Commercial Landlord/Tenant eviction in Indiana

Hi, I own a property in Indiana that I had leased to a friend for 10 years. They are behind several months, the lease states that I have to give 30 days notice then that I do not have to take them to court to take possession. I put a letter in the door on July 1, they say they never received it, but I’m sure they did. I now want to change the locks and take possession of the building without going to court, I really do not have the funds to hire an attorney or go to court. This is in the state of Indiana, these people are behind like $25000 dollars and they haven’t kept up with the insurance. Can I evict them, or do I have to take it to court, any help would be appreciated. :biggrin

What do your state’s codes say about eviction processes and your rights as a landlord? Here is a link I found on REICLUB to the left of your screen under Investor Resources - State Property Codes:
http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title32/ar31/ch5.html
I’m not going to read through all of your property codes, but in this section it specifically states the LL may not change the locks or shut off utilities to enforce something in the lease.
No matter what your lease says, you can’t do anything that violates your state codes. That part of (or maybe all of) your lease would not be enforceable. This is why you need to make sure your lease is in accordance with your state laws. You can try to get your friend to go on his/her own, but you can’t just change the locks and regain possession.
Why are you letting the tenant be responsible for insurance on the structure? If the tenant wants renter’s insurance, fine…but you should be maintaining the insurance on the structure. You can try to send your letter certified through the mail, but they can just refuse to receive it (which simply means they’ll avoid the postman). I sure hope you added another zero in your dollar amount by mistake. I can’t imagine letting anyone get that far behind on anything. Bottom line is to either convince them to go willingly (although good luck because they’re living here rent free) or go to court. Any other way will get you in trouble.

Hi thanks for your reply. I went to the link that you inserted, unfortunately that is for “residential only”. I have been told that it is different for commercial, I do not know. Thanks a lot for any help.

Any statutory protections for commercial tenants can be waived by agreement. You are very generous to give 30 days. I lock the doors on day 3.