Landlord-Tenant Relations and Rights
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Landlord-Tenant • Have a signed lease with your name on it. Relations and A tenant may not interrupt, reduce, shut off, or • Get everything in writing. Rights cause termination of: • Do NOT move into a rental unit that is in • Electricity; need of repair. Require the landlord to • Gas; make the repairs BEFORE you move in and begin paying rent. • Water; or • Other essential services; • Purchase Renter’s Insurance. To the dwelling if the interruption, reduction, • If you are experiencing a problem with your rental unit, you must contact your shutting off, or termination of the service will landlord. You must also give him/her result in serious damage to the rental unit. access to the unit to assess the situation and make necessary repairs. A tenant may not unreasonably withhold con- sent to the landlord to enter the dwelling in or- • You do NOT have the right to withhold your rent payment from your landlord. Doing so der to: may result in eviction. • Inspect the dwelling; • When renting a house, YOU are • Make necessary or agreed upon: responsible for maintaining/mowing the a. Repairs; yard, shoveling snow, picking up litter/ The Department of Code b. Decorations; debris, and taking your trash to the alley/ curb and placing it in appropriate trash/ c. Alterations; or Enforcement asks for your recycling container(s). d. Improvements • Document the condition of the property cooperation in keeping your • Supply necessary or agreed to services; or when you move in - pictures with a date/ neighborhood a clean and • Exhibit the dwelling to prospective or time stamp are ideal. actual: safe place to live. a. Purchasers; Know your rights as a tenant! b. Mortgagees; See Indiana Code, Title 32, c. Tenants; Article 31 for in-depth information Contact Us! d. Workers; or on Tenant-Landlord relations. Code Enforcement http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2016/ic/ e. Contractors 13th Floor County-City Building titles/032/ South Bend Human Rights Commission 227 W. Jefferson Blvd. South Bend, IN 46601 If you feel that you are experiencing Health Department housing discrimination, contact the 574-235-9486 If you are experiencing issues with mold, bed bugs, South Bend Human Rights Commission at: Office Hours: or other vermin, contact the Health Department at: 319 N Niles Ave Monday - Friday 227 W Jefferson Blvd, #825 South Bend, IN 46617 8:00 AM - 4:45 PM South Bend, IN 46601 574-235-9355 574-235-9750 Website: https://www.southbendin.gov/ Rev. 5.4.17 MJ A tenant shall do the following: A landlord shall do the following: A landlord may not: • Keep the area used by the tenant • Deliver the rental property to a tenant in line with • Take possession of; reasonably clean. the rental agreement, and in a safe, habitable, • Remove from a tenant’s dwelling unit; • Use the following in a reasonable manner: and clean condition. • Deny a tenant access to; or a. Electrical systems • Make reasonable efforts to keep common areas of • Dispose of; b. Plumbing rental premises in a clean and proper condition A tenant’s personal property in order to enforce an obligation of the tenant to the landlord under a c. Sanitary Systems (unless rental is a house). rental agreement. d. Heating, ventilation, and air • Provide and maintain the following items in a conditioning systems rental premises in good and safe working A landlord may not (unless authorized by a judicial order): • Refrain from defacing, damaging, condition (if the systems were already there when • Deny or interfere with a tenant’s access to, or destroying, impairing, or removing any part rental agreement is entered into): possession of, the tenant’s dwelling by any act, of the rental property. a. Electrical systems including the following: a. Changing the locks or adding a device to • Ensure that each smoke detector b. Plumbing systems that can supply a exclude the tenant from the dwelling; installed in the tenants rental unit reasonable amount of hot and cold b. Removing the doors, windows, fixtures, or remains functional and not disabled. running water at all times appliances from the dwelling; c. Interrupting, reducing, shutting off, or c. Sanitary systems causing termination of any of the d. Heating, ventilation, and air Landlord’s rights to enforce tenant following to a tenant: conditioning systems Electricity obligations: e. Elevators Gas • A landlord can bring an action from a Water court with jurisdiction to enforce a tenant Tenant’s rights to enforce landlord obligations: Other essential services obligation but first must complete these • A tenant can bring an action from a court with A landlord: steps: jurisdiction to enforce a landlord obligation • Shall not abuse the right of entry or use a right a. the landlord has to inform the but first must meet these conditions: of entry to harass a tenant tenant of his/her a. The tenant has to inform the • Shall give a tenant reasonable written or oral noncompliance. notice of the landlord's intent to enter the landlord of his/her noncompliance. dwelling; and b. the tenant then has to be given a b. The landlord then has to be given a reasonable amount of time to fix reasonable amount of time to fix the A landlord may enter the dwelling unit: the noncompliance. noncompliance. The tenant cannot • Without notice to the tenant in the case of an • If the noncompliance caused physical prevent the landlord from having emergency that threatens the safety of the damage and the landlord repaired it, the access to the rental premises to make occupants or the landlord’s property; and landlord can send a notice to the tenant of repairs. • Without the consent of the tenant: how much the repairs cost. c. Landlord fails or refuses to repair or a. Under a court order; or b. If the tenant has abandoned or remedy the condition described in the surrendered the dwelling tenant’s notice. .