More than 1,000 may lose water — or even their homes — because a landlord didn't pay

In April, Indianapolis leaders and legal representatives announced a set of coordinated lawsuits against a delinquent landlord, JPC Affordable Housing Foundation, which has failed to pay $1.7 million in water bills at four apartment complexes. The utility company now says it plans to shut off service Sept. 30 if an agreement can't be reached. (Jill Sheridan/WFYI)

Tenants of 1,400 rental units in Indianapolis are on the brink of a water shut-off due to nonpayment by their corporate landlord — a tenant-landlord dispute of such a scale that city and state officials have stepped in with legal action to head off the possibility of a mass eviction.

With an unpaid water bill of $1.7 million and counting, an Indianapolis utility company this week posted notices to residents of four apartment complexes owned by the nonprofit JPC Affordable Housing Foundation, warning that their water could be shut off in September.