Introduced Version
HOUSE BILL No. 1031
_____
DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected: IC 32-31;
IC 34-30-2-137.5.
Synopsis: Landlord-tenant law. Provides for the eviction of a tenant
by the county sheriff without a judicial order after the expiration of the
rental agreement.
Effective: July 1, 2003.
Smith V, Brown C
January 7, 2003, read first time and referred to Committee on Judiciary.
Introduced
First Regular Session 113th General Assembly (2003)
PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
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HOUSE BILL No. 1031
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
property.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
SOURCE: IC 32-31-4-4; (03)IN1031.1.1. -->
SECTION 1.
IC 32-31-4-4
, AS ADDED BY P.L.2-2002, SECTION
16, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1,
2003]: Sec. 4. (a) A warehouseman that receives property under this
chapter
or
IC 32-31-9
holds a lien on all of that property that is not
exempt property to the extent of the expenses for any of the following
incurred by the warehouseman with respect to all of the property,
whether exempt or not exempt:
(1) Storage.
(2) Transportation.
(3) Insurance.
(4) Labor.
(5) Present or future charges related to the property.
(6) Expenses necessary for preservation of the property.
(7) Expenses reasonably incurred in the lawful sale of the
property.
(b) A tenant may claim the tenant's property at any time until the
sale of the property under section 5 of this chapter by paying the
warehouseman the expenses described in this section.
SOURCE: IC 32-31-4-5; (03)IN1031.1.2. -->
SECTION 2.
IC 32-31-4-5
, AS ADDED BY P.L.2-2002, SECTION
16, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1,
2003]: Sec. 5. If a tenant does not claim the tenant's property within
ninety (90) days after:
(1) receiving notice under section 3 of this chapter; or
(2) the surrender date (as defined in
IC 32-31-9-2
);
a warehouseman may sell the property received under this chapter
under
IC 26-1-7-210
(2).
SOURCE: IC 32-31-5-5; (03)IN1031.1.3. -->
SECTION 3.
IC 32-31-5-5
, AS ADDED BY P.L.2-2002, SECTION
16, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1,
2003]: Sec. 5. (a) Except as provided in
IC 16-41-27-29
,
IC 32-31-3
,
or
IC 32-31-4
, or
IC 32-31-9
, a landlord may not:
(1) take possession of;
(2) remove from a tenant's dwelling unit;
(3) deny a tenant access to; or
(4) dispose of;
a tenant's personal property in order to enforce an obligation of the
tenant to the landlord under a rental agreement.
(b) The landlord and tenant may agree in a writing separate from the
rental agreement that the landlord may hold property voluntarily
tendered by the tenant as security in exchange for forbearance from an
action to evict.
SOURCE: IC 32-31-5-6; (03)IN1031.1.4. -->
SECTION 4.
IC 32-31-5-6
, AS ADDED BY P.L.2-2002, SECTION
16, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1,
2003]: Sec. 6. (a) This section does not apply if the dwelling unit has
been abandoned.
(b) For purposes of this section, a dwelling unit is considered
abandoned if:
(1) the tenants have failed to:
(A) pay; or
(B) offer to pay;
rent due under the rental agreement; and
(2) the circumstances are such that a reasonable person would
conclude that the tenants have surrendered possession of the
dwelling unit.
An oral or written rental agreement may not define abandonment
differently than is provided by this subsection.
(c) Except as authorized by
IC 32-31-9
or judicial order, a landlord
may not deny or interfere with a tenant's access to or possession of the
tenant's dwelling unit by commission of any act, including the
following:
(1) Changing the locks or adding a device to exclude the tenant
from the dwelling unit.
(2) Removing the doors, windows, fixtures, or appliances from
the dwelling unit.
(3) Interrupting, reducing, shutting off, or causing termination of
any of the following to a tenant:
(A) Electricity.
(B) Gas.
(C) Water.
(D) Other essential services.
However, the landlord may interrupt, shut off, or terminate
service as the result of an emergency, good faith repairs, or
necessary construction. This subdivision does not require a
landlord to pay for services described in this subdivision if the
landlord has not agreed, by an oral or written rental agreement, to
do so.
