Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Indiana

Rights of tenants

When you rent real estate or a house or apartment without having a written lease, you are subject to the Indiana laws as to the rights of landlords and tenants. That law requires a 30 day written notice to terminate the tenancy in general (from the beginning to the end of the month or other term). However, if your rent is delinquent, then only a 10 day written notice is required.

That, basically, is what the law provides for (exclusive of certain rights that come within the scope of security deposits which are not considered by this article).

If you have a written lease, that document and not the terms of state law apply to the relations between you.

The written lease defines the term of your lease (or how long it is you intend to live there), what happens if you move before it has terminated, what items the landlord will keep in good repair and what items the tenant will be responsbile for.

A written lease may cover a wide variety of topics that the state law does not consider (who pays utilities, rules and regulations for parking and so on).

A written lease may have some unusual clauses (or what you might consider unusual) and it is important to read the lease before you decide to sign it.

Always take your time to read it over, do not be misled by the leasing agent. He or she may or may not be fully conversant with the terms of the lease and will often lead you to believe one thing might occur when in fact the reverse is true under the terms.

If you do not understand the terms and what you read is contradictory to what the agent says, please, please consult a lawyer in advance. Make sure you understand your rights and obligations before entering into that lease.

If, for example, the lease says to use nails to put up wall decor, but the agent says to use perhaps some type of glue or putty, what do you do? You are going to move into this apartment and you want to decorate it your way. That will most certainly cause a problem when the lease terminates, you move and the landlord wants damages to his walls.

If this happens, that the agent is firm on the method and it differs from the lease, make a note on the lease and initial it and have the agent do so also.

If you do not like the standard lease for one complex, you will probably be able to find a reasonably similar apartment elsewhere with different standard terms in that complex's lease.

Or, be inventive and prepare your own and offer it.