Those facing housing instability often have to navigate a tricky set of legal hurdles in their relationship with landlords, but there are steps renters can take to protect themselves. An event hosted by the REAL Enrichment Center on Thursday gave frontline providers some tips they can share with their clients.
Notre Dame Law School professor emerita Judy Fox noted that Indiana is one of just five states that don’t allow tenants to withhold rent for unsafe housing. "We have, probably, the worst tenant laws in the country," Fox said. "There’s a fight about whether Arizona’s worse than us. You know, we were talking about these seminars. There’s actually one that I watched where the landlords were saying, ‘You’ve got to buy houses in Indiana because the judges will do anything.’"
Portage Township Trustee Jason Critchlow encouraged renters to document whatever they can. "Whether it’s a request for repairs or if it’s an agreement on something, I always [say] send an email. Send a text message, as long as that is acknowledged. I mean, record your conversation if you have to," Critchlow said.
And even if there is a written lease, Fox said that doesn’t necessarily mean that all of the provisions are legally enforceable.
Locally, the city of South Bend tries to make sure homes are safe through its Rental Safety Verification Program. Emily Bastine de Hernandez is the city’s director of neighborhood health and housing. She said the city can’t mediate between tenants and landlords, but it can investigate complaints. "It’s worse than what you could imagine," she said. "Our inspectors see some very, very scary things on a weekly basis. But they also go into houses, and they’re like, ‘Yeah, we can certify that one. That wasn’t bad at all.’"
Tenants can also file complaints with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office.
If a case does go to court, Fox reminds tenants to show up to their hearing and bring three printed copies of any written evidence, since phones typically aren’t allowed in courtrooms.
If an eviction filing is dismissed, it’s now automatically sealed. But older records aren’t, and Critchlow says some tenants may not even realize they’ve had an eviction filed against them. Portage Township is hosting an eviction sealing workshop on October 15 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the township offices on Columbia Avenue in South Bend.
“Anybody who thinks they might even possibly have an eviction on their record should come to these, or, if you’re someone who has an eviction on your record and you don’t have any more outstanding judgements — it’s been done, it’s been taken care of — you are now eligible to have that eviction sealed. You should come to our clinic, and we’ll show you how to do that. It’s very easy,” Critchlow said.
