Indiana 10-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit

INDIANA 10-DAY NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR QUIT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption / Header
2. Recitals — Tenancy and Rental Agreement
3. Itemization of Rent and Other Charges Due
4. Statutory Demand — Pay or Quit Within Ten (10) Days
5. Acceptable Methods of Payment
6. Consequences of Non-Compliance
7. Reservation of Rights
8. Tenant Resources and Required Disclosures
9. Statutory Short-Form Notice (Ind. Code § 32-31-1-7)
10. Signature Block
11. Proof of Service
12. Indiana Practice Notes
13. Sources and References

1. CAPTION / HEADER

TO: [TENANT FULL LEGAL NAME] and all other occupants

RENTAL PREMISES: [STREET ADDRESS, UNIT NUMBER, CITY, INDIANA, ZIP CODE] (the "Premises")

FROM: [LANDLORD / OWNER / AUTHORIZED AGENT NAME]

DATE OF NOTICE: [__/__/____]

RE: TEN (10) DAY NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR SURRENDER POSSESSION — Ind. Code § 32-31-1-6

2. RECITALS — TENANCY AND RENTAL AGREEMENT

2.1. Tenancy. Tenant [TENANT NAME] is the tenant of the Premises pursuant to a [☐ written lease ☐ oral month-to-month ☐ holdover] rental agreement (the "Rental Agreement") with Landlord [LANDLORD NAME], dated [__/__/____].

2.2. Lease Term. The Rental Agreement provides for a [☐ fixed term ending __/__/____ ☐ month-to-month ☐ week-to-week] tenancy.

2.3. Monthly Rent. Monthly rent in the amount of $[__________] is due and payable in advance on the [____] day of each month.

2.4. Place of Payment. Rent is payable at: [___________________________________________________].

2.5. Authority to Issue Notice. The undersigned [☐ is the Landlord ☐ is the duly authorized agent / property manager / attorney for the Landlord] and is authorized to demand rent and to give this notice.

3. ITEMIZATION OF RENT AND OTHER CHARGES DUE

You are hereby notified that, as of the date of this notice, the following amounts are PAST DUE and unpaid under the Rental Agreement:

4. STATUTORY DEMAND — PAY OR QUIT WITHIN TEN (10) DAYS

Pursuant to Ind. Code § 32-31-1-6, you are hereby NOTIFIED and DEMANDED, within TEN (10) DAYS after your receipt of this notice, to do ONE of the following:

☐ OPTION A — PAY: Pay the TOTAL AMOUNT DUE of $[__________] in full to the Landlord at the address set out in Section 5; OR

☐ OPTION B — QUIT: Vacate and surrender possession of the Premises to the Landlord, removing all persons and personal property, and return all keys, garage door openers, parking permits, and access devices.

IF YOU FAIL TO DO EITHER WITHIN TEN (10) DAYS, the Rental Agreement will terminate by operation of law and Landlord intends to commence a civil action for possession (eviction) and a money judgment, including but not limited to all unpaid rent, late fees, holdover rent, court costs, and, where authorized by the Rental Agreement or statute, attorney fees, in either:

• The small-claims division of the [____________ Township] Small Claims Court (Marion County only) or the small-claims docket of the appropriate Circuit / Superior Court; or
• The Circuit / Superior Court under Ind. Code § 32-30-2 (ejectment) or Ind. Code § 32-30-3 (immediate possession, emergency procedure).

5. ACCEPTABLE METHODS OF PAYMENT

To CURE the default and preserve your tenancy, full payment of $[__________] must be received by [__/__/____] at:

Landlord / Agent Name: [___________________________________________________]
Payment Address: [___________________________________________________]
Acceptable Forms of Payment: ☐ Cash ☐ Cashier's check ☐ Money order ☐ Certified funds ☐ Electronic transfer to [___________________________]

Personal checks are [☐ accepted ☐ NOT accepted] during the cure period.

6. CONSEQUENCES OF NON-COMPLIANCE

If you do not PAY or QUIT within ten (10) days:

6.1. The Rental Agreement will be deemed terminated under Ind. Code § 32-31-1-6.

6.2. Landlord intends to file a civil action seeking (a) possession of the Premises, (b) judgment for all unpaid rent and lawful charges, (c) double rent for any period of holdover (Ind. Code § 32-31-1-3, where applicable), (d) court costs and filing fees, and (e) attorney fees if authorized by contract or statute.

