Indy to test state law in nuisance enforcement effort
Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration is seeking a stronger approach to force property and business owners to discourage behavior that compromises public safety.
Rentals
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New tool shines light on Indiana evictions: Advocates hope data can be used to address housing crisis
SAVI, a program of The Polis Center, a research unit in the Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indianapolis, hopes a new dashboard it’s developed will give people a look at comprehensive statewide eviction data.
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‘Veritable menu of options’: IU McKinney student’s report attracts housing advocates’ attention
Most school projects are produced for an audience of one: the professor who assigned the work. But Jacob Purcell, a 2L at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, has just published a rental housing report that’s intended for a much wider audience.
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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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Preparations underway to help renters caught in wave
In less than two weeks, the moratorium on evictions put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to end, and while some fear a wave of evictions will follow, others say the long-awaited day of reckoning needs to come.
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Articles
AG’s office sues Willow Brook Apartments’ owner, property manager over unresponsiveness to tenants’ poor living conditions
An owner and property manager’s alleged neglect in maintaining an Indianapolis apartment complex comprised mostly of residents who are elderly, disabled or on fixed incomes has spurred the Indiana Attorney General’s Office to file a lawsuit.
COA increases damages, reverses against tenant in breach-of-lease dispute
A landlord-tenant dispute between college friends was resolved in favor of the landlord at the Court of Appeals of Indiana, though a dissenting judge would hold that it was the landlord, not the tenant, who breached the lease.
Eviction filings 50% higher than pre-pandemic in some cities as rents rise
After a lull during the pandemic, eviction filings by landlords have come roaring back, driven by rising rents and a long-running shortage of affordable housing.
Inability to travel during pandemic gave man right to rescind Florida rental contract, split COA rules in reversal
An Indiana man prohibited by state order from traveling to a Florida vacation home during the COVID-19 pandemic had a right to rescind his rental contract, a split Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled Wednesday in reversing a small claims court’s decision.
State settlement programs sparsely used as eviction alternative
Indiana’s landlord and tenant settlement program is voluntary, with both sides needing to agree to participate in a conference. That’s resulted in a lot of conference requests, but only a small amount of actually mediated resolutions.
FHCCI, Rainbow Realty reach $750K settlement in rent-to-own housing lawsuit
The Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana and Rainbow Realty Group Inc. have reached a $750,000 settlement in a dispute over an allegedly predatory rent-to-own program.
State’s poorest renters hurt most by affordable housing shortage, report says
Sixty-one percent of Hoosiers in extremely low-income households can’t find an affordable rental, instead spending more than half of their income on housing with little left for food or other necessities, according to a newly released analysis.
Neither tenant nor trustee of ‘fix-upper’ entitled to attorney fees, COA affirms
Neither the trust that owns a ramshackle house nor the man living on the property fixing it up will be awarded attorney fees after the Court of Appeals of Indiana affirmed Marion Superior Court rulings that placed blame on both sides.
Task force recommends crackdown on bad landlords, more funding to ease housing woes
An interim study committee examining solutions to Indiana’s housing crisis has approved a lengthy list of recommendations for future legislation.
Judge angry but grants oral arguments in rent-to-buy housing case
Some Indiana plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging a rent-to-buy housing business will get a second chance to argue their claims in federal court, but the judge has indicated there will be little patience for weak arguments or uncivil behavior.
Citizens Energy says apartment landlord to sell complexes, avoid utility disconnection
Citizens Energy Group on Thursday announced an agreement with landlord JPC Affordable Housing that is expected to prevent the disconnection of utilities at four large Indianapolis apartment projects with hundreds of tenants.
Indiana landlords sue over eviction moratorium, seek more that $500K in damages
Seventeen Indiana landlords have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Eric Holcomb, seeking more than $500,000 in damages for unpaid rent and loss of property value caused by the moratoriums placed on evictions during 2020.
Judge gives initial OK to $1B deal in Florida condo collapse
A Florida judge on Saturday gave initial approval to a settlement of more than $1 billion to families who lost loved ones in the collapse last year of a Florida beachfront condominium building in which 98 people died.
Surfside families still want answers despite settlement
Gathered at a ceremony Thursday to honor the 98 people who died in a Florida condominium collapse last summer, some of the victims’ family members said they are too deep in mourning to contemplate the nearly $1 billion settlement their attorneys negotiated on their behalf.
Indiana task force releases final eviction report, makes 2 recommendations
Underscoring that money is the root cause of the state’s eviction problem, the Indiana Eviction Task Force has focused its final report on the federal rental assistance funding that is still available and has made recommendations for ways to educate and encourage tenants and landlords to access the financial help.
Citizens Energy sues apartment complexes for $1.3M in unpaid bills
Citizens Energy Group has filed suit against the owners of three Indianapolis apartment complexes over more than $1.3 million in unpaid utility bills, alleging they defrauded both the energy giant and residents.
Battle heats up over remaining federal rental assistance
States in recent months returned tens of millions of dollars in unused rental assistance because they have so few renters.
New law gives Hoosier tenants some relief from eviction stigma
With the signing of House Enrolled Act 1214 into law, Hoosiers who have been evicted then struggled to overcome the stigma now have a way to scrub the “Scarlet E” from their records.
New Lakeside Pointe, Fox Club owner to commit $7M to repairs, Rokita says
The dilapidated Lakeside Pointe at Nora and Fox Club apartment complexes in Indianapolis could see more than $7 million in repairs soon, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced Thursday.