Indiana Legal Services raises concerns about ‘squatter’ legislation
Some advocates warn Senate Bill 157—which would require police to remove “squatters” within 48 hours—would allow landlords to skip the court, chipping away at tenants’ rights.
Tenant and Landlord Dispute
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‘Greatly underestimated’: In 2024, agencies continue looking for data, solutions for eviction issues
With eviction filings showing no signs of slowing down with the start of a new year, Indiana Legal Services has continued to help Hoosier tenants with their efforts to seal prior evictions that could prevent them from finding new housing.
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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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Articles
New limits proposed on eviction records
Two years after enactment of a law that shields certain eviction records, the Justice Project and students at the University of Notre Dame Law School are looking at how the statute can be improved, both to protect tenants’ right to privacy and maintain transparency with the public.
Attorney General’s Office reaches settlement for tenants in South Bend
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced a settlement reached with South Bend apartment complex in Wednesday afternoon Facebook livestream.
U.S. antitrust case alleges rent collusion enabled by tech firm’s software
The Justice Department and attorneys general from eight states are suing a Texas-based software company accused of using complex algorithms to enable widespread collusion in rents by landlords.
Landlord showed ‘procedural bad faith’ in appeal, COA rules in remanding for award of attorney fees
A landlord’s appeal of a small claims judgment against him was “permeated with procedural bad faith,” the Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled Monday in affirming the lower court’s decision.
AG’s office gets commitment from landlord to pay $12,000 to domestic abuse survivor
A landlord company has agreed to pay $12,000 to a survivor of domestic abuse and improve its policies addressing domestic violence among tenants, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office announced Thursday.
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.
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.
Trial court erred in awarding damages to landlord, COA finds
A landlord was not entitled to damages and was ordered to return a security deposit after the Court of Appeals of Indiana found error at the trial court.
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.
Bad-landlords measure gets unanimous Senate committee support
A measure allowing utility companies to ask courts to appoint receivers over certain landlords behind on their utility bills passed unanimously out of an Indiana Senate committee Thursday.
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.
City seeks developer input on former Oaktree Apartments site in Indy
Developers have until Jan. 31 to respond to the request for information on the 19-acre former Oaktree Apartments site at the corner of 42nd Street and Post Road in Indianapolis.
Indy considering outside counsel to test public nuisance law
Indianapolis fought a nine-year legal battle against troubled housing complex owner Towne & Terrace Corp. A City-County Council proposal aims to give the city more fuel in the future against similar properties causing a public nuisance.
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.
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.
Supreme Court order: Indiana courts must use Odyssey tool in eviction proceedings
The Indiana Supreme Court has amended its requirements on state courts handling eviction proceedings to reflect changes in the court process and resources available to tenants and property owners.
COA awards additional attorney fees to tenants who countersued landlord
House renters who argued their landlord who sued them should be held responsible for all attorney fees have secured a reversal from the Court of Appeals of Indiana and will walk away with nearly $4,000 more in fees.