The Senate Civil Law Committee heard Sen. Holdman’s SB 558 on leases and sales of real property. This bill amends the statute concerning landlord and tenant relations to provide that a unit may not regulate rental rates for privately owned real property, through a zoning ordinance or otherwise, unless the regulation is authorized by an act of the General Assembly. Current law provides that regulation of rental rates for such property must be authorized by an act of the General Assembly.
This bill also prohibits a political subdivision from imposing certain penalties against a tenant, an owner, or a landlord for a contact made to request law enforcement or other emergency assistance for one or more rental units if the contact is made by or on behalf of a victim or potential victim of abuse, a victim or potential victim of a crime, or an individual in an emergency. However, a political subdivision is not prohibited from adopting an ordinance, a rule, or a regulation to impose a penalty for a request for law enforcement or other emergency assistance if those conditions do not apply.
The section providing that the residential landlord-tenant statute does not prohibit an owner or a landlord from refusing to rent a rental unit on the basis of a reasonable occupancy standard established by the owner or landlord was removed by amendment because of concerns that area of law is already covered by Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) rules. The Indiana Apartment Association and Indiana Builders Association testified in support of the bill. Indiana Affordable Housing Coalition testified that they are not against the bill. The Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana testified against the bill. The Indiana Coalition for Human Services testified in support of the first section about emergency calls, but they have concerns about other sections of the bill. The amended bill passed 5-2.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/senate/558