Page last updated on September 23, 2024 at 2:38 pm
The HAND Department investigates rental complaints about violations of the Residential Rental Unit and Lodging Establishment Inspection Program. If you are having maintenance problems in your rental unit:
- Notify the landlord/agent in writing of the problem. Keep a record of when you communicated with them.
- Give the owner a reasonable amount of time to take care of the problem.
- If the problem has not been corrected after taking these steps, submit a Rental Complaint through the uReport system on the City of Bloomington website. Upon receipt of your complaint, a HAND staff member will call you to schedule an appointment for a rental inspector to visit your home and investigate the reported violations.
At the time of the inspection the complainant must be available to sign a complaint form.
PLEASE NOTE: the uReport system indicates that you may submit your complaint anonymously. While this is true for most issues reported to the City, rental complaints are an exception. You must provide your contact information in order for HAND to follow up with you and properly investigate the reported violations.
If violations are confirmed by the HAND inspector, the owner will be issued a notice with an itemized list of repairs that must be made, and they will be given a deadline by which those repairs must be completed and re-inspected.
HAND cannot resolve issues related to leases or other legal disputes. Resources you may want to consider:
- Student Legal Services for students at Indiana University. 310/312 N. Park Ave. 812-855-7867.
- Indiana Legal Services for income-eligible renters. 214 S. College Ave. 2nd floor. 812-339-7668.
- Community Justice and Mediation offers free dispute resolution to neighbors, neighborhoods, tenants and landlords, or organizations experiencing miscommunication or conflict. 205 S. Walnut St., Suite 16. 812-336-8677 or cjam@cjam.org.