INDIANAPOLIS — A new report reveals monthly rents have gone up 20% in Marion County since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana said tenants here are paying as much as $300 more per month in rent since 2020.
"I make a decent income, and it's still hard for me," said Linda Wells, who has been renting for the past five years.
Wells attended a town hall on rental costs Monday night held at the Indiana Historical Society.
"I'm really feeling it this year," Wells said, explaining her bill has increased $650 since she started renting. "That's not including utilities."
So what's driving the increase for renters across Marion County?
"That is the million-dollar question," said Laurin Embry, executive director of the Indiana Tenants Association, a group that advocates for tenant rights in the state and hosted Monday's gathering.
Embry said out-of-state investors have bought up properties, and state laws have contributed to increasing rates.
"They know that tenant protections are weak in the state of Indiana," Embry said.
One panelist from the Fair Housing Center blamed a law passed by the General Assembly a few years ago that prohibited cities from passing ordinances that set limits on how much a landlord could charge for rent.
"We can change this. I'm definitely a firm believer that we can change the tide and get rid of some of these bad laws that have been passed that have led to our housing crisis that we have today," said Amy Nelson, with the Fair Housing Center.
Wells believes there's a crisis, which she said gets closer for her personally with every annual rent increase.
"It'll go up again in February another $100," Wells said.
Embry spends every day helping tenants around the state get out of unsafe living conditions.
"I have to be honest, the work is heavy," Embry said. "It's about time that I'm not the only one tossing and turning at night because of these issues."
That's why she started the Indiana Tenant Association. What they want is filling basic needs, like affordable housing and safe living conditions.
"They can come to us and know there is someone else they can ask these questions to or someone else who would hold their hand through the process," Embry said.
According to the Indiana Tenant Association, rent in Indiana has increased by 30% in just the last year. That's why the group hosted the town hall to educate people on tenant rights.
"Out of tonight, I hope that tenants who did not know their rights before will come in, learn from us and understand what their rights are," Embry said.
Kieffer Gonzalez, one tenant Embry has helped, was evicted a few months ago. She provided him legal resources and became his voice when he didn't have one.
"It's been difficult," Gonzalez said. "She's one of the only people who call and check up on me to see if me and my family are OK."
Embry's team hopes they will become that voice for anyone else who attended the town hall.
"If Indiana respected their tenants and if Indiana respected the laws that are currently on the books, we would not need to be here now," Embry said.
Housing Advocacy Day is set for Jan. 29 at the Indiana Statehouse.
You can reach the Indiana Tenant Association at 317-900-1314 or go to trfcommunity.org.