Tenants have a legal obligation to keep the premises in a clean and sanitary condition and pay the agreed upon rent. Failure to do so may result in eviction or forfeiture of security deposit funds. The law imposes certain duties on a landlord to maintain the premises in habitable condition. Failure to do so, such as providing adequate weatherproofing, available heat, water and electricity, and clean, sanitary and structurally safe premises, may be legal justification for a tenant's defensive acts, such as moving out (even in the middle of a lease), paying less rent, withholding the entire rent until the problem is fixed, making necessary repairs (or hiring someone to make them and deducting the cost from next month's rent) The landlord may be sued for a partial refund of past rent, and in some circumstances can be sued for the discomfort, annoyance and emotional distress caused by the substandard conditions. States typically require landlords to provide a specific amount of notice (usually 24 or 48 hours) before entering a rental unit. In some states, landlords must provide a "reasonable" amount of notice, legally presumed to be 24 hours.

State of Indiana Eviction Law


Indiana Code 32-7-1-1
Enacted 1881, Amended 1881 
IC 32-7-1-1 Sec. 1. Estates at will may be determined by
one (1) month's notice in writing, delivered to the tenant.


(Formerly: Acts 1881(ss), c.72, s.1.)

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Indiana Code 32-7-1-2
Enacted 1881, Amended 1927
IC 32-7-1-2 Sec. 2. A tenancy at will can not arise or be
created without an express contract; and all general tenancies,
except those tenancies covering lands used for agricultural
purposes, in which the premises are occupied by the consent,
either express or constructive, of the landlord, shall be deemed
tenancies from month to month.


(Formerly: Acts 1881(ss), c.72, s.2; Acts 1927, c.87, s.1.)

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Indiana Code 32-7-1-3
Enacted 1881, Amended 1881
IC 32-7-1-3 Sec. 3. All tenancies from year to year, may be
determined by at least three (3) months' notice given to the
tenant prior to the expiration of the year; and in all tenancies
which, by agreement of the parties, express or implied, are from
one period to another, of less than three (3) months' duration,
a notice equal to the interval between such periods shall be
sufficient.


(Formerly: Acts 1881(ss), c.72, s.3.)

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Indiana Code 32-7-1-4
Enacted 1881, Amended 1881 
IC 32-7-1-4 Sec. 4. The following form of notice, or one
substantially like it, may be used in the case of a tenancy from
year to year, the date, names and description being changed to
suit each particular case:

Georgetown, Floyd county, Indiana,
November 30, 1879.
To William Brown:
You are hereby notified to deliver up to me, at the
expiration of the current year of the tenancy, the possession of
the following described premises, viz: the south-east quarter of
section six, in township two, south of range five (5), east in
the county of Floyd, and State of Indiana, now held of me, by
you, as tenant.

Isaac R. Keller



(Formerly: Acts 1881(ss), c.72, s.4.)

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Indiana Code 32-7-1-5
Enacted 1881, Amended 1881
IC 32-7-1-5 Sec. 5. If a tenant refuses or neglects to pay
rent when due, ten (10) days' notice to quit shall determine the
lease, when not otherwise provided therein or agreed to by the
parties, unless such rent be paid at the expiration of said ten
(10) days.


(Formerly: Acts 1881(ss), c.72, s.5.)

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Indiana Code 32-7-1-6
Enacted 1881, Amended 1881 
IC 32-7-1-6 Sec. 6. The following form of notice, or one
substantially like it, may be used in the case of a failure or
refusal to pay rent, the date, names and description being
changed to suit each particular case:

New Albany, Indiana,
November 30, 1879.

To Joseph Demorest:

You are hereby notified to deliver up to me at the
expiration of ten days from the time of receiving this notice,
the possession of the following premises, viz: the cottage
house, with its appurtenances, situated on lot numbered ten, on
Market street, in plat twenty in the city of New Albany, county
of Floyd, and State of Indiana, unless the rent due for said
premises is paid within that time.

Ezekiel R. Day.



(Formerly: Acts 1881(ss), c.72, s.6.)

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Indiana Code 32-7-1-7
Enacted 1881, Amended 1881 
IC 32-7-1-7 Sec. 7. Where the landlord agrees with the
tenant to rent the premises to him for a specified period of
time, or where the time for the determination of the tenancy is
specified in the contract, or where a tenant at will commits
waste, or in the case of a tenant at sufferance; or where, by
the express terms of the contract, the rent is to be paid in
advance, and the tenant has entered, and refuses or neglects to
pay the rent, and in any case where the relation of landlord and
tenant does not exist, no notice to quit shall be necessary.


(Formerly: Acts 1881(ss), c.72, s.7.)

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Indiana Code 32-7-1-8
Enacted 1881, Amended 1982 
IC 32-7-1-8 Sec. 8. Notice as required in sections 1
through 7 of this chapter, may be served on the tenant, or if he
can not be found, by delivering the same to some person of
proper age and discretion, residing on the premises, having
first made known to such person the contents thereof; and if no
such person can be found on the premises, then by affixing a
copy of such notice to a conspicuous part of said premises.


(Formerly: Acts 1881(ss), c.72, s.8.) As amended by Acts 1982, P.L.187, SEC.57.