times, for the purposes IC 32-31-5-6(e) lists, and log every entry; use no-notice entry only for a § 5-6(f) emergency, a court order, or genuine abandonment as § 5-6(b) defines it.

9. Answer every written repair notice with a dated response and a completed, photographed work order inside a reasonable time — that letter starts the tenant's IC 32-31-8-6 claim. Repair or replace a reported smoke detector within 7 working days of written notification.

10. Never touch locks, doors, windows, fixtures, appliances, or utility service to force a tenant out (IC 32-31-5-6(c)), and never raise rent, cut a service, or file for possession in response to a code complaint, a written habitability complaint, a tenant-organization membership, or testimony (IC 32-31-8.5) — assemble the documented independent reason first. Possession changes hands only on a court order, executed by the sheriff or constable.

The bottom line

Indiana is landlord-friendly in the ways that are easy to see — no deposit cap, no rent control and a statute voiding local attempts at it, a 10-day nonpayment notice with a pay-in-full cure, and no repair-and-deduct or rent-withholding remedy — and exacting in the ways that are easy to miss. The deposit chapter trades its absent cap for a forfeiture: miss the 45-day itemized mailing and the law deems you to agree that no damages are due, with the withheld amount, attorney's fees, and court costs to follow. Entry is regulated by a detailed statute that also bans every form of self-help by name. Habitability duties are listed in the code, enforced by a tenant suit with consequential damages and fee-shifting, and backstopped since 2020 by a retaliation chapter with no local patchwork allowed. The newest chapters cut in a landlord's favor if used precisely — record sealing, and the 2025 squatter affidavit that removes people who were never tenants within 48 hours — but both turn on definitions a landlord must respect exactly. Get the clocks, the itemization, and the documentation right, and Indiana is as straightforward as its reputation.

Primary sources

• Security Deposits, IC 32-31-3 — official text (Indiana General Assembly) — the deposit chapter on the General Assembly's own site: the 45-day return duty, the exclusive uses, the itemized list, and the forfeiture rule.
• Security Deposits, IC 32-31-3 (Justia, Indiana Code Title 32, Article 31, Chapter 3) — the deposit chapter: the return duty and forwarding-address condition (§ 12), the exclusive uses (§ 13), the mailed itemized list (§ 14), the forfeiture rule (§ 15), liability (§ 16), the void-waiver rule (§ 17), and the manager and agent disclosure (§ 18).
• IC 32-31-1-6, Rent; Refusal or Neglect to Pay (Justia) — the 10-day nonpayment notice and the pay-in-full cure.
• IC 32-31-1-20, Local Units Prohibited From Regulating Rental Rates and Landlord-Tenant Relationship (Justia) — rent-control preemption in subsection (b) and the broader preemption of local rules on screening, deposits, applications, lease terms, disclosures, party rights, and fees in subsection (c).
• Rental Agreements; Right of Access, IC 32-31-5 (Justia chapter PDF) — the 30-day modification notice (§ 4), personal property (§ 5), the access, possession, essential-services, and entry rules (§ 6), and the smoke-detector acknowledgment (§ 7).
• Landlord and Tenant Rights, IC 32-31-7 and IC 32-31-8 (Indiana Department of Health hosting of the Indiana Code text) — tenant obligations (§ 7-5), the landlord's enforcement track (§ 7-7), landlord obligations (§ 8-5), and the tenant's enforcement action (§ 8-6).
• IC 32-31-8-6, Tenant's Cause of Action to Enforce Landlord Obligations (Justia) — notice, reasonable time, failure or refusal, and the prevailing tenant's damages, fees, and injunctive relief.
• IC 32-31-8.5-2, "Protected Activity" (Justia) — the five protected activities in the 2020 retaliation chapter, added by P.L.168-2020.
• IC 32-31-9-8, Lease Protections; Prohibition of Retaliation by Landlord (Justia) — the bar on terminating, refusing to renew or rent, or retaliating solely because a person is a protected individual.
• IC 32-31-11-3, Motion by Tenant to Prohibit Disclosure of Records in an Eviction Action (Justia) — nondisclosure on dismissal, judgment for the tenant, or a judgment overturned or vacated on appeal.
• Expedited Removal of Squatters, IC 32-31-12 (Justia, Indiana Code Title 32, Article 31, Chapter 12) — the 2025 chapter defining a squatter and providing affidavit-based removal.
• Conference Committee Report for Senate Bill 157, 2025 Session (Indiana General Assembly bill text) — the enacted digest for SEA 157: the "never had" definition, removal within 48 hours, the credible-evidence exception, immunities, and the wrongful-removal action, effective July 1, 2025.
• Fair Housing Is the Law (Indiana Civil Rights Commission) — the ICRC poster listing the characteristics protected in housing under IC 22-9.5 and IC 22-9, including ancestry and veteran status.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a cap on security deposits in Indiana?

