IN · Researched October 7, 2026
Indiana sets no cap on security deposits or late fees, and state law blocks cities and counties from regulating rent, deposits, screening, lease terms and landlord fees. Deposits must be itemized and returned within 45 days after move-out once the tenant gives a written forwarding address. Managing rentals for others requires an Indiana real estate broker license.
No person may, for pay, lease, rent or manage real estate for others in Indiana without a license. Property managers who show units, sign leases or collect rent for owners need a broker license and must be affiliated with a licensed broker company.
Owners acting on their own property; regular full-time salaried employees of the owner; people renting apartment units while employed or supervised by a licensed broker; owners managing no more than 12 apartment units on one parcel or contiguous parcels; attorneys; court-appointed fiduciaries; hotels and stays under 30 days.
Each broker company must keep one or more clearly labeled trust accounts for all money belonging to others, may not mix in personal or business funds, must keep per-beneficiary records, and must hold any interest for the beneficiary.
Indiana law sets no maximum deposit. A required prepayment of rent beyond the first rental period counts as a security deposit. Local governments cannot regulate security deposits.
Mail an itemized list of damages with estimated repair costs, plus a check for the balance. The clock does not run against you until the tenant gives a mailing address in writing. Skipping the itemized notice means you must return the full deposit and can owe the tenant's attorney fees and court costs. Deductions are limited to unpaid rent, damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, unpaid utility or sewer charges the tenant owed, and the last month's rent if a written agreement says so.
The landlord-tenant deposit chapter does not require interest or a specific account. If a licensed broker company holds deposits for owners, broker trust account rules apply. On a sale, the seller stays liable for the deposit for one year unless the buyer assumes it in a notice to the tenant and the seller transfers the money.
No Indiana statute caps or sets rules for late fees, so the lease controls. Local governments cannot regulate fees charged by landlords. Very large fees can still be challenged in court as unreasonable penalties.
No statute caps application or screening fees. Cities and counties cannot regulate screening, applications or landlord fees. Federal FCRA adverse action notice rules still apply when you deny based on a report.
Indiana does not limit the amount of an increase. During a fixed term, raise rent only if the lease allows it. For month-to-month tenants, send written notice at least 30 days ahead.
Cities, towns and counties cannot regulate rental rates, and also cannot regulate screening, deposits, applications, lease terms, disclosures, tenant and landlord rights, or landlord fees unless the legislature authorizes it. Starting July 1, 2026, local units also cannot cap or ban the use of homes as rentals.
Unless the lease says otherwise, you may end the lease with at least 10 days' notice when rent is unpaid. Full payment before the notice expires cures it. Serve the tenant in person, or a resident at the unit (explaining the notice), or post it on a conspicuous part of the premises if no one is found.
Indiana's notice statutes cover unpaid rent and periodic tenancies, not other breaches, so use the notice terms in your lease. A landlord can ask for an emergency possessory order for waste, for a crime by the tenant or guest that affects others' health and safety, or for materially false application information. In crime and false-information cases the court orders the tenant out within 7 days of the hearing.
A tenancy at will ends with one month's written notice. For periodic tenancies of three months or less, notice equal to the rent interval is enough. A year-to-year tenancy needs at least 3 months' notice before the year ends.
A judge must award possession before a tenant can be removed. Lockouts, utility shutoffs and removing doors or appliances are illegal. Emergency possessory hearings are set within 3 business days of filing. Cases that are dismissed or won by the tenant are sealed by the court, and since 2025 tenants may also ask to seal judgments they have paid off.
Property is abandoned when a reasonable person would conclude the tenant left and gave it up. After winning possession you can ask the court for an order to remove belongings and deliver them to a warehouse or court-approved storage after personally serving notice. Exempt items such as medical needs, work tools, a week of clothing and children's school items must be released without payment. Since 2025, unclaimed stored property may be sold after 45 days (it was 90).
No fixed number of hours is set. You may enter without notice in an emergency that threatens occupants or the property, and without consent under a court order or after abandonment. Do not use entry to harass. Tenants may not unreasonably refuse entry for inspections, repairs or showings.
Keep electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, elevators, and appliances you supplied in good and safe working order. Heat must be adequate at all times and hot and cold water must be available. A tenant must give notice and a reasonable time to fix before suing, then can recover damages and attorney fees. Retaliating against a tenant for code complaints or repair requests is prohibited.
At or before move-in, give the tenant in writing the name and address of an Indiana resident authorized to manage the unit and an agent for service of process. State in the lease if the structure is in a 100-year flood plain, and for leases since July 1, 2023, if the property is near a military installation. Get the tenant's written acknowledgment that a working smoke detector is installed. Federal lead paint disclosure applies to pre-1978 housing.
Indiana's Fair Housing Act tracks the federal classes, and the state Civil Rights Law adds ancestry. An occupancy standard of two people per bedroom, not counting infants under one year, is presumed reasonable.
Landlords may petition for an emergency possessory order when a tenant or guest commits a crime affecting others' health or safety, or the tenant gave materially false information to get the lease. The court orders the tenant out within 7 days of the hearing.
Tenants can ask the court to seal eviction records once a money judgment is paid, or 7 years after a judgment with no money award. Courts must seal dismissed cases and tenant wins on their own motion.
An owner can give police a sworn affidavit to remove a squatter who never had a lease or permission, and police generally must act within 48 hours. It does not apply to former tenants, lease violators or invitees.
A warehouse or storage facility holding an evicted tenant's property under a court removal order may sell it if unclaimed 45 days after notice, down from 90 days.
Starting July 1, 2026, local units cannot ban or restrict the use of private homes as rentals, though noncompliant rules adopted before 2026 may stand until January 1, 2028. A separate section, effective on passage (signed March 12, 2026), lets only homestead owners vote on HOA rental restrictions.
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Compare with other states: security deposit limit, deposit return deadline, deposit interest and holding rules, late fees, application and screening fees, rent increase notice, rent control, notice for unpaid rent, notice for lease violations, ending a month-to-month, eviction timeline, abandoned property, landlord entry, repairs and habitability, required disclosures, state fair housing protections.