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Indianapolis, Indiana

Second chance apartments in Indianapolis: renting with a record

Neither Indiana nor Indianapolis limits what criminal history a private landlord can use, and state law bars cities from regulating a landlord's screening process; Indiana does seal many eviction court records and bars discrimination over an expunged or sealed record. The Indianapolis Housing Agency's plans approved October 13, 2026 do not agree on lookback periods (three years in one section, five or ten years or no limit in others, including a Tenant Selection Plan set to take effect January 1, 2027), so ask IHA which rules apply to you. You can ask for a review within 10 business days of a denial.

Checked October 29, 2026. General information, not legal advice. We don't list or recommend landlords; these are the rules and the official help in Indianapolis.

On this page
  1. Indiana law
  2. Indianapolis rules
  3. Public housing and vouchers in Indianapolis
  4. Where to get help in Indianapolis
  5. Avoiding rental scams in Indiana
  6. Where to go next

Indiana law

Indiana (statewide)

Indiana has no state law that limits what criminal history a private landlord may consider, and state law bars cities and counties from regulating a landlord's screening process, lease applications, security deposits or fees unless the General Assembly allows it. Any local rule that does so is "void and unenforceable" (IC 32-31-1-20(c)).1

We searched the 2026 Indiana Code's landlord-tenant articles in Title 32 for criminal-history, background-check and application-fee rules and found none that limit screening. We found no state cap on application fees or rule that makes a landlord hand you its screening criteria before you pay. The ban on local rules does not apply to privately owned housing that gets government funds or benefits for the express purpose of reducing rents for low- or moderate-income tenants (IC 32-31-1-20(a), subject to IC 36-1-3-8.5). That means the best protection in Indiana is usually the individual protections below, not a rule against looking at a record. The national guide covers your federal rights.

Eviction records: automatic sealing

Since a 2022 law, Indiana courts must order an eviction case record kept from public disclosure, and have the clerk redact or permanently seal it (IC 32-31-11), when the landlord's case is dismissed or the tenant wins, and when a judgment against the tenant is overturned or vacated on appeal. The court does this on its own motion, at the time of the dismissal or judgment, without a hearing.1,2

The statute added the law as P.L.164-2022. If an older case should have been sealed but was not, you can petition the court that heard it. The petition must be verified and include your date of birth, address, case number, why you qualify and a sworn statement that no money judgment is owed to the landlord. A sealed case no longer shows in public court records, but the court's form packet warns it does not remove the case from websites not owned by the government or from news sources, so check any screening report.

Eviction records: sealing after a judgment

Since July 1, 2025, if a judgment was entered against you, Indiana law lets you ask the court to seal the case once you have paid a money judgment in full, or if the judgment has no money judgment and at least seven years have passed. The court "shall" order the case sealed on your motion, and it may do so without a hearing.1,3

This motion route comes from Senate Enrolled Act 142 (P.L.128-2025), effective July 1, 2025. If your case reached that point before July 1, 2025, you file a verified petition under IC 32-31-11-4(b) instead. The petition rules in IC 32-31-11-4 require a sworn statement that no money is still owed on the judgment. Ask the clerk of the court that heard your case, or use the forms on Indiana Legal Help, to start. Check with a legal help provider if you are unsure whether your case qualifies.

Expunged or sealed criminal records

Indiana makes it unlawful discrimination for any person to "otherwise discriminate against" someone because of a conviction or arrest record that a court has expunged or sealed under IC 35-38-9. A person whose conviction was expunged "shall be treated as if" never convicted of the offense.4

The section (IC 35-38-9-10) names employment, schools, admission and licenses as examples and does not mention housing by name. A violation is a Class C infraction, and the person is entitled to injunctive relief. Indianapolis's code adds a specific rule for rental housing (see the next section). Our Indiana record-clearing page explains how to ask for expungement.

Indianapolis rules

Indianapolis and Marion County

We found no city ordinance limiting criminal-history screening by private landlords in Indianapolis as of October 29, 2026, apart from the rule on expunged or sealed convictions below. State law (IC 32-31-1-20(c)) also bars Indianapolis from regulating a landlord's screening process.1,5

The city-county code's "ban-the-box" rules (chapter 670) apply to hiring by city and county agencies and their vendors, not to renting a home. Indianapolis's Equal Opportunity Ordinance (chapter 581) does not list criminal history among its protected housing classes.

