Indiana Abandonment Laws

Recently, I have ended my lease with a landlord and went month. I was unable to pay the last months rent and do owe on a water bill. I do understand I owe them money.

The question I have is this. We have not been in the house for three weeks. The are stating they have a court ordered abandonment paper. It was delivered to the house on June 30th. It is not past the date as ordered on the paper, yet they have towed away one of my vehicles, which works.

1) how do I go about getting my car back
2) did they have a legal right to touch my stuff if not past the court ordered date?

This is in Indiana by the way.

Thanks,
M

See IN Codes 32-31-4-1 to 32-31-4-5, and 32-31-5-5 on abandonment. This should tell you what they are permitted to do. Some states do allow a LL to remove property of the tenant if the tenant has been absent from the unit for an extended period. These laws were written so that a LL could remove the property of a tenant who has moved out and just left things behind, and get the unit ready to re-rent. Read this and see what is permitted in your state. That statute should explain any court ordered notice.

To retrieve your vehicle: Was it parked on the property or the street? If on the property, a private tow company has moved it. Call around and find out which one removed it. It should be sitting on their lot. You will probably have to pay the towing & storage fees to get it back. If it was wrongfully towed, you can recover these from the LL through small claims. If it was parked on the street, the city has towed it. Most cities have ordinances that say cars cannot be left in the same spot for extended periods. They chalk the tires (or tag the car) and, if not moved, tow it as an inactive vehicle. Call the city impound.