Indianapolis Leads in Eviction Rates as the amount of Homeless and Jobless Hoosiers Continue to Rise: Observations from a law student in Small Claims Court.

Recently I sat in on a small claims court during “real estate possession” day. One of the first questions a tenant will hear when facing eviction is some version of “Are you current on rent?” 

Many of the responses would vary, yet consist of similar details. Marion County residents explain how the difficulties of job and food insecurity, and lack of income prevents them from maintaining consistent payments. But the reality is, when a tenant fails to pay rent Indiana Law allows a landlord to file for eviction, after providing a 10-day notice. (see Ind. Code Ann. §32-31-1-6).

As Indianapolis begins to enter into the colder months of the year, the amount of Indianapolis’ eviction rates continues to remain high. In fact, so far this year 27,613 evictions have been filed with 2,030 eviction filings in the month of September. Many residents rely on federal-funded programs such as Indy Rent for rental assistance. However, in June of this year, IndyRent announced they were “no longer accepting applications.” Then, those residents, with the majority facing job insecurity, are unable to maintain rent requirements.  

With the high eviction rates in Indianapolis, “eviction hotspots” have been identified by the Eviction Lab, a group of experts dedicated to ending the housing insecurity crisis. “Eviction Hotspots” are identified as complexes that file the most evictions semi-annually. Currently, Lake Castleton Apartments, Lawerence Landing Apartments, and Knoll Ridge Townhomes lead in Indianapolis eviction filing.  

Although the solution for the large number of Indianapolis evictions has not yet been identified, there are many free resources for Hoosiers facing evictions. The City of Indianapolis, Indiana Legal Services, and Indiana Justice Project are dedicated to helping Indianapolis Hoosiers facing evictions by providing free legal assistance, resources, and more.  

Interested in learning about Renters’ Rights in Indiana? Request a FREE 30 - 40 minute presentation from Indiana Justice Project here!