What can a landlord do with a tenant’s belongings left behind in Indiana?

In Indiana, a landlord who wins possession in court may get an order to remove the tenant’s belongings and, after the order and the storage location are personally served on the tenant, deliver them to a warehouse or court-approved storage facility that may sell what is unclaimed 45 days after that notice. A landlord has no liability for loss of or damage to belongings the tenant has abandoned, meaning a reasonable person would conclude the tenant has vacated the premises and surrendered possession of them, and a rental agreement may not define abandonment differently. The warehouse or storage facility must release exempt property (medically necessary items, items used in the tenant’s trade or business, a week’s supply of seasonally necessary clothing, blankets, and items needed to care for and school a minor child) on demand without payment. It holds a lien on the rest for storage, transportation, insurance, labor and sale expenses, and the tenant may reclaim the belongings at any time before the sale by paying those expenses. Apart from this chapter, a landlord may not take, remove, deny access to or dispose of a tenant’s belongings to enforce an obligation under the rental agreement (Ind. Code § 32-31-5-5). This is Ind. Code §§ 32-31-4-1, 32-31-4-2, 32-31-4-3, 32-31-4-4, 32-31-4-5, 32-31-5-5.

WhatIndiana
Belongings left behindCourt order and served notice, then 45 days to sale
What the statute requires firstNotice, a waiting period or storage before disposal

What the statute says

“If a tenant does not claim the tenant’s property within forty-five (45) days after receiving notice under section 3 of this chapter, a warehouseman or storage facility may sell the property received under this chapter …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

Ind. Code §§ 32-31-4-1, 32-31-4-2, 32-31-4-3, 32-31-4-4, 32-31-4-5, 32-31-5-5

Read the statute in the Indiana Code (Indiana General Assembly): iga.in.gov.

Checked against the statute on November 15, 2026.

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

How Seayora uses this rule

Seayora keeps a lease’s end date and every notice sent through it, with the date it went out, in the lease record — so the dates a rule like this one counts from are on file rather than remembered.

Guides on this rule

Compare this rule in every state

More Indiana rules

The same question in other states

Related