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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe major party candidates for Indianapolis mayor say they want to see changes in the state’s eviction laws that could help prevent some people from becoming homeless.
Democratic incumbent Joe Hogsett and Republican state Sen. Jim Merritt participated in a discussion about homelessness at the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention annual fundraiser and awards presentation on Wednesday evening.
According to CHIP’s 2019 point-in-time count, which captured the number of individuals experiencing homelessness on one night in January, 1,567 individuals were homeless in Indianapolis. That’s a 7% decrease from 2018, and community leaders are hopeful that trend continues next year.
In response to a question specifically about how they would help reduce evictions, which are one of several factors that contribute to homelessness, Hogsett and Merritt talked about improving protections for tenants at the state level.
Marion County accounts for 40% of the evictions in the state, even though only 14% of Hoosiers live in the county, according to research from the Indiana Public Policy Institute.
Merritt said the 10-day notice landlords are required to give tenants before evicting them is too short. He said as mayor he would work to change that law.
Hogsett said he sees several gaps in the state’s landlord/tenant laws. Among them: a written lease is not required and tenants can’t withhold a rent payment if the landlord hasn’t addressed major issues like non-working utilities or roofs leaking. “State law today is unfavorable to tenants,” Hogsett said.
Hogsett said two bills that would have started to improve the laws for tenants were filed at the Indiana General Assembly during the 2019 legislative session, but neither moved forward. Merritt did not author either bill.
On the city level, Hogsett said he wants to create an eviction prevention fund by next year to support those who need legal representation or rental assistance The fund needs approval from the Indianapolis City-County Council. Earlier this year, Hogsett, along with the Central Indiana Community Foundation, announced a $4 million Housing to Recovery fund to provide wraparound services to formerly homeless residents.
The mayoral candidates also discussed how they would address homelessness among minority and veteran communities. According to CHIP data, 61% of the city’s homeless individuals are black and 17% are veterans.
Merritt said he will address that issue in a black agenda his campaign plans to release within the next couple weeks, and he would work with CHIP and veteran associations to find a solution.
“No one should live in a cardboard box, especially a veteran,” Merritt said.
Merritt also said he would create a commission on homelessness that would include individuals who have previously been homeless, medical professionals, law enforcement and business leaders.
“I will run toward the challenge,” Merritt said. “It will be a priority to me.”
Hogsett said the racial disparities in the homelessness problem need to be solved by dealing with criminal justice reform, and he hopes the expanded transit services and his inclusive economic growth strategy will also help that.
On homeless veterans, Hogsett said cited data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that shows 78 cities and three states have found ways to effectively end veteran homelessness, so he thinks Indianapolis can also tackle the issue.
“It can be done, and it must be done,” Hogsett said.
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More laws are not the solutions to these problems. Legislators oftentimes create more problems than they solve and this is yet another example. Lots of fluff and talk but no real change or solutions by either politician. Homelessness, hunger, poverty, crime, drugs, low educational achievement are all interconnected and politicians have not made much progress in any of those areas. All are related to the breakdown of the family unit and nothing much is done to support the family; the basic unit of society. When will we ever learn?
Having a roof over one’s head is a major factor in personal stability and Indiana’s constant projection of the landlord rather than a tenant compounds to problem. The root problems of everything you mentioned is related to stagnant or declining wages when adjusted for inflation, rising housing costs with declining Federal support for housing, lack of access to jobs (job sprawl away from the labor market), disinvestment in low cost transportation, healthcare costs, and educational inequality. The breakdown of the family unit isn’t a cause, it’s a symptom.
That’s precisely what I think. I’m Gen X— first gen ito swallows, hook line and sinker the warped post modern cultural context: ME! I can do it all. Don’t need a husband, don’t need children, need must want to compete with men and prove whatever I and many others at that moment of social engineering, thought was more important than the common good. I couldn’t have been more sure or more wrong. I’m an APA academic researcher and discretionary editor, and am privy to the BIG DATA that we just aren’t talking about. Break of nuclear family;, multiple father/ one (single ) mother ; identity crises, poverty perpetuating. When men don’t have to compete for mating opportunities, fitness selection and society itself are in a race to the bottom
Hogsett… you’re an imbecile that’s only spouting talking points to gain votes. Indiana law is one of the most lenient in the country with the 10-day notice. In addition to that, the Marion County (Warren township in particular) gives even more leeway to tenants that are in violation of leases that they signed and agreed to. I’ve had the unfortunate displeasure of having to evict 2 tenants within the past year because of non-payment. In both cases, it took well over a month to even GET to court, and once we finally got a date, the judge gave another week to the tenant (in my case and every other case that was heard that day) That’s a minimum of 50 days (almost 2 full months) of someone living rent-free. In my particular case, the tenant even said they could and would easily be out within 3-day and the judge still gave them another 10-days simply as a matter of his particular process… facts or circumstances be damned… “10-days is my way of doing things”.
@A T. you are also incredibly naive on the way things really are. There’s abundantly more protection for tenants than there are for landlords. (see above) Everyone complains about there not being any affordable housing but they ignore the fact that if it were easier to evict a tenant for non-payment… prices wouldn’t be so high. Simple economics 101… it’s the price of doing business. As for declining Federal support… you’re TRULY clueless. I have 2 Section-8 properties. The tenants pay less than $100/mo while the government picks up the vast majority of the rent payment.
Government dependency is breaking down the family unit. the government is the cause of many of the root problems you portend. if you start “protecting” the tenant more than the landlord you will see rents rise even further.
I totally agree with Shawn, the courts are crazy “tenant” friendly. Don’t get me wrong, we have mostly wonderful tenants, but when you unknowingly let a bad one in, and they know the system, the cost to the Landlord is huge. There are good landlords, and bad landlords, as there are good tenants and bad tenants. It has everything to do with the mindset of the person. Lawmakers need not make laws that are “tenant friendly” unless they understand both sides of the equation. If a tenant has numerous evictions, judgements for damage, etc., of course they can’t rent a home. What landlord wants to be their next victim? That person may end up homeless, but by their own actions. When a tenant has eviction after eviction, and damage judgement after judgement, if they would pay their rent, and stop trashing the property, they won’t have to worry about “eviction” or “homelessness”. Throwing more government funding at them only makes it worse; its just another handout with no strings attached. Being a Landlord in today’s society is no easy task, and its a business like any other (I’ve been doing it for over 30 years). If an employee shows up drunk each day, steels, or damages the employer’s property, they get fired. If a tenant doesn’t pay rent, commits illegal acts on the property, or damages the property, they get evicted. It’s pretty straight forward.
I have lost thousands to bad tenants over the years. More stringent laws will only convince landlords that they will have to file eviction notices earlier if a tenant is late or behind on rent. Instead of waiting for a tenant to try and make a payment by the end of the month I would be tempted to file after the typical five-day late period. In past years tenants were given 30-60 days to vacate which only provided them a place to stay for free during that time. Then, as now, it was up to the landlord to physically have the tenant moved out and pay for a mover and to place their belongings in storage. There is also the added cost to landlords every time they need to go to court for filings or writs. Also, forget about ever getting that back rent with a garnishment, that is just more legal cost while tenants switch jobs to get around garnishments.
Hogsett just wants to pass the buck as he always does. What has he done about homelessness in the last four years besides sitting on his thumb?
With the millions of dollars the City and Hogsett have given in tax funding to corporations and developers for their precious projects, he could have built a small town to help these people.