§ 34-30-26-5 — Limited authorization to enter suspected vacant or abandoned real property; limited immunity

(a) Except as provided in subsection (d), a
person who is not the owner of real property or who is a creditor, and
who suspects that the property may be vacant or abandoned, may enter
upon the premises of the real property to do the following:
(1) Without entering any structure located on the real property,
visually inspect the real property to determine whether the real
property may be vacant or abandoned.
(2) Perform any of the following actions:
(A) Secure the real property.
(B) Remove trash or debris from the grounds of the real
property.
(C) Landscape, maintain, or mow the grounds of the real
property.
(D) Remove or paint over graffiti on the real property.
(b) A person who:
(1) enters upon the premises of real property to visually inspect
the property, as permitted under subsection (a)(1); and
(2) after inspecting the real property, determines that the real
property may be vacant or abandoned;
may notify the appropriate enforcement authority of the suspected
vacant or abandoned status of the property and request that the
enforcement authority inspect the property to determine whether the
property is in fact vacant or abandoned.
(c) A person that enters upon the premises of real property as
permitted under this section:
(1) is immune from civil liability for an act or omission related to
the entry or to any action described in subsection (a)(2), unless
the act or omission constitutes gross negligence or willful,
wanton, or intentional misconduct; and
(2) shall be held harmless from and against all claims of civil or
criminal trespass.
(d) In the case of real property that is subject to a mortgage, the
creditor in the mortgage transaction may not enter upon the premises
of the real property under subsection (a) if entry is barred by an
automatic stay issued by a bankruptcy court.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.170-2011, SEC.15. Amended by P.L.203-2013, SEC.24.