Expunged or sealed convictions

Indianapolis's code (section 582-106, General Ordinance 1, 2020) makes it a discriminatory practice for a landlord, owner or real estate agent to deny a rental application, threaten an existing tenant with an eviction case, or otherwise deny equal treatment because of a criminal conviction that has been expunged or sealed under IC 35-38-9. The city's Office of Equal Opportunity receives and investigates complaints.1,4,5

The rule covers convictions that were expunged or sealed under state law, not arrests or open convictions. It applies to owners, landlords and agents acting in the ordinary course of business, and the chapter's definition of a rental unit leaves out an owner-occupied home renting a single sleeping unit and short-term rentals. The same chapter says the city is to run a tenant information hotline and that retaliation against tenants who use it is prohibited. State law (IC 32-31-1-20(c)) says local rules on a landlord's screening process are void unless the General Assembly authorizes them; we found no court decision or city notice on whether that affects this section. Separately, state law (IC 35-38-9-10) makes it unlawful discrimination to treat someone differently because of an expunged or sealed record.

Public housing and vouchers in Indianapolis

Lookback and offenses (public housing)

Indianapolis Housing Agency (IHA) will deny public housing admission if any household member is currently engaged in, or has engaged within the past three years in, drug-related criminal activity, violent criminal activity, other criminal activity that may threaten residents or IHA staff, or criminal sexual conduct (ACOP section 3-III.D, page 3-20). The same section also lists, "as a general rule," longer periods: five years for an arrest or conviction record that indicates you may be a threat or negative influence on other residents (counted from the last reported act or the end of the sentence or probation), ten years after a conviction for drug trafficking, and life for lifetime sex-offense registration or making meth on public housing premises (pages 3-22 to 3-23).6,7

The policy says those longer periods "are only guidelines" and that IHA may deny anyone whose behavior may harm other tenants or admit people who show evidence of rehabilitation. It does not say how they fit with the three-year rule, so ask IHA which one it will apply to you. Its evidence for the three-year rule includes "any record of convictions, arrests, or evictions for suspected drug-related or violent criminal activity" within the past three years, so an arrest can count. After weighing the factors in sections 3-III.F and 3-III.G, IHA may decide case by case not to deny. Those factors (pages 3-27 to 3-28) include how serious the case was, how long ago it happened and the person's age then, the effect on family members who were not involved, and treatment or rehabilitation. For an arrest, IHA may get the police report and look at whether charges were dropped, dismissed or ended in an acquittal. IHA uses the preponderance of the evidence standard. "Currently engaged" in drug use means any illegal use in the previous three months, unless the person is enrolled in and fully compliant with treatment.

Required denials and background checks

IHA's ACOP says it will not admit a family evicted from federally assisted housing for drug-related criminal activity within the past three years "under any circumstances" (HUD lets agencies admit such a family if the person finished an approved rehab program or no longer lives in the household). It also repeats the other required denials: a conviction for making methamphetamine on federally assisted property and lifetime sex-offense registration (section 3-III.B, pages 3-17 to 3-18). But the guideline list in section 3-III.D (page 3-22) says IHA may waive the three-year drug-eviction bar if you complete an IHA-approved rehabilitation program or the circumstances behind the eviction no longer exist.6,7

Under section 3-III.E (pages 3-23 to 3-24), IHA runs criminal background checks on all adult household members, and if results are inconclusive it asks for a fingerprint card and checks the National Crime Information Center. It may not charge you for the check. Before denying you because of a criminal record, IHA must tell you the proposed decision and give you a copy of the record and a chance to dispute its accuracy and relevance. The ACOP also lets a family agree to remove the household member who caused the problem from the application (page 3-28). IHA's voucher plan, unlike the ACOP's section 3-III.B, says it will admit such a family if the person completed an approved rehab program or no longer lives in the household, though the same section also says these applicants go on the waiting list only after three years have passed. The national guide covers the federal rules.

Vouchers

For vouchers, IHA's HCV Administrative Plan (section 3-III.D, pages 3-23 to 3-24) also uses a three-year lookback for drug-related, violent and safety-related criminal activity and for criminal sexual conduct. It counts a conviction within the past three years as evidence, and says an arrest record "will not be used as the basis for the denial" by itself; an arrest must be backed up by supporting documentation, and a conviction is given more weight.8,9

The plan also denies assistance if any family member was evicted from federally assisted housing in the last three years (not only for drugs), and lists any record of eviction from public or private housing because of criminal activity within the past three years as evidence. Lifetime sex-offense registration is a required denial. IHA may decide case by case not to deny after weighing the factors in sections 3-III.F and 3-III.G.

