Utilities Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Indiana law says, what's specific to Indianapolis - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Ind. Code § 32-31-5-6(c) provides that "Except as authorized by judicial order, a landlord may not deny or interfere with a tenant's access to or possession of the tenant's dwelling unit by commission of any act". Item (3) names cutting electricity, gas, water or other essential services.
- The landlord may still interrupt service "as the result of an emergency, good faith repairs, or necessary construction". The section does not require a landlord to pay for services it has not agreed to pay for, and it does not apply once a unit is abandoned as § 32-31-5-6(b) defines that term.
- The tenant's route is an emergency possessory order from the small claims docket. Under § 32-31-6-5 the court must schedule a hearing for not later than three (3) business days after the petition is filed, and § 32-31-6-9 lets it determine damages at a later hearing.
- None of those sections names a dollar amount. For electrical, plumbing and heating systems the landlord must keep working, § 32-31-8-6(d) allows actual and consequential damages, attorney's fees and court costs after notice and a reasonable time to remedy.
- Our record of Indianapolis's code finds no city provision on a landlord cutting off a tenant's utilities. Read the current § 32-31-5-6 and Chapter 32-31-6 on iga.in.gov, because our copies came through Internet Archive and FindLaw.
Understanding the Utilities Clause
A utilities clause decides whose name is on the electric, gas and water accounts, and who pays. It does not decide whether a landlord may switch any of them off, and in Indianapolis a state section answers that second question directly.
Ind. Code § 32-31-5-6(c)(3) bars a landlord, except as authorized by judicial order, from interrupting, reducing, shutting off or causing termination of electricity, gas, water or other essential services to a tenant. The remedy in Chapter 32-31-6 is a court order and damages the court determines, not a set sum.
A tenant whose service is cut may petition the small claims docket for an emergency possessory order, and the court must set a hearing within three (3) business days. Our record of Indianapolis's code finds no city shutoff rule.
The state text was read through Internet Archive copies of the General Assembly's 2026 edition and on FindLaw, so read the current sections on iga.in.gov before relying on them.
What renters assume
If the lease puts the utilities on the tenant, or the landlord pays them and the rent falls behind, the landlord can shut the service off until the account is settled.
What is actually true
§ 32-31-5-6(c)(3) bars a landlord, except as authorized by judicial order, from interrupting or shutting off electricity, gas, water or other essential services to a tenant. The exceptions written into it are an emergency, good faith repairs and necessary construction, and unpaid rent is not among them. Who pays the bill is a separate question the lease answers.
Indianapolis's bar is blank, one of 12 of the 24 rows with no fixed sum. Its label reads No fixed sum; court order + damages, close to Columbus at No fixed sum; actual damages and Charlotte at No fixed sum; civil action.
The other blank rows answer in rent multiples, daily amounts or damages. Miami reads three months' rent and Phoenix, Philadelphia and Portland two months' rent; Los Angeles and Seattle read $100 a day, Newark and Kansas City daily city fines, and Nashville actual plus punitive damages.
The other 12 carry a fixed figure, from New York City at $10,000 down to Detroit at $200. A blank bar is not an empty rule.
Indiana's ban in § 32-31-5-6(c)(3) is there; what the bar cannot show is a court order, with a hearing set for not later than three (3) business days after the petition under § 32-31-6-5.
Plain English Version
Your lease can put the utility bills in your name, but in Indiana that does not give your landlord the right to cut your service. A landlord may not shut off or reduce your electricity, gas, water or other essential services unless a court has ordered it, apart from emergencies, good faith repairs and necessary construction.
If it happens, you can ask the small claims court for an emergency order, and the court must set a hearing within three business days. The state sections we read set no fixed fine; the court decides damages.
Utilities Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Indianapolis, IN
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
[t]enant shall be responsible for all utilities and services incurred in connection with the Premises.
Quoted from the published opinion in Dinh v. Raines, No. S-18262 (Alaska Feb. 23, 2024). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“[t]enant shall be responsible for”
Who pays is the lease's question, and Indiana's shutoff section leaves it there. Ind. Code § 32-31-5-6(c)(3) does not require a landlord to pay for electricity, gas, water or other essential services it has not agreed to pay for. A clause putting every bill on you is the kind of arrangement that sentence has in mind. Keeping the service on is a separate question in the section's own text: the same subdivision bars the landlord from cutting it except as authorized by judicial order.
“all utilities”
Indiana names the services one by one: electricity, gas, water and “Other essential services”. A landlord may not interrupt, reduce, shut off or cause termination of any of them to a tenant, except as authorized by judicial order. The exceptions written into the same subdivision are an emergency, good faith repairs and necessary construction, and late rent is not among them. The section does not apply once a unit is abandoned as § 32-31-5-6(b) defines that term.