No. IC 32-31-3, the security deposit chapter, sets no maximum on the amount a landlord may collect, and it imposes no interest duty and no separate-account or segregation requirement. What the chapter regulates is the use and return of the deposit: it may be applied only to the four purposes in IC 32-31-3-13, and the balance must be accounted for within 45 days under IC 32-31-3-12 and 3-14. A local ordinance purporting to cap deposits would also run into the statewide preemption in IC 32-31-1-20(c), which reserves deposit regulation to the General Assembly. Check a planned deposit against Indiana's no-cap rule with the Security Deposit Max Checker, which returns a compliant or over-the-limit verdict for the amount and state you enter.

How long does an Indiana landlord have to return a security deposit?

Not more than 45 days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession, the landlord must deliver a written notice itemizing every amount applied, with the amount due (IC 32-31-3-12(a)). The damages list itself must be mailed not more than 45 days after termination of occupancy, must state the estimated cost of repair for each damaged item, and must be accompanied by a check or money order for the difference between the damages claimed and the deposit held (IC 32-31-3-14). The clock is conditioned on the tenant having supplied a mailing address in writing; until the tenant does, the landlord is not liable under the chapter.

What is the penalty for wrongfully withholding a deposit in Indiana?

There is no double or treble damages penalty in Indiana — claims of a two-times multiplier describe other states' statutes. Instead, a landlord who fails to provide the IC 32-31-3-14 notice of damages is deemed to agree that no damages are due and must remit the full deposit immediately (IC 32-31-3-15), is liable for an amount equal to the part of the deposit withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees and court costs (IC 32-31-3-16), and faces recovery of all of the deposit due plus reasonable attorney's fees for failure to comply with the return duty (IC 32-31-3-12(b)). The exposure is forfeiture plus fee-shifting, not a multiplier.

How many days' notice does Indiana require for nonpayment of rent?

Ten days, under IC 32-31-1-6. If a tenant refuses or neglects to pay rent when due, the landlord may terminate the lease with not less than 10 days' notice, unless the parties otherwise agreed. The termination is defeated if the tenant pays the rent in full before the notice period expires; partial payment does not cure on the statute's terms. IC 32-31-1-7 supplies an optional form of the notice, which tells the tenant to vacate within 10 days after receiving it unless the rent due is paid within those 10 days. To run these same dates for your own case — the 10-day nonpayment notice and the cure-by-full-payment deadline — use the Eviction Timeline Calculator.

Does a tenant get a chance to cure a lease violation in Indiana?

Yes for tenant-obligation violations, but the clock is "a reasonable amount of time," not a number of days. Under IC 32-31-7-7, a landlord generally may not sue to enforce a tenant obligation until the landlord has given the tenant notice of the noncompliance and a reasonable time to remedy it; where the noncompliance caused physical damage the landlord has already repaired, the landlord instead gives notice specifying the repairs and documenting the cost. The 10-day notice in IC 32-31-1-6 is for nonpayment only and is not a general cure notice for other violations.

How much notice is required to end a month-to-month tenancy or raise rent in Indiana?