Tenant Selection Plan (effective January 1, 2027)

A Tenant Selection Plan that IHA's board approved October 13, 2026, as an addendum to the ACOP, is set to take effect January 1, 2027 and is stricter than the ACOP's three-year rule. Its section XVI (pages 26 to 27) says IHA will reject an application for any conviction or adjudication other than acquittal for violent criminal activity, for the sale, distribution or manufacture of drugs, for any sexual offense, or for bodily harm to a child, and for any household member with past drug-related convictions or outstanding warrants for drug-related activity, with no time limit stated. It uses a five-year lookback for convictions involving injury to a person or property, listed fraud and theft offenses, and illegal drug use or possession.6,7

The same section says IHA will not automatically deny applicants based solely on an arrest, will not use prohibited categorical criteria, and will give you notice of a proposed denial, a copy of the record and a chance to dispute it. It also says no applicant may be admitted who is listed on any state's sex-offense registry, which goes beyond HUD's lifetime-registration rule. The plan does not match the ACOP's section 3-III.D, and it does not match itself: one rule rejects any past drug-related conviction while another uses five years for drug use or possession, and its last section says it takes effect on board approval while its cover and signature page say January 1, 2027. The plan says federal law and HUD rules control if they conflict with it, but it does not say whether it or the ACOP controls. Ask IHA in writing which rules apply to your application.

Informal review or hearing

If IHA denies you, the notice must say why and how to ask for review. For public housing, ask for an informal hearing in writing, in person or by first-class mail, no later than 10 business days from the date of the denial notice (ACOP chapter 14, part I, pages 14-2 to 14-4). For vouchers, ask for an informal review the same way within 10 business days (HCV Administrative Plan section 16-III.B, pages 16-11 to 16-15). IHA will schedule it and send you written notice within 10 business days of your request.7,9

The person who conducts the review must be someone other than the one who made the decision, or that person's subordinate. You can present written or oral objections. IHA mails its final decision, with a statement of reasons, within 10 business days after the review. If you do not show up, the denial stands. Both plans say a denial will be overturned if its grounds are not in the regulations (the ACOP adds: or in IHA policy). If the facts prove a denial HUD requires, IHA upholds it; for a denial HUD does not require, IHA weighs the reviewer's recommendation in its final decision. IHA offers these reviews only to applicants who were denied.

Where to get help in Indianapolis

211 and housing counseling

Dial 2-1-1 for Indiana 211, the state's statewide referral line that connects people with housing, utilities, food and other help. HUD's locator lists HUD-participating housing counseling agencies near an Indianapolis ZIP code; you can also call HUD at 800-569-4287.12,13,14,15

The state's court page says that if you cannot apply online for rental assistance, you can call 2-1-1 for help. For the HUD locator, enter your ZIP code and a distance, or pick Indiana from the state list. HUD says eviction and homeless counseling are free; other counseling may cost a small fee that agencies must waive if you cannot afford it.

Avoiding rental scams in Indiana

FTC and Indiana Attorney General

We found no Indiana Attorney General page written about apartment-listing scams, so use the FTC's guidance: scammers copy real listings or invent fake ones to collect fees, deposits or rent, so walk away if you are pressured to decide fast, cannot see the place, or are told to pay by wire, gift card or cryptocurrency. You can file a consumer complaint with the Indiana Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at IndianaConsumer.com, 317-232-6330 or 1-800-382-5516.16,17

The Attorney General's tenant-issue page lists the complaint line and website but gives no specific rental-scam advice. Report rental scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to local police as well.

Sources

Each source was opened and checked on October 29, 2026.

  1. Indiana Code, Title 32 (Property), 2026 editionIndiana General Assembly
  2. Eviction Sealing Instructions (form packet approved by the Coalition for Court Access)Clark County Clerk of Courts, via Indiana state website
  3. Eviction issues: S.E.A. 142, P.L. 128-2025, effective July 1, 2025Indiana Judicial Branch
  4. Indiana Code, Title 35 (Criminal Law and Procedure), 2026 editionIndiana General Assembly
  5. Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County, Chapters 581 and 582 (Supplement 47 Update 2)City of Indianapolis and Marion County, via Municode Library
  6. Admission and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP), approved by the Board of Commissioners October 13, 2026Indianapolis Housing Agency
  7. Admission and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP) with Tenant Selection Plan addendum, October 2026 (PDF)Indianapolis Housing Agency
  8. HCV Administrative Plan, approved by the Board of Commissioners October 13, 2026Indianapolis Housing Agency
  9. HCV Administrative Plan, October 2026 (PDF)Indianapolis Housing Agency
  10. Eviction Diversion ProgramCity of Indianapolis (Office of Public Health and Safety)
  11. Getting Legal Help (Self-Service Legal Center)Indiana Judicial Branch
  12. Help with HousingIndiana Judicial Branch
  13. Indiana 211Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
  14. Housing Counseling Services searchU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  15. About Housing Counseling: Common Questions and AnswersU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  16. Rental Listing ScamsFederal Trade Commission
  17. Mortgage, Foreclosure, or Tenant Issue (Consumer Protection Division)Indiana Attorney General

Where to go next

All guides