“and services”
“Services” is the word Indiana's retaliation chapter uses too. § 32-31-8.5-4(2) lists “Decreasing, terminating, or interfering with services provided to the rental premises” as a retaliatory act when it responds to protected tenant activity. § 32-31-8.5-5(b)(3) still allows a landlord, subject to applicable law, to decrease or end services “to all tenants on an equal basis”. A cut aimed at one unit after a complaint is the shape the first section describes.
“incurred in connection with”
Indiana puts a duty on the tenant's side of the account as well. § 32-31-5-6(d) bars a tenant from shutting off electricity, gas, water or other essential services where doing so “will result in serious damage to the rental unit.” Separately, § 32-31-8-5(4) requires the landlord to keep electrical systems, plumbing with hot and cold running water “at all times” and heat in good and safe working condition, if provided when the agreement was made.
The clause survived. The landlord did not. The Alaska Supreme Court held that a “tenant pays all utilities” clause does not let a landlord shift the cost of utilities he diverts. He had housed his restaurant employees in unpermitted garage units and let them draw electricity and heating fuel through the tenants' meter and fuel tank. That was a willful diminution of essential services under AS 34.03.210, which exposes a landlord to exemplary damages of up to one and one-half times actual damages. The court affirmed that finding as to heat, hot water and electricity, and reversed as to internet and cable, which are not “essential services” under the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. The same utilities clause still carried the day on ordinary contract grounds: the tenants recovered $1,050 under AS 34.03.160 for the internet and cable, once they had given notice. Two things a renter should take from it - a broad “all utilities” clause is normal and enforceable, and it still does not make you the landlord's utility company.
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Indiana Law on Utilities Clause
- The prohibition names the services. Ind. Code § 32-31-5-6(c) provides that "Except as authorized by judicial order, a landlord may not deny or interfere with a tenant's access to or possession of the tenant's dwelling unit by commission of any act", including "(3) Interrupting, reducing, shutting off, or causing termination of any of the following to a tenant: (A) Electricity. (B) Gas. (C) Water. (D) Other essential services." The landlord may still interrupt service "as the result of an emergency, good faith repairs, or necessary construction", the section does not require a landlord to pay for services it has not agreed to pay for, and it does not apply once a unit is abandoned as § 32-31-5-6(b) defines that term.
- The remedy is a fast court order, not a fixed sum. Under Ind. Code § 32-31-6-3(a)(1) a tenant may petition for an emergency possessory order "if the landlord has violated IC 32-31-5-6", and § 32-31-6-5 requires the court to "Schedule an emergency hearing for not later than three (3) business days after the petition is filed." If the court finds a violation and that the tenant "will suffer immediate and serious injury, loss, or damage", § 32-31-6-6 directs it to order the landlord to return possession, to "Refrain from violating IC 32-31-5-6", or both, and at a later hearing § 32-31-6-9 lets the court "Determine damages". None of those sections names a dollar amount.
- A separate route covers services the landlord must keep working. Ind. Code § 32-31-8-5(4) requires a landlord to keep in good and safe working condition, if provided when the agreement is made, electrical systems, plumbing "sufficient to accommodate a reasonable supply of hot and cold running water at all times" and a heating system "sufficient to adequately supply heat at all times". After notice and a reasonable time to remedy, § 32-31-8-6(d) lets a prevailing tenant recover "Actual damages and consequential damages" and "Attorney's fees and court costs", plus injunctive relief.
- Cutting services in response to a complaint is a retaliatory act. Ind. Code § 32-31-8.5-4(2) lists "Decreasing, terminating, or interfering with services provided to the rental premises" when taken in response to protected tenant activity, and § 32-31-8.5-5(b)(3) still allows a landlord, subject to applicable law, to decrease or terminate services "to all tenants on an equal basis". The tenant has a duty too: § 32-31-5-6(d) bars a tenant from shutting off electricity, gas, water or other essential services where doing so "will result in serious damage to the rental unit."
Sources include Ind. Code § 32-31-5-6(c)(3); Ind. Code § 32-31-6-3; Ind. Code § 32-31-6-5; Ind. Code § 32-31-6-6; Ind. Code § 32-31-6-9; Ind. Code § 32-31-8-5; Ind. Code § 32-31-8-6; Ind. Code § 32-31-8.5-4(2); Ind. Code § 32-31-8.5-6; Indianapolis Revised Code § 582-105 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Indiana puts the shutoff inside its lockout section. Ind. Code § 32-31-5-6(c) provides that "Except as authorized by judicial order, a landlord may not deny or interfere with a tenant's access to or possession of the tenant's dwelling unit by commission of any act".
Item (3) names "Interrupting, reducing, shutting off, or causing termination of" electricity, gas, water or other essential services to a tenant.
The same subdivision carries its limits. The landlord may interrupt service "as the result of an emergency, good faith repairs, or necessary construction".
