MUNCIE, Ind. – Tenants in Muncie are fed up with the way they say landlords are taking advantage of them. Many have been speaking up at city council meetings and are urging the Muncie city council members to take action.
“They don’t follow lease agreements, they don’t give maintenance that is timely enough and I know there’s a lot of state statutes on this stuff…but I think it would be smart to keep looking whenever we see complaints because of how big an issue it really is,” says a Muncie resident, Seth Rawlings, at August first’s city council meeting.
When it comes to renter versus landlord rights, there is not much local governments can do. A bill passed by Indiana State lawmakers restricts local governments from enacting measures to increase renters’ rights and penalize landlords.
Governor Holcomb vetoed the bill because he said it was not the right time for language like that to become law. Lawmakers overrode his veto in 2021.
One council member, Roza Selvey, who is on the board of the Muncie Human Rights Commission offered a way for citizens to hopefully get the solution they need.
“Please get on the city’s website…file your report online…or you can go straight to the attorney general’s website and file your complaint there. I think the more volume of complaint we have the more it’s going to draw his attention…we just need the numbers to come through so we have a case,” Selvey said.
Residents say the amount of complaints will not be hard to find; but how can they prevent this problem from happening in the first place, based on the limited amount of power the local government has?
Muncie is a college town, so every year hundreds of new renters come to town, and the majority of those people are college students. College students are usually new to the renting world and do not know the first thing when it comes to signing a lease. College students are also young and easy to take advantage of.
Thankfully, Ball State University offers pro bono legal services to students on campus. Student Legal Services, located in room L-17 at the LA Pittenger Student Center, offers meetings with practicing attorneys, who will walk students through a lease and even give forms to help them avoid any issues that might arise during their residency.
One form they provide to students allows them to fill out any existing damages with a dated photograph in their home, “so that if the landlord charges you say $75 for cleaning an oven that you know was spotless on move-out day…it won’t be your word versus the landlord’s word, it’s gonna be your word supported by a dated photograph,” Student Legal Services attorney, John Connor said.
Connor also suggests that renters ask questions about the lease, and if the landlord says they “usually don’t follow that guideline” then make them physically cross it out and print a new lease. Providing a forwarding address to the landlord when your lease is up will also ensure no money is taken that should not be. If you are not a Ball State student, some of these tips may be useful for the future.
Any Ball State student can call Student Legal Services to set up an appointment at (765)285-1888 during normal office hours.
Contact Teagan O’Meara with comments at teagan.omeara@bsu.edu
