LANDLORD/TENANT RELATIONSHIPS


Landlord-Tenant Relationships in Ohio / Apartments:

What are the duties of the landlord in Ohio? Since 1974, Ohio has operated under a statutory landlord tenant code, the purpose of which is to protect tenants from having to live in dangerous or substandard homes. Even a single tenant home is covered under the law. However, landlords with fewer than three rental units are exempt from some sections of the act. Generally, public facilities such as jails, hospitals, half-way houses, and colleges are exempted, as well as condominiums, and cooperative apartment corporations.

What terms may a lease not contain?

The provisions of Ohio's landlord tenant law cannot be waived/surrendered by any agreement in the lease. Provisions in a lease purporting to do any of the following are prohibited:
  1. A tenant's confession of judgment for any claimed violation by the landlord.
  2. An agreement to pay the landlord's or tenant's attorney's fees.
  3. An agreement by a tenant to hold harmless or limit any liability of the landlord arising under law or to indemnify the landlord for that liability or its related costs.

The landlord is required to:
  1. Comply with housing, health and safety codes
  2. Keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition
  3. Keep all common areas of the premises in a safe and sanitary condition
  4. Maintain all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning fixtures and any appliances, and elevators
  5. Where four or more dwelling units are located within the same structure, provide and maintain appropriate receptacles, garbage, incidental to the occupancy of a dwelling unit, and arrange for their removal
  6. Generally supply running hot and cold water, and heat
  7. Give the tenant reasonable notice of his intent to enter the leased premises and enter only at reasonable times
  8. Follow legal procedures when removing any tenant [eviction]
  9. The landlord cannot Retaliate against the tenant such as increasing the tenant's rent, decreasing services that are due to the tenant, or bringing or threatening to bring an action for possession of the tenant's premises because the tenant has exercised his rights under Ohio's landlord tenant act

What can a tenant do if the landlord violates the law or lease terms?

If the landlord violates his obligations under the act, or any obligation imposed upon him by the rental agreement, the tenant may recover actual losses he has suffered, obtain injunctive relief to prevent the recurrence of the conduct, and obtain a judgment for reasonable attorney's fees, or may terminate the rental agreement. The tenant must follow the legal procedures under the law during his response to the landlord's conduct.

If you feel your landlord has not complied with the terms of your lease agreement or Ohio's laws, it is recommended that you seek legal counsel. You do not have weeks to find an attorney if you have already been served with an eviction. Eviction is an expedited process. Hearings for possession of the premises are heard within ten to fourteen days of the service of summons. Few attorneys will accept your case when you call five or six days before a hearing. A far better strategy is to seek a consultation with an attorney before a controversy or problem arises. If you have questions as to whether your landlord is acting legally, or unjustly, seek an attorney's advice before you take any action or make a decision. This is the time when most tenants win or lose their rights (and money/premises) by not taking the legal steps necessary to preserve them. Relying on self help forms of solution will avail you little when the court date arrives.


What are the duties of the tenant in Ohio?

The tenant is required to:
  1. Keep his occupied premises safe and sanitary
  2. Dispose of all garbage in a clean, safe, and sanitary manner
  3. Keep all plumbing fixtures in his unit or used by him as clean as their condition permits
  4. Use and operate all electrical and plumbing fixtures properly
  5. Comply with the requirements imposed on tenants by all applicable state and local housing, health, and safety codes
  6. Refrain and forbid any guests from intentionally or negligently destroying, damaging, or removing any fixture, appliance, or other part of the premises
  7. Maintain in good condition any appliances supplied by the landlord and required to be maintained by the tenant under the terms of a written rental agreement
  8. Conduct himself and his guests in a manner that will not disturb his neighbors' peaceful enjoyment of the premises
  9. Abide by the laws which relate to controlled substances
10. Provide reasonable consent to the landlord to enter the residence in order to inspect the premises, make ordinary and necessary repairs or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen, or contractors

What can a landlord do if a tenant violates the law or lease terms?

If the tenant violates his obligations under the act, the landlord may recover any actual damages that result from the violation together with reasonable attorney's fees. He may also terminate the rental agreement, or maintain an action for the possession of the premises.

If you feel your tenant has not complied with the terms of your lease agreement or Ohio's laws, it is recommended that you seek legal counsel.
 
Ohio has a special statutory code chapter governing manufactured home parks and their residents which is tailored to the specific needs of mobile/manufactured homes. Greater protection is provided than for apartments.

LOCATION TO SERVE YOU:

1.   Clients:  Catalina Manufactured Home Park at 6501 Germantown Rd., Lot 41, Middletown, Ohio, 45042, on State Route #4  [My Home - by appointment only] (Near the Land of Illusion Haunted Scream Park.)
2.    Phone: 513 423-8912
3.   Email: Monte
THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THIS SITE IS INTENDED TO BE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THE LEGAL PROCESSES INVOLVED IN THE ISSUES ADDRESSED. ALL INFORMATION IS LIMITED TO OHIO. IT IS NOT INTENDED AS LEGAL ADVICE ON YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. IT IS ONLY INTENDED TO ASSIST YOU IN UNDERSTANDING THOSE PROCESSES.