Indianapolis, IN

Client: City of Indianapolis

Team of experts: Lisa Mueller Levy, Local Initiatives Support Corporation; Frank Alexander, Emory University School of Law

Description of work: An inventory completed in 2003 by the City of Indianapolis identified nearly 8,000 vacant residential structures in Marion County, which means that one in every 30 homes was vacant at that time. About 85 percent of these properties were located in the old city limits of Indianapolis. To begin to address the problem, the City conducted an in-depth assessment of systems and policies in 2004. Based on the 2004 policy assessments, the City asked the Campaign to help implement several specific administrative and statutory reforms for the City of Indianapolis and the State of Indiana to improve the state's Unsafe Building Law, the tax sale process, and the provision of authority in relation to a municipal land inventory.

Building on the efforts of Indianapolis’ Abandoned Houses Working Group, in 2006, the City of Indianapolis, LISC, and other community partners worked to get legislation (PL No. 169-2006 (HEA 1102)) passed. Its passage gives local governments better tools for compelling property owners to act by increasing fines for negligent properties and expediting the tax sale process, giving local governments more flexibility over the disposition of abandoned properties.

To help other municipalities in the state to take advantage of the new statute, Indianapolis leaders worked with the Campaign to publish a "how-to" manual that explains how it works in practice. See the link below for the technical guide.

Resources

A Guide for Policy Makers and Practitioners