Breaking A Rental Lease In Indiana Without Incurring Any Expenses

You found a place to rent in Indiana—perhaps an apartment or condo, and yet, "life happens." Circumstances have changed, and you realize you need to end your lease, but you signed an agreement to make all payments as agreed.

Can you legally break a lease in Indiana without having to pay for the remaining months? Determining on your own whether or not you can break a lease, and how to break the lease yourself, is a difficult and time-consuming chore. DoNotPay offers a quick, simple way to handle the details for you.

Does Indiana Law Generally Work in Favor of Tenants?

No—this state is considered "landlord friendly" for various reasons, including:

• The state has no rent-control policies
• Landlords may raise the rent as high as they wish as long as they provide a 30-day notice
• Indiana places no limit on the amount charged for late-rent-payment fees
• The state has no law restricting how much notice landlords must provide tenants before entering the rental property

Are There Valid Legal Reasons for Me to Break My Lease Without Penalty?

You may legally terminate your rental agreement in Indiana without penalty for these reasons:

Active Military Duty

If you are an active service member who must move because of deployment or a permanent change of station, you may qualify for early lease termination. The Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act (SCRA) protects people in this category.

You are covered by this act from your duty start date through the period ending between 30 and 90 days after the discharge date.

To legally break a lease under these circumstances, you must:

1. Prove the lease was signed before entering active duty
2. Show evidence you will stay on active duty for at least 90 days
3. Provide the landlord with written notice and either a copy of orders to deploy or PCS/letter from your commanding officer indicating upcoming deployment

Landlord Harassment or Privacy Violation

Should a landlord harass you or violate your privacy, this might be sufficient reason to end your lease agreement early.

Entry by landlord – Indiana requires that the landlord provide a reasonable (not clearly defined by law) verbal or written advance notice of plans to enter your property. If this requirement is violated multiple times or the landlord harasses you by removing doors, windows, or shutting off utilities, you may qualify for early termination without penalty.

Lockout – A landlord in this state may not change locks and lock out a tenant. This is punishable by 2 months' rent or free occupancy.

Domestic Violence

Tenants who are suffering from a domestic violence or stalking scenario have some protection for early termination of a rental agreement. Consult local law enforcement for laws that apply to your situation.

Indiana's statutes include:

• The landlord must verify any claim of domestic violence
• The landlord cannot terminate, refuse to renew, or refuse to enter into a lease with a domestic violence victim
• The tenant may end a lease agreement with a notice of 30 days and domestic violence proof, including written notice

Uninhabitable Unit

Indiana has safety and health codes that must be met for your rental property. When a code is violated, the tenant must contact the landlord and describe the problem. Within an allowable time frame, repairs must be made—otherwise, the tenant may leave and be considered constructively evicted with no requirement to complete the lease.

Early Termination Clause

Some lease agreements spell out specific terms under which a tenant may break the lease early by paying a penalty fee. Read the lease carefully to determine if you meet any requirements specified, the amount of the penalty fee, and how much notice must be given to the landlord.

How Far in Advance Must I Give Notice When Breaking a Lease?

In the state of Indiana, the length of notice depends on your particular type of rental lease:

Is There an Easier Way to Get Out of My Lease Legally?

Breaking a lease in Indiana on your own with little or no penalty can be tricky and time-consuming. A handy alternative is DoNotPay. Our product can simplify the entire process, and we are confident you will find it to be:

• Quick - You will not need to spend hours attempting to break your lease yourself.
• Successful - We will craft the best demand letter for you, or take other steps to resolve your Indiana lease problems.
• Easy - No struggling to fill out long, tedious forms or writing demand letters yourself.

Use DoNotPay to Help You Break Your Rental Lease

Here's how you can get started in 3 easy steps:

1. Search Break My Lease on DoNotPay.

2. Prepare a signed copy of your lease that you can use as a reference and enter the state the lease was signed in.

3. Let us guide you through the 4 potential options.

Depending on your specific situation, DoNotPay will help in the following ways:

• If you're a uniformed service member breaking a lease to fulfill your service obligations, we'll send your landlord an SCRA Protection Letter.
• If you're breaking your lease for a reason protected by your state's tenant laws, we'll write your landlord a letter detailing your protections for breaking the lease under the relevant law.
• If your reasons for breaking your lease aren't protected by federal or state law, but you'd like to try to convince your landlord to let you break the lease through mutual agreement, we'll draft a hardship letter making your case to your landlord.
• If there are no remaining options for breaking the lease with protection, but your state requires landlords to mitigate damages to tenants who break their leases, we'll notify your landlord of that obligation and minimize the remaining rent you have to pay.

More Landlord/Tenant Solutions From DoNotPay

Consider reviewing these related articles regarding problems for which we can provide help:

• What happens if you break a lease?
• How to break a lease without penalty
• Will breaking my lease damage my credit?
• Legal reasons to break a lease
• What does it cost to break a lease?

Other Things DoNotPay Can Solve for You

DoNotPay provides you with an easy, automated way to help with a wide list of problems. We offer many additional products to help simplify your life, including (but not limited to):

• Breach of contract
• Reducing property taxes
• Change your mailing address
• Power of attorney
• Cancel subscriptions

Our products can supply you with simplified and automated ways to deal with the difficulties of breaking a lease, and they can certainly help with other tedious and annoying tasks we encounter in life. Sign up today to let us help!