Skip to content
Call 911Crisis 988Never Use Alone 800-484-3731
Leave this site ›
Find help

Resource pages currently cover Kentucky and Indiana.

IndianaChange state

This directory is under active review and may be incomplete. Confirm urgent details directly; No One Left Outside does not guarantee eligibility, availability, funding, acceptance, or placement.

Leave this site ›

If this is an emergency

  • Call 911 for a police, fire or medical emergency.
  • Call or text 988 for a mental health or substance use crisis.

Indiana guidance. Status unknown, call to confirm.

Behind on rent or facing eviction in Indiana

Do not ignore court papers. Go to every court date. Rent help and free legal help may be available. This guide does not say how many days of notice a landlord must give; ask legal aid about your notice.

  1. Step 1: A letter is not a court order

    The sheriff can only remove you after a court order. A letter or notice from your landlord is not that order. Read every paper you get and look for a court date.

  2. Step 2: Your landlord cannot lock you out

    A landlord may not change the locks or shut off your utilities to make you leave unless you have abandoned the home. You can ask the court for emergency help if this happens. Call legal aid right away.

  3. Step 3: Keep paying rent if you can

    Indiana tenants do not have the right to stop paying rent, even when repairs are not made. Ask for a receipt each time you pay and keep it.

  4. Step 4: Ask for rent help now

    Rental assistance may cover past-due or current rent, but funding may or may not still be available. Your landlord may be able to help you apply. If you cannot apply online, dial 2-1-1 or 866-211-9966, or text your ZIP code to 898-211.

  5. Step 5: Go to every court date

    If you do not go, the court may rule against you without hearing your side. Even if you think you will lose, it is better to go and tell your side. If work or child care is a conflict, you can ask the court for a continuance, which moves the date.

  6. Step 6: Ask about pre-eviction diversion

    At your first hearing, the judge will explain the pre-eviction diversion program. If you and your landlord both agree to it, your case can be marked confidential and stopped for 90 days. Indiana also has a free landlord-tenant settlement conference program.

  7. Step 7: Get ready for court

    Bring 3 paper copies of anything you want the judge to see: one for you, one for the landlord and one for the court. If you applied for rent help, bring the application or confirmation. Tell the judge about rent help or money you expect, partial payments the landlord took after filing, or if the case came after you asked for repairs.

  8. Step 8: Get free legal help

    Call Indiana Legal Services at 844-243-8570 to see if they can help you. Call to confirm their hours. Indiana Legal Help can also show legal help near you by ZIP code or county.

  9. Step 9: Know the two hearings

    An Indiana eviction case has two parts. At the first hearing, the court decides if you have to move out. A later hearing decides if anyone owes money. In small claims court, the most someone can win is $10,000.

  10. Step 10: If the judge says you must move

    The court sets the date you must be out. It depends on the court, but it is often two to three weeks away. If the landlord pays money to the court for immediate possession, you may have to leave soon after the hearing. You can ask about paying the same amount to the court to stay.

  11. Step 11: If you disagree with the judgment

    Call legal aid the same day. For a small claims judgment, an appeal needs action within 30 days. If you missed court and the judge ruled against you, a request to set that judgment aside must be filed within 1 year. That limit is for the request. It does not let you stay in your home; don't wait. Check your court papers or call to confirm.

  12. Step 12: If you have to move

    After a court order, the landlord can ask the court to send your things to storage, and you pay the storage costs. Return all keys. Give the landlord your new address in writing. Within 45 days, the landlord must return your deposit or give you a written list of why it was kept.

  13. Step 13: Ask about sealing the eviction record

    You may be able to ask the court to seal an eviction record, for example after you pay off the money judgment. If there was no money judgment, at least 7 years must pass. Indiana Legal Help has forms you file in the same court. Missing your hearings can make sealing harder.

  14. Step 14: If you are a victim of domestic violence

    Indiana gives some tenants who are victims of domestic violence extra rights, but you must have a current court protection order. Ask legal aid. If you are in danger now, call 911.

Keep these ready if you have them

  • Your lease, if you have one
  • Every notice and court paper you got
  • Rent receipts and proof you paid or tried to pay
  • Your rent-help application or confirmation
  • Photos and dated repair requests

Status unknown, call to confirm. Court dates, office hours and rent-help funding change. Check your court papers and call before you go.

Not legal advice. The agency or program decides what applies to your situation.