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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
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    1

    Default Tenant rights under constructive eviction

    Under Indiana law, as I understand it, I have a valid case for constructive eviction of my wife and I and therefore are entitled to break our lease. The facts are these:

    1. The house is situated on the beach of a small lake. It has a splendid view and was recently remodeled. However, a large part of the property had debris and fencing material left over from that remodeling in addition to cigarette butts scattered across the yard by the owner. The property was advertised as a three bedroom, two bath house. However, the upstairs bath was completely unfinished with only a toilet being actually functional, no floor covering or other fixtures installed. The landlord said he would waive the deposit until the bathroom was finished and the property debris removed.

    2. The owner told us our property access extended down to the lake itself and that we could build a pier for a planned boat purchase if we so desired.

    3. After moving in and attempting to build that pier, we were approached by the beach owners' association and informed that the 10 foot strip of property from the waterline to the real property line of the house was theirs and that we had no rights to use it.

    4. Three months have now gone by and the repairs to the property are still not completed and the beach association just informed us they will be building a fence directly between us and the water to prevent our dogs from being on the beach.


    We now plan to withhold our rent for the coming month and to inform the landlord of our intention to break the one-year lease we signed. We will be out by the end of the month.

    Can anyone offer real insight into this from a legal perspective?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    98,846

    Default Re: Tenant rights under constructive eviction

    I doubt that you would be able to make a case for "constructive eviction" based upon relatively minor problems (major to you, perhaps, but minor from the perspective of what would actually render the premises uninhabitable), as well as conditions which existed on the premises at the time you moved in.

    You can read an overview of Indiana landlord-tenant law here, and the Indiana landlord-tenant statutes here. I understand that Indiana's courts have not articulated a common law warranty of habitability for rented premises on the theory that allowing landlords and tenants to strike their own bargains as to quality of housing will expand the range of housing options available to tenants, and will avoid artificially inflating housing rental values.

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