Legal & Mediation Resources

Legal & Mediation Resources

Legal Resources

For legal information specific to Landlord-Tenant cases, go to the Eviction Court page on our website.

Indiana Legal Services: 

To apply with ILS to see if you qualify for free legal assistance, call 1 844-243-8570 Monday – Friday from 10 am – 2 pm EST or online at Indiana Legal Services. Their website states “Please call our intake hotline if you have a hearing, will be evicted, or other deadline within the next seven days.” Make sure to let the person answering the phone know if you have received a notice from your landlord or have a hearing scheduled.

Note: This is a centralized intake process. You will need to complete a financial interview and provide details about your case, which is reviewed and then may be assigned to the closest ILS Office. The Bloomington ILS office provides legal services to 14 counties, including Monroe County. 

IU Student Legal Services (for currently enrolled IU students):

Free, confidential legal advice and services for IU Bloomington students. IU SLS licensed attorneys and legal interns are experienced in handling a variety of legal matters. To request free legal advice and services, please complete an intake form to request services. Here is the link: IU Student Legal Services Request Form  

If you need to speak to someone before submitting an intake, please call (812) 855-7867 to leave a message and your call will be returned to answer questions.

Indiana Legal Help:

Self help resources such as Court forms including Eviction Sealing, information on Indiana’s Landlord-Tenant Settlement Program and a link to the “Knowing Your Rights as an Indiana Renter” video on Youtube (last update Oct 2022) and IERA- Indiana Emergency Rental Assistance resources and Housing Counseling. Their website is Indiana Legal Help. Go to “Legal Topics”, select “Housing”, and then “Rent and Eviction”

If you do not have internet or printer access there is an Indiana Legal Help kiosk (seen below) on the 2nd floor of the Monroe Co. Public Library at 303 E Kirkwood Ave. downtown Bloomington. There is also a desktop kiosk in the Courtroom 212 lobby of the Monroe Co. Justice Building 301 N College Ave. Bloomington. You can access forms and print from the kiosk.

Indiana Free Legal Answers:

This is an APA-American Bar Association virtual legal advice clinic where you post your civil (non-criminal) legal question online to be answered by a licensed pro bono attorney. You are required to register online and create an account to ask your question and will receive an email when there is a response. They can be found at Indiana Free Legal Answers.

Self-Service Legal Center:

This is an Indiana Supreme Court resource with accessibility settings and translations to multiple languages providing information and resources for self-represented parties, including a glossary of common legal terms, instructions for e-filing and preparing for court. It can be found at www.in.gov/courts/selfservice/unrepresented/.

Mediation Resources

CJAM–Community Justice and Mediation Center:

CJAM is a private non-profit serving Bloomington and Monroe Co. residents since 1995. Their organization promotes an engaged, civil, just, and inclusive community and makes their services accessible to the vulnerable and under-served. CJAM offers free, confidential mediation services to tenants and landlords wanting assistance communicating with each other to facilitate agreements.

Their Landlord-Tenant coordinator can be reached directly by phone at (812) 269-6353 or by email at l-tmediation@cjamcenter.org.

More information on mediation services offered by CJAM can be found here: cjamcenter.org/community-mediation/

Fast-Track Facilitation:

This free state-wide program is offered through the Indiana Judicial Branch and is similar to a Landlord and Tenant Settlement Conference. All communication can be completed over the phone or online and you can participate even if you already have an eviction case filed in court. More information can be found at Indiana.gov.

Program requirements:

  • Both the tenant and the landlord (the parties) must agree to participate.
  • If you have a pending court case, request a facilitation at least 15-20 days before your next court date to allow time for the facilitation to be completed. Otherwise, you may have to request a continuance from the court.
  • You can only do this once. Only one facilitation between you and your landlord is allowed under this program. If you are a landlord, you can have only one facilitation per tenant.