What is the legal amount a landlord can charge for a late fee?
Full Question:
I am a single parent of four children, three that are under the age of three. I am dealing with a landlord that changes the rules on a daily basis. I had worked out an arrangement with her to pay the rent in two payment, due to my pay schedule. Per the lease, the late fee for rent paid after the tenth of the month was to be ten dollars. She is charging me forty dollars on top of my rent for paying in two payments. Can she do this?
My second question would be, what is the process for her to take, legally, if she was to evict my family? Can she just tell me I have five days to vacate, of must she take me to court and have a judge make the ruling? I am not sure on these issues, but she is not following through with what Landlords are to do.
11/15/2007 |
Category: Landlord Tenant |
State: Indiana |
#12326
Answer:
The following are Indiana statutes:
IC 32-31-1-6 If a tenant refuses or neglects to pay rent when due, a....
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 to the tenant
unless:
(1) the parties otherwise agreed; or
(2) the tenant pays the rent in full before the notice period expires.
IC 32-31-1-8 Notice is not required to terminate a lease in the following
situations:
Notice is not required to terminate a lease in the following situations:
(1) The landlord agrees to rent the premises to the tenant for a
specified period of time.
(2) The time for the determination of the tenancy is specified in the
contract.
(3) A tenant at will commits waste.
(4) The tenant is a tenant at sufferance.
(5) The express terms of the contract require the tenant to pay the rent
in advance, and the tenant refuses or neglects to pay the rent in advance.
(6) The landlord-tenant relationship does not exist.
IC 32-31-6-3 The following may file a petition for an emergency....
The following may file a petition for an emergency possessory order under
this chapter:
(1) A tenant, if the landlord has violated IC 32-31-5-6.
(2) A landlord, if the tenant has committed or threatens to commit waste
to the rental unit.
IC 32-31-5-6 (a) This section does not apply if the dwelling unit has....
(a) This section does not apply if the dwelling unit has been abandoned.
(b) For purposes of this section, a dwelling unit is considered abandoned
if:
(1) the tenants have failed to:
(A) pay; or
(B) offer to pay;rent due under the rental agreement; and
(2) the circumstances are such that a reasonable person would conclude
that the tenants have surrendered possession of the dwelling unit.
An oral or written rental agreement may not define abandonment differently
than is provided by this subsection.
(c) Except as authorized by judicial order, a landlord may not deny or
interfere with a tenant's access to or possession of the tenant's dwelling
unit by commission of any act, including the following:
(1) Changing the locks or adding a device to exclude the tenant from the
dwelling unit.
(2) Removing the doors, windows, fixtures, or appliances from the
dwelling unit.
(3) Interrupting, reducing, shutting off, or causing termination of any
of the following to a tenant:
(A) Electricity.
(B) Gas.
(C) Water.
(D) Other essential services. However, the landlord may interrupt, shut
off, or terminate service as the result of an emergency, good faith
repairs, or necessary construction. This subdivision does not require a
landlord to pay for services described in this subdivision if the landlord
has not agreed, by an oral or written rental agreement, to do so.
(d) A tenant may not interrupt, reduce, shut off, or cause termination
of:
(1) electricity;
(2) gas;
(3) water; or
(4) other essential services;
to the dwelling unit if the interruption, reduction, shutting off, or
termination of the service will result in serious damage to the rental
unit.
(e) A tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent to the tenant's
landlord to enter the tenant's dwelling unit in order to:
(1) inspect the dwelling unit;
(2) make necessary or agreed to:
(A) repairs;
(B) decorations;
(C) alterations; or
(D) improvements;
(3) supply necessary or agreed to services; or
(4) exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual:
(A) purchasers;
(B) mortgagees;
(C) tenants;
(D) workers; or
(E) contractors.
(f) A landlord may enter the dwelling unit:
(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
(2) without the consent of the tenant:
(A) under a court order; or
(B) if the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the dwelling unit.
(g) A landlord:
(1) shall not abuse the right of entry or use a right of entry to harass
a tenant;
(2) shall give a tenant reasonable written or oral notice of the
landlord's intent to enter the dwelling unit; and
(3) may enter a tenant's dwelling unit only at reasonable times.
IC 32-31-7-7 (a) A landlord may bring an action in a court with....
(a) A landlord may bring an action in a court with jurisdiction to
enforce an obligation of a tenant under this chapter.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), a landlord may not bring an
action under this chapter unless the following conditions are met:
(1) The landlord gives the tenant notice of the tenant's noncompliance
with a provision of this chapter.
(2) The tenant has been given a reasonable amount of time to remedy the
noncompliance.
(c) If the noncompliance has caused physical damage that the landlord has
repaired, the landlord shall give notice specifying the repairs that the
landlord has made and documenting the landlord's cost to remedy the
condition described in the notice.
(d) A landlord is not required to comply with the notice requirements of
this section to bring an action under subsection (a) if the tenant's
occupancy of the rental premises has terminated.
(e) This section may not be construed to limit a landlord's or tenant's
rights under IC 32-31-3, IC 32-31-5, or IC 32-31-6.
(f) If the landlord is the prevailing party in an action under this
section, the landlord may obtain any of the following, if appropriate under
the circumstances:
(1) Recovery of the following:
(A) Actual damages.
(B) Attorney's fees and court costs.
(2) Injunctive relief.
(3) Any other remedy appropriate under the circumstances.
IC 32-31-8-5 A landlord shall do the following:
A landlord shall do the following:
(1) Deliver the rental premises to a tenant in compliance with the rental
agreement, and in a safe, clean, and habitable condition.
(2) Comply with all health and housing codes applicable to the rental
premises.
(3) Make all reasonable efforts to keep common areas of a rental premises
in a clean and proper condition.
(4) Provide and maintain the following items in a rental premises in good
and safe working condition, if provided on the premises at the time the
rental agreement is entered into:
(A) Electrical systems.
(B) Plumbing systems sufficient to accommodate a reasonable supply of hot
and cold running water at all times.
(C) Sanitary systems.
(D) Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems. A heating system
must be sufficient to adequately supply heat at all times.
(E) Elevators, if provided.
(F) Appliances supplied as an inducement to the rental agreement.