The section does not require a landlord to pay for services it has not agreed to pay for, and it does not apply once a unit is abandoned as § 32-31-5-6(b) defines that term.
The duty runs both ways. § 32-31-5-6(d) bars a tenant from shutting off electricity, gas, water or other essential services where doing so "will result in serious damage to the rental unit."
A fast order, not a fixed sum
Under § 32-31-6-3(a)(1) a tenant may petition for an emergency possessory order "if the landlord has violated IC 32-31-5-6". § 32-31-6-5 requires the court to "Schedule an emergency hearing for not later than three (3) business days after the petition is filed."
If the court finds a violation and that the tenant "will suffer immediate and serious injury, loss, or damage", § 32-31-6-6 directs it to order the landlord to return possession, to "Refrain from violating IC 32-31-5-6", or both. At a later hearing § 32-31-6-9 lets the court "Determine damages". None of those sections names a dollar amount.
A second route covers systems the landlord must keep working. § 32-31-8-5(4) requires electrical systems, plumbing "sufficient to accommodate a reasonable supply of hot and cold running water at all times" and a heating system "sufficient to adequately supply heat at all times", if provided when the agreement is made.
After notice and a reasonable time to remedy, § 32-31-8-6(d) lets a prevailing tenant recover "Actual damages and consequential damages" and "Attorney's fees and court costs", plus injunctive relief. Cutting services in response to a complaint is also a retaliatory act under § 32-31-8.5-4(2).
Our copy of § 32-31-5-6 came from the General Assembly's 2026 edition through an Internet Archive copy captured September 29, 2026, and FindLaw marks that section and Chapter 32-31-6 current as of January 1, 2026. Read the current text on iga.in.gov before relying on it.
Indiana Tenant Protections
Under Ind. Code § 32-31-5-6(c), except as authorized by judicial order, a landlord may not deny or interfere with a tenant's access to or possession of the tenant's dwelling unit by commission of any act. Item (3) includes interrupting, reducing, shutting off, or causing termination of electricity, gas, water or other essential services to a tenant.
The landlord may interrupt service as the result of an emergency, good faith repairs, or necessary construction, and the section does not require a landlord to pay for services it has not agreed to pay for. Under § 32-31-6-3(a)(1) a tenant may petition for an emergency possessory order if the landlord has violated IC 32-31-5-6.
Section 32-31-6-5 requires the court to schedule an emergency hearing for not later than three (3) business days after the petition is filed.
Under § 32-31-6-6 the court may order the landlord to return possession, to refrain from violating IC 32-31-5-6, or both, and § 32-31-6-9 lets it determine damages at a later hearing. Section 32-31-8-5(4) requires the landlord to keep electrical, plumbing and heating systems in good and safe working condition if provided when the agreement is made.
After notice and a reasonable time to remedy, § 32-31-8-6(d) lets a prevailing tenant recover actual and consequential damages, attorney's fees and court costs.
Section 32-31-8.5-4(2) lists decreasing, terminating or interfering with services as a retaliatory act when it responds to protected tenant activity. Under § 32-31-5-6(d) a tenant may not shut off those services where doing so will result in serious damage to the rental unit.
Our record of the Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County of Indianapolis and Marion County finds no city provision on a landlord cutting off a tenant's utilities.
What's Specific to Indianapolis
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Our record of Indianapolis's code finds no city provision on a landlord cutting off a tenant's utilities. We read the Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County of Indianapolis and Marion County on Municode, codified through Ordinance No. 42, 2026.
Text searches for "essential services", "shut off", "utility landlord", "utilities landlord" and "utilities tenant" returned no landlord-tenant section. The hits were energy benchmarking, building, right-of-way and water conservation rules.
We also read Chapter 582, Protection of Tenants' Rights, in full, and it does not mention utilities. Its § 582-105 lists adversely altering "the living conditions of the tenant's rental unit" among the adverse actions a landlord may not take in retaliation, with a penalty of $2,500 for a first violation as to each tenant.
That penalty is not a shutoff penalty. Its trigger is retaliation for the protected tenant activities the section lists, not the loss of a service as such.
A state statute speaks to the same subject. Ind. Code § 32-31-8.5-6, added in 2020, provides that a unit "may not adopt or enforce any" ordinance or regulation "concerning retaliatory acts by landlords", and that any that does "is void and unenforceable".
Municode still prints § 582-105, and we take no position, in either direction, on how the two interact.
One local source sits outside what we read. The Marion County Public Health Department's housing code is not part of the Municode library our record searched, so a heat or utility rule it may carry is not reflected on this page.
A building-wide cut is read differently in the state text. § 32-31-8.5-5(b)(3) still allows a landlord, subject to applicable law, to decrease or end services "to all tenants on an equal basis". § 32-31-8.5-4(2) counts a cut made in response to protected tenant activity as retaliatory, so if service drops for your unit alone after a complaint, keep the dates of both.
