Indiana's deposit chapter (IC 32-31-3) is short and binary: one deadline, one document, and total forfeiture for missing either. There's little procedural machinery — which means the substantive fight arrives fast.
How much can a landlord charge?
No statutory cap — one to two months' rent is customary, set by the market and the lease.
The 45-day clock
Within 45 days of termination and the tenant supplying a forwarding or mailing address in writing, the landlord must return the deposit minus lawful deductions, with an itemized list of each damage claimed and its estimated cost. No written address, no running clock — the single most common tenant mistake in Indiana.
Deductions and the forfeiture rule
The deposit may cover unpaid rent, unpaid utilities or sewer charges the lease assigns, and damage beyond ordinary wear and tear (plus last-payment rent if agreed). And the enforcement is absolute: failure to deliver the itemized notice within 45 days constitutes agreement that no damages are due — the landlord must remit the full deposit, forfeits the right to keep any of it, and becomes liable for the tenant's attorney's fees in the recovery action. Indiana courts treat the 45-day itemization as jurisdictional, not advisory.
Why Indiana deposit disputes are documentation disputes
Indiana's spare statute means there's no checklist requirement, no inspection right, no receipts mandate to structure the fight — just the wear-and-tear line and whatever evidence each side brings to small claims court. The itemized list is the landlord's claim; the condition record is what makes or breaks it.
SealMove makes yours unbreakable. Every photo and video is cryptographically sealed the instant it's captured, independently timestamped, and locked with Face ID into a tamper-evident archive. At move-out, your walkthrough lines up room-by-room against the sealed baseline — and either party can send the other a report to review and acknowledge, no app required.