Studio Moved Farther Away: Can You Cancel Your Contract?

Yes, in Indiana you can cancel a health spa or training contract if the facility moves to a location more than five miles from the original, and the business must return the unused portion of your payments within 30 days. The rule turns on distance between the old and new addresses, so your job is to measure it, document it and send written notice. A free consultation is available if you are looking for a studio closer to your route.

The five mile test

The relocation exit has one number in it, and everything depends on it.

If the new site is	What follows
More than five miles from the original address	You may cancel under the Health Spa Services Act
Five miles or less	The statutory exit does not apply, but your contract may have its own
Unclear or disputed	Document both measurements and write anyway

Measure from the address on your contract to the new address, using a mapping tool. Screenshot the route and the date. If the result is within a mile of five either way, run both a straight line and a driving route, because the statute’s wording does not tell you which a court would prefer.

How to claim the exit

Treat it like any other written notice:

1. Confirm the move. Save the announcement, the new address and the date it takes effect.
2. Check the distance. Screenshot your measurement.
3. Write to the business. State the contract date, the old and new addresses, the distance, and that you are cancelling because the facility moved more than five miles. Ask for the unused portion of your payments back.
4. Send it two ways. Email and tracked mail, with copies in your folder.
5. Stop attending only after you send notice. Training at the new site after you have said you are cancelling can muddy the picture.

The wording of the letter itself is covered in what a cancellation letter should contain.

What the rule says

The Indiana Health Spa Services chapter, IC 24-5-7, lets a buyer cancel when the health spa facility moves to a location more than five miles from the original facility, and the Indiana Attorney General’s consumer fact sheet on health and fitness clubs adds that all refunds are due within 30 days and that the business must return the unused portion of payments. That fact sheet also describes a related closure rule: if a facility closes and the contract is not transferred to a similar facility within five miles, the buyer can cancel. Source checked October 2026. This is general information, not legal or tax advice, and rules change.

What counts as “the unused portion”

Expect a calculation, not a full refund. If you paid for twelve months and used four, the business owes the value of the remaining eight, typically measured from the cancellation date. For a session package, count the sessions left and multiply by the per session value in your contract. Ask for the math in writing, and compare it with your receipts. Money already used for sessions you attended is generally not at issue.

When the move is smaller than five miles

You are not out of options. Check your agreement for a clause about changes of location or facility, and ask the business for a courtesy exit, a pause or a transfer of sessions. If the new site changes hours, parking or equipment in ways that reduce what you paid for, say so in writing and ask what the business will do about it. If you cannot get what you want, the broader Indiana rules, including the first days after signing, are in Indiana’s gym contract cancellation law.

If the business disagrees

Sometimes a business says the new site is “basically the same area”. Respond calmly with the measurement and ask them to confirm the distance in writing. If the refund is late or refused, the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division takes complaints at 1-800-382-5516. Keep your folder together, and also read how to get out of a personal training contract for the options that apply when distance is not on your side.