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Real Property for Indiana Paralegals
Section 10 . 2

Residential Leases

Jonathan Watson

Residential lease law is more heavily regulated than commercial leases, as states have generally established statutes to give greater protection for renters, as well as to fill in “gaps,” that occur when landlords or tenants fail to hire lawyers to draft their contract and instead download them from the internet. For instance, such a piecemeal contract may fail to specify whether the landlord or tenant is responsible for smoke detector maintenance, and Indiana law specifies that. Residential leases are regulated under Ind. Code chapters §§ 32-31-3-1 through 32-31-9-1, which apply to residential dwelling units within Indiana, with certain exceptions.[1] While simply restating the entire residential lease code is beyond the scope of this chapter, we will deal with a few important considerations here.

[1] “Such exceptions include: nursing homes and similar, rent-to-own agreements, rental units in private organizations such as fraternities, hotels / motels and other temporary lodgings, employer-provided housing, condominium owners or leases of coops, and agricultural housing.” Ind. Code § 32-31-2.9-4.

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