(d) A tenant may not interrupt, reduce, shut off, or cause termination
of:
(1) electricity;
(2) gas;
(3) water; or
(4) other essential services;
to the dwelling unit if the interruption, reduction, shutting off, or
termination of the service will result in serious damage to the rental
unit.
SOURCE: IC 32-31-9; (03)IN1031.1.5. -->
SECTION 5.
IC 32-31-9
IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS
A
NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
1, 2003]:
Chapter 9. Eviction of a Tenant After Expiration of the Rental
Agreement
Sec. 1. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the
definitions in
IC 32-31-3
and
IC 32-31-5
apply throughout this
chapter.
Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "surrender date" refers to the
date determined by the landlord and set forth in a notice under
section 3(1)(B) of this chapter.
Sec. 3. To evict a tenant under this chapter, a landlord must do
the following:
(1) Notify the tenant by United States mail addressed to the
tenant at the dwelling unit address. The notice must contain
the following information:
(A) A statement that:
(i) the term of the rental agreement has expired or will
expire; and
(ii) the landlord has chosen not to renew the rental
agreement.
(B) The date by which the tenant must surrender
possession of the dwelling unit and remove all the property
in the dwelling unit that is not the property of the landlord.
The surrender date may not be earlier than either of the
following:
(i) The date the rental agreement expires.
(ii) Thirty (30) days after the date of the notice.
(C) That if the tenant does not surrender the dwelling unit
before the end of the surrender date, the county sheriff will
remove the tenant from the dwelling unit.
(D) That if the tenant does not remove all the property in
the dwelling unit that is not the property of the landlord
before the end of the surrender date, that property will be:
(i) removed from the dwelling unit;
(ii) stored at the tenant's expense with a warehouseman
identified in the notice; and
(iii) sold if not claimed by the tenant within ninety (90)
days after the surrender date.
The notice may contain any other information that the
landlord wants to include in the notice.
(2) File the following with the county sheriff of the county in
which the rental unit is located:
(A) An original copy of the rental agreement containing
the signature of the tenant.
(B) A copy of the notice sent under subdivision (1).
(C) Any other information required by the county sheriff.
The landlord must file the information required by this
subdivision not later than a date determined by the county
sheriff. The date must be before the county sheriff acts under
section 4 of this chapter.
Sec. 4. (a) If the tenant has not surrendered the dwelling unit
and removed from the dwelling unit all the property that is not the
property of the landlord by the end of the surrender date, the
landlord may notify the county sheriff.
(b) If a landlord notifies the county sheriff under subsection (a),
the county sheriff shall remove the tenant and remove from the
dwelling unit all the property that is not the property of the
landlord. The property removed from the dwelling unit shall be
delivered to a warehouseman and stored.
IC 32-31-4-4
and
IC 32-31-4-5
apply to property removed from the dwelling unit
under this section.
Sec. 5. (a) A tenant has a cause of action against the landlord
who has evicted the tenant under this chapter if the tenant had a
right to possession of the dwelling unit under the rental agreement
after the surrender date.
(b) If the tenant is the prevailing party in an action under this
section, the tenant may obtain any of the following, if appropriate
under the circumstances:
(1) Recovery of the following from the landlord:
(A) Actual damages and consequential damages.
(B) Damages caused by the county or an officer or
employee of the county acting or failing to act under this
chapter.
(C) Attorney's fees and court costs.
(2) Injunctive relief.
(3) Any other remedy appropriate under the circumstances.
Sec. 6. A tenant evicted under this chapter does not have a cause
of action against the county or an officer or employee of the county
resulting from any action or failure to act under this chapter.
Sec. 7. A landlord's failure to use the remedy provided under
this chapter does not foreclose:
(1) a cause of action the landlord has in a judicial proceeding;
or
(2) the use of remedies under other statutes.
SOURCE: IC 34-30-2-137.5; (03)IN1031.1.6. -->
SECTION 6.
IC 34-30-2-137.5
IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
CODE AS A
NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2003]:
Sec. 137.5.
IC 32-31-9-6
(Concerning
counties and officers and employees of counties for actions or
failures to act in eviction of tenants under
IC 32-31-9
).