Miscellaneous & related Indiana laws

A homeowners association may not adopt or enforce a rule prohibiting a member from displaying a political sign — one advocating for or against a candidate, a party, or a public question — during the window beginning 30 days before and ending 5 days after the election it relates to (§§ 32-21-13-3, 32-21-13-4). The association may still set reasonable rules on a sign's size, number, and location, but it cannot bar a sign displayed in a window or on the ground of the member's own property (§ 32-21-13-5), and it may remove a sign that violates a permitted rule (§ 32-21-13-6). In communities that are not gated with privately owned roads, an association also may not prohibit certain candidate and political activity on association property (§ 32-21-13-7).

Unpaid common-expense assessments owed to a subdivision homeowners association become a homeowners association lien on the owner's real estate (§§ 32-28-14-1, 32-28-14-5). Unlike the condominium lien, this lien's priority runs from the date the notice of lien is recorded and does not relate back to when the assessment was made (§ 32-28-14-6). A buyer is generally jointly liable for the seller's unpaid assessments, but is entitled to a statement of the amount owed and is not subject to the lien unless it was recorded before the sale (§ 32-28-14-7). The association must foreclose within five years of recording — and within one year if an owner or lienholder demands it in writing — or the lien becomes void (§§ 32-28-14-8, 32-28-14-9). Condominium assessments follow a separate lien in the Condominium Act (§ 32-25-6-3).

Separate from the Fair Housing Act, this chapter guarantees persons with disabilities full and equal access to housing offered for rent, lease, or compensation in Indiana (§ 22-9-6-3), and a housing provider may not refuse a person with a disability as a tenant because the person uses a guide dog (§ 22-9-6-5). It does not require a provider to modify property to give a higher degree of care (§ 22-9-6-4). Complaints go to the Indiana Civil Rights Commission (§ 22-9-6-6).

Indiana has a dedicated law treating an emotional support animal as a reasonable accommodation in housing. A housing provider may not charge a fee to keep an ESA (§ 22-9-7-13); where a disability is not readily apparent, the provider may request documentation from a health service provider verifying a disability-related need (§§ 22-9-7-9, 22-9-7-11). The owner still must follow community rules and pay for any damage the animal causes (§ 22-9-7-14), and misrepresenting an animal as an ESA is a Class A infraction (§ 22-9-7-12). The chapter does not apply to dwellings that are exempt under the Fair Housing Act (§ 22-9-7-1).

Indiana's protections for solar-energy systems (an association may deny or require removal only for an enumerated reason, plus a member petition route) and amateur-radio antennas live directly in the Indiana Homeowners Associations Act (IC 32-25.5-3.5 and 32-25.5-3.4) — see that page for the detail. Indiana separately discourages local ordinances that unreasonably restrict solar (§ 36-7-2-8), but that provision governs city and county zoning, not your association.

When a third-party collector or attorney pursues unpaid assessments, the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) applies — HOA assessments are “debts” and homeowners are protected “consumers” — barring abusive, unfair, or deceptive collection practices, and letting a homeowner sue a violator within one year.