A tenancy at will is determined by one month's written notice under IC 32-31-1-1, and a periodic tenancy of not more than three months that renews period to period is determined by notice equal to the interval between periods under IC 32-31-1-4 — one month for a month-to-month tenancy. A year-to-year tenancy takes notice not less than three months before the expiration of the year (IC 32-31-1-3). Separately, unless a written rental agreement provides otherwise, a landlord must give at least 30 days' written notice before modifying the rental agreement under IC 32-31-5-4, which is the notice that carries most rent increases on periodic tenancies.

How much notice must an Indiana landlord give before entering a rental unit?

Indiana's entry statute, IC 32-31-5-6(g), requires reasonable written or oral notice of the intent to enter and permits entry only at reasonable times; it sets no specific number of hours, and claims that Indiana law requires 24 or 48 hours describe lease clauses and custom rather than the statute. The landlord may not abuse the right of entry or use it to harass the tenant, and the tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent to entry for the inspection, repair, service, and showing purposes listed in IC 32-31-5-6(e). Entry without notice is allowed for an emergency threatening the safety of the occupants or the landlord's property, and entry without consent under a court order or after abandonment or surrender (IC 32-31-5-6(f)).

Can an Indiana tenant repair a defect and deduct the cost from rent?

No. Indiana has no repair-and-deduct statute and no rent-withholding statute in IC 32-31-8. The tenant's statutory track is IC 32-31-8-6: give the landlord notice of the noncompliance with the landlord's obligations in IC 32-31-8-5, allow a reasonable amount of time for repair without blocking access, and, if the landlord fails or refuses to remedy the condition, sue. A prevailing tenant may recover actual and consequential damages, attorney's fees and court costs, and obtain injunctive relief. A tenant who simply deducts a repair bill or stops paying rent risks a nonpayment termination on 10 days' notice under IC 32-31-1-6.

Is landlord retaliation illegal in Indiana?

Yes, since 2020. IC 32-31-8.5 prohibits a landlord from responding to a tenant's protected activity — complaining to a code-enforcement agency about a violation materially affecting health or safety, complaining in writing to the landlord about a violation of IC 32-31-5-6 or IC 32-31-8-5, suing under IC 32-31-6 or IC 32-31-8, organizing or joining a tenant organization, or testifying against the landlord — by raising rent, decreasing, terminating, or interfering with services, or bringing or threatening a possession, eviction, or early-termination action. Indiana's chapter has no timing presumption: the tenant bears the burden of proving the retaliatory connection, and acts such as declining to renew at the end of a term or raising rent to comparable market levels are not prohibited.

Can an Indiana landlord remove a squatter without an eviction case?

Only if the occupant is a "squatter" as IC 32-31-12 (added by SEA 157, effective July 1, 2025) narrowly defines it: a person who occupies the property and does not have, and has never had, a rental agreement, the owner's permission, or another legal interest in the property. For a true squatter, the owner executes an affidavit and the law enforcement agency must dispatch officers to remove the person within 48 hours, unless public-safety reasons require a later time or the officer discovers credible evidence the person is not a squatter. Anyone who ever had permission or a rental agreement — including a holdover tenant — is not a squatter and must be removed through the ordinary eviction process, and a knowingly false affidavit exposes the owner to a wrongful-removal action.

Can an eviction record be sealed in Indiana?

In the main cases, yes. Under IC 32-31-11-3, when an eviction action is dismissed, judgment is entered in favor of the tenant, or a judgment against the tenant is overturned or vacated on appeal, the court, on the tenant's motion, must order the clerk and any case-management-system operator not to disclose the records in the case and must direct the clerk to redact or permanently seal the court's own records, issuing the order at the time of the dismissal or judgment without an additional hearing. IC 32-31-11-4 provides a petition route for older cases resolved before July 1, 2022, and for cases in which a nondisclosure order was not otherwise issued.

More landlord-tenant law guides

• Landlord-tenant law by state
• Illinois landlord-tenant law
• Iowa landlord-tenant law
• Idaho landlord-tenant law
• Kansas landlord-tenant law

This is general information, not legal advice. Consult an Indiana landlord-tenant attorney for specific situations.