6.3. Landlord may seek emergency relief under Ind. Code § 32-30-3 (immediate possession; minimum 5-business-day hearing) where the conditions of § 32-30-3-2 are alleged to exist.

6.4. Self-Help Prohibited. Landlord acknowledges that under Indiana common law (see Brewer v. Erwin, 287 Or. 435 (1979) (persuasive); cf. Tribbey v. Stein, 21 Ind. 463), a landlord may NOT engage in self-help to recover possession by changing locks, removing the tenant's belongings, shutting off utilities, or threatening or intimidating the tenant. Recovery of possession must be by court process. Any "lockout" by Landlord exposes Landlord to civil liability and, in some Indiana municipalities, criminal trespass or harassment charges.

7. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

7.1. No Waiver. Landlord's acceptance of any partial payment, or Landlord's election to commence legal action, shall not constitute a waiver of any right under the Rental Agreement, this notice, or Indiana law.

7.2. Cumulative Remedies. The remedies stated in this notice are cumulative and in addition to any other remedies available to Landlord at law or in equity.

7.3. Application of Payments. Any partial payment received during the notice period, if accepted, shall be applied first to the oldest outstanding rent, then to late fees and other lease-defined charges, then to current rent, in Landlord's sole discretion permitted by the Rental Agreement.

7.4. Continuing Obligations. Until possession is surrendered or recovered, Tenant remains liable for rent, utilities, lawful charges, and care of the Premises in accordance with Ind. Code § 32-31-7 (Tenant Obligations).

8. TENANT RESOURCES AND REQUIRED DISCLOSURES

You may have the right to legal advice and representation. The following resources are available without charge or at reduced cost to qualifying Indiana tenants:

• Indiana Legal Help — https://indianalegalhelp.org — statewide self-help and legal referrals.
• Indiana Legal Services, Inc. (ILS) — 1-800-869-0212 — free civil legal aid for income-eligible tenants.
• Heartland Pro Bono Council (Marion County township small-claims courts) — https://heartlandprobono.com.
• Housing4Hoosiers — https://housing4hoosiers.org — tenant rights education.
• Indianapolis Tenant Hotline (Marion County only) — [insert current local number].
• Indiana Civil Rights Commission — 1-800-628-2909 — fair-housing complaints under Ind. Code § 22-9.5.
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) — 1-800-669-9777 — federal Fair Housing Act complaints.

Eviction Record Sealing. Under Ind. Code § 32-31-11-3, if (a) Landlord's eviction action is dismissed, (b) the court rules in your favor, or (c) you pay any money judgment in full, you may petition the court to seal the eviction record from public view. A sealed record will not appear in tenant-screening reports.

Eviction Diversion. Some Indiana counties operate residential eviction diversion programs that may pause an eviction filing while you negotiate a payment plan or apply for emergency rental assistance. Ask the township small-claims court clerk or the trial court clerk whether such a program exists in your county.

9. STATUTORY SHORT-FORM NOTICE (Ind. Code § 32-31-1-7)

The following short-form notice is incorporated and reissued pursuant to Ind. Code § 32-31-1-7:

(Date): [__/__/____]

To: [TENANT NAME]

You are notified to vacate the following property not more than ten (10) days after you receive this notice unless you pay the rent due on the property within ten (10) days:

[STREET ADDRESS, UNIT NUMBER, CITY, INDIANA, ZIP CODE].

[LANDLORD NAME]

10. SIGNATURE BLOCK

Dated this [____] day of [MONTH], [YEAR].

LANDLORD / AUTHORIZED AGENT:

Signature: [________________________________]

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Title / Capacity: ☐ Owner ☐ Property Manager ☐ Authorized Agent ☐ Attorney for Landlord

Address: [________________________________]

Telephone: [________________________________]

Email: [________________________________]

11. PROOF OF SERVICE

I, [________________________________], being competent to testify and having personal knowledge of the matters stated, declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Indiana (Ind. Code § 35-44.1-2-1) that on [__/__/____] at approximately [____] [☐ a.m. ☐ p.m.], I served the foregoing TEN (10) DAY NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR QUIT on the Tenant identified above, by the following method(s) (check all that apply, consistent with Ind. Code § 32-31-1-8):

☐ Personal delivery to Tenant at the Premises.

☐ Personal delivery to [NAME, RELATIONSHIP], a person of suitable age and discretion residing at the Premises.

☐ Posting of a copy in a conspicuous place at the front door of the Premises after diligent effort to find Tenant.