For an Indianapolis tenant, the working texts in our record are the state's. A cut service goes to the small claims docket under Chapter 32-31-6, where § 32-31-6-5 sets the hearing for not later than three (3) business days after the petition is filed. Date the outage, keep the utility's explanation, and keep every receipt, because § 32-31-6-9 leaves damages for the court to determine.
Municipal codes change, and our reading of Indianapolis's stops at the codification above. Read the current code before you quote it to your landlord.
§ 32-31-5-6(c)(3) does not require a landlord to pay for services it has not agreed to pay for. A clause naming the holder of each account settles that question before an outage raises it.
The section lets a landlord interrupt service for an emergency, good faith repairs or necessary construction. A clause promising advance word of planned work gives you a date to hold the landlord to.
Except as authorized by judicial order, § 32-31-5-6(c)(3) bars a landlord from shutting off electricity, gas, water or other essential services to a tenant. Unpaid rent is not among the section's listed exceptions.
§ 32-31-5-6(d) bars a tenant from shutting off electricity, gas, water or other essential services where doing so "will result in serious damage to the rental unit." Read such a clause against that sentence.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Ind. Code § 32-31-5-6(c)(3); Ind. Code § 32-31-6-3; Ind. Code § 32-31-6-5; Ind. Code § 32-31-6-6; Ind. Code § 32-31-6-9; Ind. Code § 32-31-8-5; Ind. Code § 32-31-8-6; Ind. Code § 32-31-8.5-4(2); Ind. Code § 32-31-8.5-6; Indianapolis Revised Code § 582-105, read on web.archive.org. The Indiana General Assembly's own 2026 edition of Indiana Code chapter 32-31-5, read through an Internet Archive copy captured September 29, 2026, prints § 32-31-5-6 with the history line As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.16, amended by P.L.115-2007, SEC.6, and FindLaw marks its copies of that section and of Chapter 32-31-6 current as of January 1, 2026.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A shutoff reserved for late rent
Except as authorized by judicial order, § 32-31-5-6(c)(3) bars a landlord from interrupting or shutting off electricity, gas, water or other essential services to a tenant.
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Repairs used to explain a long outage
The section allows an interruption "as the result of an emergency, good faith repairs, or necessary construction". Note how long the work takes and whether any work is visible.
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Service cut after a complaint
§ 32-31-8.5-4(2) lists "Decreasing, terminating, or interfering with services provided to the rental premises" as a retaliatory act when it responds to protected tenant activity.
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Heat or hot water left broken
§ 32-31-8-5(4) requires a heating system "sufficient to adequately supply heat at all times" and hot and cold running water, if provided when the agreement was made. § 32-31-8-6(d) carries actual and consequential damages after notice.
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A city penalty quoted as a shutoff fine
The $2,500 in Indianapolis's § 582-105 is a retaliation penalty, triggered by retaliation for the activities the section lists. Our record finds no city penalty for a shutoff as such.
Your Rights as a Indianapolis Tenant
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Service stays on without a court order
§ 32-31-5-6(c)(3) bars a landlord, except as authorized by judicial order, from cutting electricity, gas, water or other essential services to a tenant.
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A hearing within three business days
§ 32-31-6-5 requires the court to schedule an emergency hearing for not later than three (3) business days after the petition is filed.
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An order to restore and to stop
§ 32-31-6-6 directs the court to order the landlord to return possession, to refrain from violating IC 32-31-5-6, or both, and § 32-31-6-9 lets it determine damages.
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Damages for broken heat and water systems
After notice and a reasonable time to remedy, § 32-31-8-6(d) allows actual and consequential damages, attorney's fees, court costs and injunctive relief.
What To Do - Step by Step
Write down when the service stopped
Date and time, with a photograph of the meter or thermostat. A petition under § 32-31-6-3(a)(1) rests on the landlord's violation of § 32-31-5-6, so the record of the outage is your evidence.
Ask the utility why it stopped
A cut the landlord caused is what § 32-31-5-6(c)(3) bars. Note who you spoke to, when, and what they said.
Put your position in writing
Cite § 32-31-5-6(c)(3), ask for the service to be restored, and keep a dated copy. If heat or water systems have failed, the same letter is your notice under § 32-31-8-6.
Petition the small claims docket
Chapter 32-31-6 lets a tenant petition for an emergency possessory order, and § 32-31-6-5 sets the hearing for not later than three (3) business days after filing.
Keep every receipt the outage generates
Hotel nights, meals, a space heater, spoiled food. § 32-31-6-9 lets the court determine damages at a later hearing, so the receipts are the measure.
Read the current text, then take advice
Read § 32-31-5-6 and Chapter 32-31-6 on iga.in.gov as they stand today. Indiana legal aid can review the facts before the hearing.