The issue of “squatting” has become more prevalent in recent years and in an effort to clarify and streamline the process for removal, the Indiana General Assembly passed Senate Enrolled Act 157 in 2025 (in effect as of July 1, 2025). This bill amended IC 32-31-12 to define “squatter” and prescribe the process by which property owners can have them quickly removed.

Under IC 32-31-12, “squatter” means an individual who:

(1) occupies the property of another person;

(2) does not have a rental agreement, permission of the property owner, or any other property interest authorizing the individual to occupy the other person’s property; and

(3) has never had a rental agreement, permission of the property owner, or any other property interest that authorized the individual to occupy the other person’s property.

The term does not include a person whose rental agreement has expired or who may have violated the rental agreement, or a person who is an invitee on the real property.

If a property owner finds that they have a person on their property who meets the definition of “squatter,” the process outlined below can be used to have them removed:

1. Contact local law enforcement agency to notify them that you have a squatter on your property that you would like removed.
2. The property owner is required to fill out an affidavit (sworn statement) on which they attest that each of the three criteria outlined above are true in the case at hand. NOTE: The law also requires that the affidavit states that a person who makes a false statement on the affidavit is subject to the penalties of perjury. An Indiana Law Enforcement agency has a form that should be used.
3. Provide the signed affidavit to the law enforcement agency.
4. The law enforcement agency must (except for reasons of public safety) dispatch officers within forty-eight (48) hours of receipt of the affidavit to remove the squatter.
5. The law enforcement officer(s) shall remove the squatter UNLESS there is credible evidence that the individual is not a squatter or that the person is an invitee of the property owner or a person who has or has had a rental agreement.

The law allows squatters to be arrested if the law enforcement officer believes they have committed a criminal offense. It also importantly provides immunity from civil liability for the law enforcement officers. However, property owners who misuse this process can be held liable.

It is important that property owners know for certain that the person occupying the property meets the definition of “squatter” under the law (see definition above). Errors or false statements could result in the criminal charges for perjury AND the person wrongly removed from the property could bring a civil cause of action against the person that filled out the affidavit (affiant), which includes steep fines and penalties. Property owners should never use the removal of squatters process as a substitution for evicting residents.