An Indiana lease agreement is a written contract that sets the rent, security deposit, and rules for renting a home or apartment in the state. Indiana law lets a landlord and tenant agree to a month-to-month, year-to-year, or fixed-term tenancy, and each type ends on different notice.
Before you sign, read the rules below on security deposits, entry notice, and each side’s duties under Indiana law. Then use the tool on this page to build your own Indiana lease agreement in minutes. Indiana rental relations are governed by the Indiana Code (Article 31), so check the state legislature’s website for the current text of the law.
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There are several categories of a rental agreement in Indiana, and each comes with its own rules for length and notice. According to the local laws, parties can agree on a month-to-month tenancy, a year-to-year tenancy, or a tenancy with a determined term of not less than three months. See our full lease agreement form guide for the details of each type.
A tenancy cannot arise without a contract, and the basic rules for writing one stay the same across lease types. Termination notice, however, differs by tenancy type.
A month-to-month tenancy ends on one month’s written notice to the tenant.[2.1] A year-to-year tenancy ends on notice given at least three months before the year expires.[2.1] A week-to-week tenancy ends on notice equal to the interval between rent periods.[1.1] A fixed-term tenancy simply ends on its stated expiration date.
Whichever notice applies, put the lease terms for ending the tenancy in writing and keep a copy for your records. Our lease termination letter template covers each notice type above.
Indiana law voids any lease clause that waives these tenant and landlord protections, so a lease cannot lawfully sign away rights like the security deposit return deadline or the entry notice rules below.[1.6]
All arrangements made between the parties should be in a written form. Usually, the parties use a specific notice to inform each other on any matter related to the deal. The notice has to be signed and dated and delivered by first-class mail or in-person. One needs to take this measure to prove a point in case of a lawsuit against them.
Pay special attention to local environmental issues and peculiarities. Some territories are more vulnerable to natural disasters like forest fires and floods than others. Therefore, local authorities often make it obligatory for the landlords to take responsibility for property protection and repercussions.
There is no standard lease agreement. You may use legal assistance or find a copy online. But for your safety and convenience, we suggest you use our software tools to build a lease agreement form.
A lease agreement should contain all the necessary details, including:
Below, we provide a brief review of the most sensitive and thus important parts of a lease agreement.
A lease agreement has a section dedicated to the security deposit. It is a certain amount of money to cover any damages caused to the premises by the tenant or members of his family during residence. The tenant gets their security deposit back at the end of the tenancy, provided they kept the property in its initial condition and did not breach the agreement.
When the tenancy ends, Indiana law gives the landlord forty-five days to return the deposit, minus any amount applied to unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear, or unpaid utility charges.[1.2]
Not more than forty-five (45) days after the termination of occupancy, a landlord shall mail to a tenant an itemized list of damages claimed for which the security deposit may be used.
A landlord who misses this deadline forfeits the right to keep any part of the deposit and must return it in full.[1.4] A landlord who wrongly withholds a deposit also owes the tenant the amount withheld plus reasonable attorney’s fees.[1.5] A tenant in that position can send a deposit demand letter before pursuing further action.
Popular Local Rental Lease Agreement Forms
Under this article, the landlord obtains the right to enter the subject premises during working hours for inspection purposes. An inspection is not only required for the landlord to keep an eye on the tenant but to also make the necessary repairs and alterations to the property. The tenant, in turn, should agree to eliminate all obstacles for such an inspection.
Indiana law backs this up on both sides. A tenant may not block the landlord’s access to the rental property to make a repair described in the tenant’s own notice.[2.6] The tenant must also give the landlord a reasonable amount of time to finish that repair, and the landlord must have first received notice of the problem.[2.6]
If a tenant breaks a lease rule, Indiana law requires the landlord to give written notice of the problem and a reasonable amount of time to fix it before taking further action.[2.4]
The tenant should always read the lease agreement very carefully because, in case of a breach, they would become liable to the landlord. The landlord can file for cost reparation of such an action, including reasonable attorney’s fees cost.
If the tenant fails to pay the rent in time for any reason, the landlord can give them a 10-day Notice to Pay or Quit. During this term, the parties still have a good chance to come to an agreement.
As mentioned before, local authorities tend to ask the landlords for cooperation in times of emergencies. For example, in Indiana, all agreements made or renewed after 30 June 2009 shall contain a flood plain disclosure if the lowest floor of the premises is below 100 annual frequency flood elevation. You can look at local flood plain maps provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency before signing an agreement.
Provided you did your research and agreed on important details and matters, you shall be able to avoid any unpleasant situations in tenant-landlord relations.
| Document Name | Indiana Rental Lease Agreement Form |
| Other Names | IN Rental Lease, Indiana Residential Lease Agreement |
| Relevant Laws | Indiana Code, Title 32, Article 31 |
| Security Deposit Amount | No limit |
| Security Deposit Return | Forty-five (45) days from termination date |
| Avg. Time to Fill Out | 18 minutes |
| # of Fillable Fields | 119 |
| Available Formats | Adobe PDF |
Indiana law also sets day-to-day duties for landlords and tenants under an Indiana lease agreement, separate from the deposit and entry rules above. These duties apply automatically to rental property in the state, and a lease cannot waive them.[1.6]
A landlord must:
A tenant must:
Occupancy limits also matter for both sides. Indiana treats an occupancy standard of two people per bedroom as presumptively reasonable.[2.7]
Indiana tenants and landlords ask the same handful of questions about lease agreements again and again. The answers below cover tenant rights, waiver rules, and how much notice each side owes before a month-to-month or year-to-year lease ends.
An Indiana tenant has the right to a rental unit that is safe, clean, and habitable, with working systems the landlord provided.[2.5] The tenant also has the right to get the security deposit back within forty-five days of move-out, along with an itemized list of any deductions.[1.2] None of these rights can be waived by the lease itself.[1.6]
No. Indiana law makes any waiver of these landlord and tenant protections void, whether it is written into the lease or agreed to another way.[1.6]
Either party can end a month-to-month tenancy with one month’s written notice delivered to the other side.[2.1]
A year-to-year tenancy ends on notice given at least three months before the year expires.[2.1]
General information, not legal or tax advice.
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