1.  A Written Lease is Required

The Section 8 voucher program requires a written lease with a minimum 1 year term. The lease must be approved by the IHA and signed and dated by both the tenant and the property owner.
The Section 8 program also requires that the owner provide a copy of the proposed lease, complete in all important details except the date, rental rate, designation of the premises, and name and address of tenant to the IHA for approval. The owner must provide this copy without requiring a deposit or actual execution of the lease.

2. Form of Lease

The lease must be in the standard form the owner uses in the locality for rental to unassisted tenants. The HAP contract prescribed by HUD contains the owner's certification that, if the owner uses a standard lease form for rental to unassisted tenants, that lease form is used for the assisted unit as well. If the owner does not use a standard form of lease to unassisted tenants, another form of lease may be used.

The lease must include the following information:

• Names of the owner and tenant;

• Unit address;

• Term of the lease, including initial term and provisions for renewal;

• Amount of monthly rent to owner; and

• Specification of what utilities and appliances the owner must supply and what utilities and appliances the family must supply.

The lease must also include verbatim the HUD-required tenancy addendum. The tenancy addendum can also be found in Part C of the HAP Contract for the Housing Choice Voucher Program. The tenancy addendum sets forth the tenancy requirements for the program and the composition of the household, as approved by the PHA. The owner must sign the lease and HUD tenancy addendum with the prospective tenant; the tenant has the right to enforce the tenancy addendum against the owner. The terms of the tenancy addendum prevail over any other provisions of the lease.

3. Legal Capacity to Enter Into a Lease

The tenant must have legal capacity to enter into a lease under state or local law. "Legal capacity" means that the tenant is bound by the terms of the lease and may enforce the terms of the lease against the owner.

4.  The IHA's Role in Reviewing the Lease

The IHA's role in reviewing the lease is limited. The PHA may review the lease to determine compliance with state and local law and may deny the request for tenancy if it determines noncompliance. If the owner does not use a standard lease form, the IHA may encourage the owner to obtain a standard form from a local realtor or other reliable source. The use of the model lease provided by the IHA is limited to those rare cases where the owner cannot locate an acceptable standard form.

 5.  Penalties for Late Payment of Rent

If the lease requires the tenant to pay a late fee penalty, the late fee and the time at which a late fee can be assessed can be no more than charged other unassisted tenants by the owner. 

6.  Term of Assisted Tenancy

The initial lease term must be for at least one year, except that the IHA may approve a shorter term if it is in the best interest of the IHA. During the initial lease term, the owner may not raise the rent to owner. The IHA may approve the tenancy and execute a HAP contract even if there is less than one year remaining from the beginning of the lease term and the end of the last expiring funding increment under the consolidated ACC. The lease must include provisions for its renewal. The lease term runs concurrently with the HAP contract term. If the lease terminates, the HAP contract terminates. Whenever the owner elects to execute a new lease, a new HAP contract is also required. 

7.  Indiana Security Deposit Requirements

Indiana Code 32-7-5-12 deals with the return of security deposits upon termination of a lease agreement, and states as follows:

Sec. 12. 

(a) Upon termination of a rental agreement, all of the security deposit held by the landlord shall be returned to the tenant, except for any amount applied to:

(1) the payment of accrued rent;

(2) the amount of damages that the landlord has or will reasonable suffer by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with law or the rental agreement; and

(3) Unpaid utility or sewer charges that the tenant is obligated to pay under the rental agreement; all as itemized by the landlord is a written notice delivered to the tenant together with the amount due within forty-five (45) days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession. The landlord is not liable under this chapter until supplied by the tenant in writing with a mailing address to which to deliver the notice and amount prescribed by this subsection. Unless otherwise agreed, the tenant is not entitled to apply a security deposit to rent.

(b) If the landlord fails to comply with subsection (a), the tenant may recover all of the security deposit due the tenant and reasonable attorney's fees.

(c) This section does not preclude the landlord or tenant from recovering other damages to which either is entitled.

(d) The owner of the dwelling unit at the time of the termination of the rental agreement is bound by this section.

Indiana Code 32-7-5-13 sets forth what a security deposit may be used for and states as follows:

Sec. 13. A security deposit may be used only for the following purposes:

(1) To reimburse the landlord for actual damages to the rental unit or any ancillary facility that are not the result of ordinary wear and tear expected in the normal course of habitation of a dwelling.

(2) To pay the landlor for all rent in arrearage under the rental agreement, and rent due for premature termination of the rental agreement by the tenant.

(3) To pay for the last payment period of a residential rental agreement where there is a written agreement between the landlord and the tenant that stipulates the security deposit will serve as the last payment of rent due.

(4) To reimburse the landlord for utility or sewer charges paid by the landlord that:

(A) are the obligation of the tenant under the rental agreement; and

(B) are unpaid by the tenant.

Indiana Code 32-7-5-14 requires the landlord to provide the tenant of a list of damages and the remainder of the security deposit within 45 days and states as follows:

Sec. 14. In case of damage to the rental unit or other obligation against the security deposit, the landlord shall mail to the tenant, within forty-five (45) days after the termination of occupancy, an itemized list of damages claimed for which the secuirty deposit may be used as provided in section 13 of this chapter, including the estimated cost of repair for each damaged item and the amounts and lease on which the landlord intends to assess the tenant. The list must be accompanied by a check or money order for the difference between the damages claimed and the amount of the secuirty deposit held by the landlord.

Indiana Code 32-7-5-15 provides that the landlord must comply with Section 14 within 45 days or remit the full deposit, and states as follows: Sec. 15. Failure by the landlord to comply with the notice of damages requirement within the forty-five (45) days after the termination of occupancy consititutes agreement by the landlord that no damages are due, and the landlord must remit to the tenant immediately the full security deposit.