Indiana: Eviction Notice Requirements

Requirements one by one

Notice for unpaid rent

If a tenant "refuses or neglects to pay rent when due, a landlord may terminate
the lease with not less than ten (10) days notice" (IC 32-31-1-6). The number is
a floor, not a fixed period — the landlord may give longer. Two things stop the
termination: the parties may have "otherwise agreed" (your lease can set a
different rule), or the tenant may pay "the rent in full before the notice period
expires." The statute even supplies the form: the notice tells the tenant to
vacate "not more than ten (10) days after you receive this notice unless you pay
the rent due... within ten (10) days" (IC 32-31-1-7).

Lease violations and serious misconduct

Indiana's notice statutes are narrow. Chapter 1 sets notice rules for unpaid rent
and for ending a periodic tenancy, and nothing else — there is no separate
statutory "cure-or-quit" clock for a non-rent lease breach and no short
conduct-based "unconditional quit" notice. For a violation of the lease other
than rent, the notice (if any) and cure period come from the lease itself, not
from the statute. In fact, the statute says "notice is not required" at all in
several situations, including when "a tenant at will commits waste" or the tenant
"is a tenant at sufferance" (IC 32-31-1-8). For a genuine emergency — serious and
imminent harm — a landlord uses a court emergency possessory order (IC 32-31-6),
which is a court process, not a pre-court notice.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

To end a periodic tenancy with no fault, the notice depends on the tenancy's
length. A tenancy at will (which includes a month-to-month tenancy) "may be
determined by a one (1) month notice in writing, delivered to the tenant"
(IC 32-31-1-1). A shorter periodic tenancy of three months or less needs "notice
equal to the interval between the periods" (IC 32-31-1-4). A year-to-year tenancy
needs "not less than three (3) months" notice before the year ends
(IC 32-31-1-3). No reason is required.

How the notice must be served

Service runs down a short ladder (IC 32-31-1-9). The notice "may be served on the
tenant." "If the tenant cannot be found," it may be served on "a person residing
at the premises," and "the person serving the notice must explain the contents of
the notice" to that person. If no one is found on the premises, the notice may be
served "by affixing a copy... to a conspicuous part of the premises." Keeping
proof of how and when the notice was served matters if the tenant later disputes
it.

Tenant's right to cure/reinstate

For unpaid rent, the cure right is built into the notice: paying "the rent in
full before the notice period expires" prevents termination (IC 32-31-1-6).
Beyond that, Indiana's main statutory defense is the anti-retaliation law. A
landlord "may not engage in a retaliatory act" — including "increasing the amount
of the tenant's rent," cutting services, or "bringing or threatening to bring an
action for possession" — "in response to a tenant's engaging in one (1) or more
protected activities" (IC 32-31-8.5-5, -4). Protected activities include
complaining to a code-enforcement agency about a health-or-safety violation and
organizing or joining a tenant organization. The law lists exceptions — most
importantly, the landlord may still proceed if the tenant is in default on rent
and hasn't cured within the IC 32-31-1-6 period.

What trips people up

The 10 days for unpaid rent is a minimum, and your lease can change it.
Section 32-31-1-6 says "not less than" ten days, so a landlord may give more, and
the statute expressly defers to any different rule "the parties otherwise agreed"
to in the lease. Read your lease before assuming the bare 10-day rule applies.

Indiana has no statutory cure period for non-rent lease violations. Unlike
many states, Indiana's code does not give you a set number of days to fix a
non-rent breach like an unauthorized pet or occupant. Whatever cure period (if
any) exists comes from your lease. Don't count on a statutory "cure-or-quit"
window that isn't there.

Some situations require no notice at all. If your lease is for a fixed term
that has ended, if you are a tenant at sufferance, or if a tenant at will commits
waste, IC 32-31-1-8 says no termination notice is required before the landlord
seeks possession.

Common questions

I got a 10-day notice for rent — if I pay everything, do I stay? Yes.
Paying the full rent due before the 10-day period expires prevents the
termination (IC 32-31-1-6). Pay by a method you can prove and keep your receipt,
because after the period runs the landlord can proceed.

Does my landlord need a reason to end my month-to-month lease? No. Indiana
has no statewide just-cause requirement, so a landlord can end a month-to-month
tenancy for any reason with one month's written notice (IC 32-31-1-1). Indiana
also bars cities and counties from adding their own rent-control or
landlord-tenant rules (IC 32-31-1-20).

My landlord is raising my rent right after I reported code violations — is
that allowed? It may be illegal retaliation. Raising rent, cutting services, or
threatening an eviction because you engaged in a protected activity — such as
complaining to a housing-code agency or joining a tenant organization — is barred
(IC 32-31-8.5), though the landlord can still act on a genuine, independent
reason such as unpaid rent.

Can my landlord lock me out or shut off utilities to force me out? No. Only a
court can order an eviction in Indiana; a self-help lockout or utility shutoff to
force a tenant out is prohibited.

Statutes and sources

• IC 32-31-1-6 — at least 10 days' notice for unpaid rent; cure by paying in full before the period expires.
  https://iga.in.gov/ic/2025/Title_32/Article_31/Chapter_1.pdf (accessed 2026-07-10)
• IC 32-31-1-7 — statutory form of the 10-day nonpayment notice.
  https://iga.in.gov/ic/2025/Title_32/Article_31/Chapter_1.pdf (accessed 2026-07-10)
• IC 32-31-1-1 — one month's notice to end a tenancy at will / month-to-month.
  https://iga.in.gov/ic/2025/Title_32/Article_31/Chapter_1.pdf (accessed 2026-07-10)
• IC 32-31-1-3 — three months' notice to end a year-to-year tenancy.
  https://iga.in.gov/ic/2025/Title_32/Article_31/Chapter_1.pdf (accessed 2026-07-10)
• IC 32-31-1-4 — notice equal to the interval for a periodic tenancy of three months or less.
  https://iga.in.gov/ic/2025/Title_32/Article_31/Chapter_1.pdf (accessed 2026-07-10)
• IC 32-31-1-8 — situations where no termination notice is required (fixed term, tenant at sufferance, waste by a tenant at will).
  https://iga.in.gov/ic/2025/Title_32/Article_31/Chapter_1.pdf (accessed 2026-07-10)
• IC 32-31-1-9 — service of notices (tenant; person residing at premises; posting).
  https://iga.in.gov/ic/2025/Title_32/Article_31/Chapter_1.pdf (accessed 2026-07-10)
• IC 32-31-1-20 — local units barred from regulating rents and the landlord-tenant relationship.
  https://iga.in.gov/ic/2025/Title_32/Article_31/Chapter_1.pdf (accessed 2026-07-10)
• IC 32-31-8.5-4, -5 — retaliatory acts by landlords prohibited.
  https://iga.in.gov/ic/2025/Title_32/Article_31/Chapter_8.5.pdf (accessed 2026-07-10)