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Real Property for Indiana Paralegals
Section 10 . 2 . 1

Tenant Duties

Jonathan Watson

Tenant duties under residential leases are established under Ind. Code § 32-31-7-5. These requirements may not be modified by contract – therefore, they are required of every landlord / tenant relation, even if not included in the contract. The tenant is required to: comply with any health and housing codes imposed upon the tenant by law, keep the rental premises occupied or used by the tenant reasonably clean, and use the electrical systems, plumbing, sanitary systems, HVAC, elevators, and facilities and appliances in a reasonable manner. The tenant must also refrain from “defacing, damaging, destroying, impairing, or removing any part of the rental premises.” The tenant must obey all reasonable rules and regulations in existence at the time the lease begins, and all amendments which occur during the lease.[1] Finally, the tenant must “ensure that each smoke detector installed in the tenant's rental unit remains functional and is not disabled,” which entails testing and replacing batteries, or if the detector is hard-wired, notifying the landlord if it appears nonfunctional. At the termination of a lease, the tenant must return the property “in a clean and proper condition, excepting ordinary wear and tear expected in the normal course of habitation of a dwelling unit.[2]”

The landlord has a right to sue under Ind. Code § 32-31-7-7 if the tenant fails to comply with the requirements imposed by Ind. Code § 32-31-7-5. The landlord must give the tenant notice of noncompliance and give the tenant a reasonable amount of time to comply. The notice must include a list of any physical damage the landlord repaired and the costs to repair. However, the notice is not required if the tenancy has ended. If the landlord is the prevailing party in such an action, then the landlord may recover actual damages, attorney fees, and costs, as well as obtaining injunctive relief or any other remedies permitted by law. The case excerpt at the end discusses some of these aspects of law.

[1] It is important to remember that these rules and regulations cannot contradict or eliminate the statutory duties established by the Ind. Code.

[2] Ind. Code § 32-31-8-5.

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