- According to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, “There are 814,438 renter households in Indiana, paying a typical rent of $1,044 per month. If a landlord chooses to file an eviction, they need to provide their tenants with at least ten days notice (in some cases more) and pay a $100 filing fee on average to the courts.”
Photo by Chait Goli: https://www.pexels.com/photo/building-and-garden-scenery-2083844/
On Monday morning, the Indiana House Judiciary Committee passed a bill that looks to reform eviction filings in the state. The bill saw support in committee from multiple organizations that work directly with eviction cases.
In February, the StatehouseFile.com traveled to the Wayne Township Small Claims Court on the west side of Indianapolis to get a look at Indiana’s “eviction epidemic.” There we saw firsthand the sheer scale of the issue. The court in Wayne Township deals with up to 400 eviction cases a day.
SB 142 as written would “require the court to order an expungement in a qualifying eviction case and allow the court to issue the order without a hearing. Permits an expungement in an eviction case if a money judgment related to the eviction action is entered by the court against the tenant and the tenant has satisfied the money judgment.”
According to those who testified, this bill seems to be a continuation of a 2022 bill that allowed for the expungement or “sealing” of an eviction on someone’s record upon request of the court. The 2025 legislation would make these expungements automatic instead of a tenant having to go through a process to have their record expunged.
One of the advocates who showed support for the bill was David Pruitt, director of the Eviction Clinic at Notre Dame Law School. He brought a team of legal students who work for the eviction clinic and who all voiced their support for the bill and how it would positively affect Hoosiers.
“Many counties around the state won’t seal a case even when a judgment has been satisfied, and I think this bill would improve upon that situation,” said Pruitt.
Robert Simcurl, one of the legal students who works for the Notre Dame Eviction Clinic, testified to how harsh the burden of an eviction can be on someone.
“What I have seen is dockets full of dismissals but cases that haven’t been sealed. As a result, tenants are having to pay more than the market rate for mortgages or for housing elsewhere during a period in their lifetime where they’re looking for housing and they only have two weeks to find it,” said Simcurl.
The bill’s author, Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, hinted at the bill needing minor fixing in its specific wording, but it looks poised to reach Gov. Mike Braun’s desk. It passed the Senate unanimously in January and passed the House committee 10-1. It is now on its way to the House Chamber for second reading.
Schyler Altherr is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news site powered by Franklin College journalism students.