☐ U.S. Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, addressed to Tenant at the Premises and any known forwarding address. Tracking #: [________________________________].

☐ U.S. First-Class Mail, addressed to Tenant at the Premises and any known forwarding address.

☐ Electronic delivery to Tenant's email address of record at [________________________________] (only if expressly authorized by the Rental Agreement).

Signature of Server: [________________________________]

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

12. INDIANA PRACTICE NOTES

12.1. The 10-day period is BOTH notice and cure. Unlike states with separate "notice to quit" + "right to cure" periods, Indiana folds the two into one ten-day window in § 32-31-1-6. Tender of full rent before the 10-day period expires reinstates the tenancy.

12.2. Lease may control. The statute applies "unless the parties otherwise agree." A lease that requires a five-day notice, or that waives notice entirely (where enforceable), will displace the statutory ten-day rule. Always read the lease.

12.3. Mobile-home tenancies. Mobile-home lot tenancies are governed by Ind. Code § 32-31-7 and have additional notice and cure rules; do NOT use this template for a manufactured-home or mobile-home community lot tenancy.

12.4. Federally subsidized housing. Section 8 voucher, project-based Section 8, public housing, LIHTC, USDA RD, and HUD-insured properties are subject to extensive federal notice content and grievance requirements (24 C.F.R. Parts 247, 880, 882, 966, etc.). Use the federally compliant form for those properties.

12.5. CARES Act 30-Day Notice. 15 U.S.C. § 9058 continues to require a 30-day notice to vacate before filing in any "covered dwelling" (federally backed mortgage loans and federally subsidized housing). Many Indiana judges enforce this requirement post-pandemic. Determine whether the property is covered before serving a 10-day notice.

12.6. Marion County township small-claims courts. Center, Pike, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Lawrence, Decatur, Franklin, and Perry Township small-claims courts handle most Marion County evictions. The jurisdictional cap is $10,000 (per Ind. Code § 33-34-3-2 and the Marion County Small Claims Court Rules). Possession is granted regardless of the rent amount; only the money judgment is capped.

12.7. Other counties. Outside Marion County, eviction is filed in the Circuit Court small-claims docket (Ind. Code § 33-29-2) with an $8,000 jurisdictional cap, or in Superior Court if a higher money judgment is sought.

12.8. Retaliation defense (§ 32-31-8.5-5). Tenants who have engaged in a "protected activity" within the recent past — written habitability complaint to Landlord under § 32-31-8-5, complaint to a code-enforcement agency, action under Ch. 6 or Ch. 8, joining a tenant organization, or testifying against Landlord — may raise retaliation as an affirmative defense.

12.9. No "constructive eviction" by Landlord through self-help. King v. Sweet, 174 Ind. App. 1 (1977); generally, Indiana adopts the common-law rule that the landlord's exclusive remedy for possession is the courts.

13. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Ind. Code § 32-31-1-6 — Rent; refusal or neglect to pay (10-day notice). https://iga.in.gov/laws/indiana-code/title-32
• Ind. Code § 32-31-1-7 — Statutory short form notice to quit. https://iga.in.gov/laws/indiana-code/title-32
• Ind. Code § 32-31-1-8 — Service of notice to quit.
• Ind. Code § 32-30-2 — Ejectment and Quiet Title.
• Ind. Code § 32-30-3 — Immediate possession; emergency hearing.
• Ind. Code § 32-31-7 — Tenant obligations; mobile-home lot tenancies.
• Ind. Code § 32-31-8-5 — Landlord obligations (implied warranty of habitability).
• Ind. Code § 32-31-8.5-4, -5 — Retaliatory acts by landlords.
• Ind. Code § 32-31-9 — Rights of tenants who are victims of certain crimes.
• Ind. Code § 32-31-11-3 — Eviction record sealing.
• Ind. Code § 22-9.5 — Indiana Fair Housing Act.
• 15 U.S.C. § 9058 — CARES Act 30-day notice to vacate (covered dwellings).
• 42 U.S.C. § 3604 — federal Fair Housing Act.
• Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure, Rule 5 (service); Rule 6 (time computation). https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/trial/default.htm
• Indiana Small Claims Rules. https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/smcl/default.htm
• Marion County Small Claims Court Rules. https://smallclaims.lawtwp.org/
• Indiana Legal Help — Eviction Sealing Form. https://indianalegalhelp.org/legal-topic/eviction-sealing-form/

END OF NOTICE