Members of Indiana’s Eviction Task Force are defending the decision not to require landlord participation in eviction diversion.
Earlier this month the Indiana State Supreme Court ordered judges to notify tenants and landlords of available eviction diversion resources, including emergency rental assistance and legal assistance. But tenant advocates have expressed concern the order wouldn’t be enough - in part because there is no requirement that landlords participate.
Judge Robert Altice sits on the Indiana Court of Appeals and is a member of the state eviction task force. He said the group opted against mandatory participation from landlords.
“So I guess our pitch to landlords is this money is available, take it now so you don’t have to then go back and try and collect those funds through the collection process,” he said.
Altice said the big step the court is taking is notifying tenants and landlords of what’s available to them.
“Now we are requiring our trial judges to inquire of the parties, ‘have you looked into this program?’” he said. “Surprisingly we’re finding a lot of people have not.”
Brandon Beeler is a tenant advocate with Indiana Legal Services who also sits on the eviction task force. He has previously raised concerns about landlord participation in eviction diversion.
“I think everyone will be looking to see if participation increases, and if it doesn’t increase I’m sure it’ll be the top talk of the task force,” he said.
The state is currently working to distribute $371 million dollars from the federal government for emergency rental assistance, so called ERA1 funds coming from the Consolidated Appropriations Act which passed in 2020.
According to the state’s website, as of Oct. 25 some $219 million dollars in emergency rental assistance have been distributed, helping an estimated 23,000 Hoosier households.
The state has so far not touched an additional $248 million dollars in federal emergency rental assistance passed as part of the American Rescue Plan, or ERA2 funds.
According to the interim eviction task force report, Marion, Lake, Allen, Vanderburgh, and Tippecanoe counties have the highest number of eviction filings statewide.
The Tippecanoe Apartment Association did not respond to our request for comment on the perspectives of local landlords.
