Indiana Mobile Home Park Eviction Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Nonpayment of lot rent (10-day notice)

Indiana has no separate mobile-home-park lot-lease statute, so your lot tenancies run on the general landlord-tenant law in IC 32-31. For nonpayment, IC 32-31-1-6 lets you terminate with not less than ten (10) days notice to the tenant — in practice, a written 10-day notice to pay rent or vacate. IC 32-31-1-7 supplies a model notice form you can adapt.

Two conditions built into the statute matter for operators. First, the tenant defeats the termination by paying the rent in full before the notice period expires, so the notice must be a genuine pay-or-quit demand. Second, the 10-day rule applies unless the parties otherwise agreed — a clear notice clause in your lot lease controls the timing, so state the exact period in the lease. Serve the notice the way IC 32-31-1-9 allows: on the tenant, on another person residing at the home, or by posting it conspicuously if no one is found.

Other lease violations and holdovers

Indiana sets no fixed statutory cure period for non-rent violations of a lot lease. The grounds and any right to cure come from your lease terms plus the tenant obligations in IC 32-31-7. Because the statute will not supply a cure period for you, spell out the violation and the days-to-cure directly in the lease.

To end a periodic lot tenancy for cause or at term, you terminate the tenancy itself using the interval that matches it: a tenancy at will takes a one (1) month notice in writing (IC 32-31-1-1); a month-to-month general tenancy takes notice equal to the interval between the periods, i.e. one month (IC 32-31-1-2 and IC 32-31-1-4); and a year-to-year tenancy takes not less than three (3) months before the expiration of the year (IC 32-31-1-3). No notice is required in the situations listed in IC 32-31-1-8 — for example a fixed-term lease that has run its stated term, or a tenant holding over at sufferance.

Filing the eviction (ejectment / possession)

After the notice period runs without a cure, you file a court action for possession. Indiana calls this ejectment or recovery of possession, and the possession procedure is in IC 32-30-3; operators typically file in the small claims division of the township or county court. Under IC 32-30-3-1 you file a complaint together with an affidavit stating you are entitled to possession and the tenant has unlawfully retained it.

The clerk then issues an order to show cause, and IC 32-30-3-2 requires the hearing to be set no earlier than five (5) business days after the date of service on the defendant. If you prevail, the court issues an order of possession to the sheriff. Under IC 32-30-3-10 the officer shall take the property into custody and remove the occupants not earlier than forty-eight (48) hours after the order of possession is served. Do not lock out a resident or shut off utilities on your own — in Indiana, possession comes only through this court order.

What happens to the resident's home

The resident owns the manufactured home, so the possession order clears the occupants and your lot, not the home itself. For personal property left inside, IC 32-31-4-2 lets you ask the court for an order to remove it after you are awarded possession under IC 32-30-2; items you then store with a warehouseman and the tenant never claims within ninety (90) days may be sold (IC 32-31-4-5).

For the home itself, use IC 9-22-1.7, Abandoned Manufactured Homes in Mobile Home Communities — not the more familiar IC 9-22-1.5, which by its own terms does not apply to a mobile home that is located in a mobile home community (IC 9-22-1.5-1.3). Under IC 9-22-1.7-3 you may sell or salvage a home you reasonably believe abandoned once it has been left without permission for at least thirty (30) days, measured from the notice you send under section 4; the owner can buy a single 30-day extension by certified mail (IC 9-22-1.7-4). You then send a second notice demanding removal within a specified time not less than ten (10) days, advertise once a week for two consecutive weeks, and hold a public auction at least fifteen (15) days after the first publication (IC 9-22-1.7-5), after which you title the home through a BMV affidavit of sale or disposal (IC 9-22-1.7-7 and -8). Preserve your lot-rent lien under IC 16-41-27-29 and follow the statutory payoff priority before disposing of the home.

Typical timeline in Indiana

• Rent is past due
  serve a written 10-day notice to pay or vacate under IC 32-31-1-6 (or the exact period your lease specifies).
• Day 10+
  if the tenant has not paid in full or cured, file a complaint plus affidavit for possession/ejectment, usually in small claims (IC 32-30-3-1).
• At least 5 business days after the tenant is served
  the show-cause/possession hearing is held (IC 32-30-3-2).
• Judgment for possession
  the court issues an order of possession to the sheriff.
• At least 48 hours after that order is served
  the sheriff removes the occupants (IC 32-30-3-10).
• Personal property left behind
  obtain a court removal order, store it, and after 90 days unclaimed it may be sold (IC 32-31-4).
• Home left behind
  run the IC 9-22-1.7 process — notice, a 30-day removal window (one 30-day extension possible), a second notice of not less than 10 days, two weeks of advertising, then auction at least 15 days after first publication, then BMV title.
• Overall
  commonly a few weeks to a few months, driven by the court calendar and whether the home must go to auction.

Operator best practices in Indiana

• Put the exact nonpayment notice period in the lease
  IC 32-31-1-6 honors what the parties otherwise agreed, so a clear pay-or-quit clause controls.
• Always serve written notice and document how you served it (tenant, another resident, or posting per IC 32-31-1-9); never use self-help lockouts or utility shutoffs
  possession must come through the IC 32-30-3 court order.
• Use the correct home-abandonment track
  IC 9-22-1.7 for homes in your community (30-day window, no minimum-age rule), NOT IC 9-22-1.5, which is expressly excluded for community homes.
• Preserve and account for your lot-rent lien under IC 16-41-27-29, and follow the IC 9-22-1.7 payoff priority before you sell, salvage, or take title to a home.
• Consider a cash-for-keys offer to get the lot and home cleared voluntarily and skip the cost and delay of an auction (a market practice, not a statutory requirement).
• Do not rely on the unenacted 2004 HB 1423 or on other states' MHP rules
  Indiana currently has no minimum lot-lease term and no statutory rent-increase notice for lot tenancies.
• Build a relationship with an Indiana MHP attorney to keep your notices, small-claims filings, and IC 9-22-1.7 auction paperwork airtight.