Indiana: Landlord Entry Notice Requirements
The short answer
Indiana requires a landlord to give you "reasonable" written or oral notice before entering, and to enter only at reasonable times — but it sets no fixed number of hours. A landlord may enter to inspect, make repairs, supply agreed services, or show the unit, and no notice is needed for an emergency that threatens safety, a court order, or a unit you have abandoned. A landlord may not abuse the right of entry or use it to harass you.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Indiana. Ezel applies current Indiana law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Ind. Code § 32-31-5-6, in the residential landlord-tenant chapter titled 'Rental Agreements; Right of Access.' Indiana did not adopt the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; this is its own scheme, added in 2002 and amended in 2007. Any waiver of the chapter 'by contract or otherwise, is void' (§ 32-31-5-1(c)) |
|---|---|
| Advance notice required | 'Reasonable' notice — no fixed number of hours. The landlord 'shall give a tenant reasonable written or oral notice of the landlord's intent to enter the dwelling unit' and 'may enter a tenant's dwelling unit only at reasonable times' (§ 32-31-5-6(g)(2)-(3)). Indiana does not set 24 hours or any other figure, so what is 'reasonable' depends on the circumstances |
| Reasons a landlord may enter | The statute frames entry through the tenant's duty not to 'unreasonably withhold consent' to entry to: inspect the unit; make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements; supply necessary or agreed services; or exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors (§ 32-31-5-6(e)). This is not written as an exhaustive 'only' list the way California's is, but these are the recognized entry purposes |
| Permitted hours | 'Reasonable times' only (§ 32-31-5-6(g)(3)). The statute fixes no clock (no 'business hours' or a.m./p.m. window); reasonableness is judged by the circumstances. Emergency, court-order, and abandonment entries are not limited to reasonable times |
| When no notice is needed | Three no-notice/no-consent cases (§ 32-31-5-6(f)): (1) 'without notice to the tenant in the case of an emergency that threatens the safety of the occupants or the landlord's property'; and without the tenant's consent (2) 'under a court order,' or (3) 'if the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the dwelling unit.' A unit is 'abandoned' only if the tenant has failed to pay or offer rent AND a reasonable person would conclude the tenant surrendered possession — a lease may not define abandonment more loosely (§ 32-31-5-6(a)-(b)) |
| Form and delivery of the notice | Notice may be 'written or oral' and need only be 'reasonable' (§ 32-31-5-6(g)(2)). The statute lists no required contents (no date/time/purpose mandate) and no specified delivery method, unlike states with a detailed written-notice rule |
| Special rules for showings | None. Showing the unit 'to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors' is one of the ordinary entry purposes under § 32-31-5-6(e)(4) and carries the same reasonable-notice, reasonable-times rule as any other entry. Indiana has no separate shorter-notice or oral-notice track for sale showings |
| Tenant's remedies for unlawful entry | The statute's own limit is that a landlord 'shall not abuse the right of entry or use a right of entry to harass a tenant' (§ 32-31-5-6(g)(1)); it sets no fixed dollar penalty for an improper entry, so a tenant's recourse is general law — a trespass claim, an injunction, and actual damages. Separately, § 32-31-5-6(c) bars a landlord from locking a tenant out or shutting off essential services except by court order (or, for services, an emergency or good-faith repair). The duty runs both ways: a tenant 'may not unreasonably withhold consent' to a lawful entry (§ 32-31-5-6(e)) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Indiana's entry rule lives in a single statute: Indiana Code § 32-31-5-6, part of the
chapter on rental agreements and the landlord's "right of access." Indiana did not
adopt the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, so this is the state's own,
shorter scheme. One structural point matters for everything below: the chapter cannot
be signed away. "A waiver of this chapter by a landlord or tenant, including a former
tenant, by contract or otherwise, is void" (§ 32-31-5-1(c)) — a lease clause giving the
landlord broader entry rights than the statute cannot override it.
Advance notice required
Indiana requires notice, but does not put a number on it. The landlord "shall give a
tenant reasonable written or oral notice of the landlord's intent to enter the dwelling
unit" and "may enter a tenant's dwelling unit only at reasonable times"
(§ 32-31-5-6(g)(2)-(3)). Unlike California's 24-hour rule or Washington's two days,
Indiana leaves "reasonable" undefined, so how much notice is enough depends on the
circumstances — the purpose of the entry, the tenant's schedule, and how much lead
time the situation allows. In practice many landlords borrow the common 24-hour
convention, but the statute itself does not require it.
