Articles

Housing court seeks to find alternatives to eviction

Every Wednesday and Thursday, the docket is filled with landlord-tenant cases. But since October 2021, the Lawrence Township Small Claims Court has been implementing a housing court model that provides additional services to try to prevent or lessen the impact of the loss of a place to live.

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Ripple effect of evictions impacts more than tenants

As bad as the stigma may be, the ripple effect created by an eviction petition is much worse. The loss of a home can throw a displaced family into a downward spiral that leads to health problems, loss of employment and poor performance in school. All of this, in turn, harms the larger community.

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City, partners push forward with renter support despite setbacks

Indianapolis has long struggled to rein in dilapidated housing complexes owned by absentee, typically out-of-state, landlords. It’s slogging through lengthy lawsuits with the owners of multiple troubled properties, and officials say there’s another filing ready to go unless a new owner takes over an infamously rundown complex. A pair of state-level moves in landlord-friendly Indiana also are hampering attempts to protect renters, city officials say.

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Legislative fatigue reflects weariness with housing crisis

By the time the “residential eviction actions” bill was called, the Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee hearing had stretched well beyond two hours and, after hearing testimony, the session was adjourned with no vote taken on the measure. The fatigue felt by legislators and those constituents who were still in attendance on Feb. 9 is much like the tiredness gripping many Hoosiers and community agencies that have been bracing for and facing an eviction crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

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