INDIANAPOLIS — A bill that aimed to protect tenants and hold landlords accountable died Wednesday in the Indiana Statehouse.
Senate Bill 202 would have required landlords to fix an essential service, like water or heat, within 24 hours of a tenant reporting a problem. It also called for the court to hold rent in a separate account, only releasing the money once the landlord corrects the issue.
It also would have required landlords to either live in Indiana, have a physical office there, or appoint a licensed real estate broker to manage the property if the landlord lived out of state.
“We are one of very few, only five states nationwide, that do not have tenant protections in state law,” said State Senator Fady Qaddoura, D-District 30, who authored the bill.
The bill was heard Wednesday in the Senate's Judiciary Committee, where senators amended the bill by gutting it and adding language recommending it be sent to a summer study committee.
The amended version asks for a study committee to study topics ranging from rent escrow programs for tenants to addressing the root causes of housing instability.
The amended version will go to the full Senate, where it will be approved or amended again, but not back to the same version as it was before.
But there is still some hope for the hundreds of Hoosiers who have been rallying this legislative session for tenant protections.
Like SB 202, House Bill 1148 requires landlords to fix essential services within 24 hours and calls for the court to hold rent in a separate account, only releasing the money once the landlord corrects the issue.
HB 1148 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. However, as of Wednesday, it hasn't been put on the committee's schedule.