Reasons a landlord may enter
The statute lists entry purposes indirectly, through the tenant's side of the deal: a
tenant "may not unreasonably withhold consent" to entry to inspect the unit; make
necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements; supply
necessary or agreed services; or exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers,
mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors (§ 32-31-5-6(e)). Indiana does not write
this as an exclusive "the landlord may enter only for" list, but these are the
recognized lawful reasons.
When no notice is needed
Section 32-31-5-6(f) names the situations where the landlord may skip notice or the
tenant's consent: "without notice ... in the case of an emergency that threatens the
safety of the occupants or the landlord's property," and "without the consent of the
tenant" either "under a court order" or "if the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the
dwelling unit." The emergency has to be a genuine safety threat — a fire, a burst pipe
— not a convenient excuse. And "abandoned" has a strict statutory meaning: the tenant
must have failed to pay or offer rent and the circumstances must lead a reasonable
person to conclude the tenant gave up the unit. A lease "may not define abandonment
differently" (§ 32-31-5-6(b)).
Tenant's remedies for unlawful entry
The statute's built-in limit is § 32-31-5-6(g)(1): the landlord "shall not abuse the
right of entry or use a right of entry to harass a tenant." It sets no fixed dollar
penalty for an improper entry, so a tenant's remedies come from general law — a
trespass claim, a request for an injunction to stop repeated intrusions, and actual
damages. A separate, stronger protection sits in the same section: § 32-31-5-6(c) bars
a landlord from locking a tenant out or cutting off electricity, gas, water, or other
essential services except by court order (or, for services, a genuine emergency or
good-faith repair). The duty runs both ways — a tenant "may not unreasonably withhold
consent" to a lawful, reasonably-noticed entry.
What trips people up
"Reasonable notice" is not the same as "24 hours." Indiana never fixes a number.
A tenant expecting a hard 24-hour rule and a landlord assuming a phone call minutes
ahead is enough can both be wrong; the test is what is reasonable for the specific
entry, and a court decides if it is disputed.
A lockout or utility shutoff is a separate, more serious violation than a bad entry.
Changing the locks, removing doors or appliances, or shutting off essential services to
force a tenant out is prohibited by § 32-31-5-6(c) unless a court authorizes it — this
is Indiana's self-help-eviction ban, not part of the entry-notice rule, and it carries
its own consequences.
A lease cannot expand the landlord's entry rights. Because § 32-31-5-1(c) makes any
waiver of the chapter void, a clause promising the landlord a right to enter "at any
time" or "without notice" for routine visits does not hold up.
Common questions
Does my Indiana landlord have to give 24 hours' notice? No — Indiana law only
requires "reasonable" written or oral notice and entry "at reasonable times"
(§ 32-31-5-6(g)). It does not set 24 hours or any other fixed period, so what counts as
reasonable depends on the situation.
Can my landlord come in without telling me first? Only for an emergency that
threatens safety, under a court order, or after you have abandoned the unit
(§ 32-31-5-6(f)). Otherwise the landlord must give reasonable advance notice.
My landlord shut off the water because I'm behind on rent. Is that allowed? No.
Except by court order, a landlord may not interrupt electricity, gas, water, or other
essential services (§ 32-31-5-6(c)); doing it to pressure a tenant is an unlawful
self-help eviction, separate from any entry question.
Statutes and sources
- Ind. Code § 32-31-5-6 — the right-of-access section: emergency/court-order/abandonment no-notice cases (f), the reasonable-notice and reasonable-times rule (g), the no-harassment limit (g)(1), the tenant's duty not to unreasonably withhold consent and the list of entry purposes (e), and the lockout/essential-services ban (c).
https://iga.in.gov/ic/2024/Title_32/Article_31/Chapter_5.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11) - Ind. Code § 32-31-5-1 — makes any waiver of the chapter void (c).
https://iga.in.gov/ic/2024/Title_32/Article_31/Chapter_5.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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