Ohio Eviction Law - Guide for Landlords on Eviction Law in Ohio

Top Ten Mistakes that Landlords Make in the Eviction Process.

1. Landlords wait too long before they file an eviction complaint.

By giving tenants too many second chances, landlords often lose several months of rent before they initiate the eviction process. Why? Because landlords don’t want to hire an attorney, they don’t know Ohio eviction law, or they don’t know how to file an Ohio eviction complaint themselves.

2. Landlords don’t know how to use a three day eviction notice.

Landlords either don’t know how to serve the three day eviction notice on the tenant, fail to serve the three day eviction notice immediately upon a breach of the lease by the tenant, don’t know how to count the three days and file the eviction complaint too early or too late, or think that the three day eviction notice serves as the actual eviction complaint and illegally evict the tenant without going to court.

3. Landlords use a generic three day eviction notice that does not comply with Ohio law.

Because they are in a hurry after letting several months pass without collecting any rent and because they are trying to save money, landlords obtain a generic three day eviction notice that does not comply with Ohio eviction law and risk losing in court and losing more money in lost rent and additional filing fees.
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Landlord’s rights when tenants late on rent and destroying property

I have begun the eviction process on my current tenants living at my property at 597 Jefferson St in Urbana, OH. I posted the 3-day vacate notice on the property using bright orange paper on 7-31-07. Per the 3-day timeline, they should have moved out on or before this past Saturday, 8-4; however, they have chosen not to and still remain in the property.

In addition, I have placed now two for sale signs on the property (in the yard), and they have removed both of them and not returned them to me, stating that by law they have the right to remove the signs since they are still living there. Can you comment on this?
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Bailiff and ordinary mail service necessary for eviction summons/complaint

I ran into a problem in eviction court today after learning that a tenant had not been properly served. I was about to reschedule service when the clerk informed me that service was returned because the postal carrier had indicated that the unit was vacant and did not deliver the summons/complaint. The landlord told me otherwise and feared that this tenant had a reputation for setting up landlords with unlawful eviction counterclaims. It seems that the tenant had misinformed the postal carrier - the unit is not vacant and she is still living there. It does no good to have her re-served since the same thing will happen. Good thing we know her work address and will have her served there. Just another trick up the crafty tenant’s sleeve in the eviction war.

Statutory Evictions in Commercial Settings

A landlord of commerical property may evict a tenant in one of two ways.  First, he may simply remove the tenant’s possessions and change the locks.  This is known as a self help eviction, and it is legal to do it if it can be accomplished without a “breach of the peace.”  A breach of the peace is interpreted liberally, to incude anything that causes a disturbance, even cutting a chain or padlock with bolt cutters. The safer way to conduct an eviction of a commericial tenant is to go through the statutory process outlined in Ohio Revised Code Section 1923.  While most people think that R.C. 1923 evictions can only be used against residential tenants, this belief is not correct.  Rather it is true to say that R.C. 1923 evictions must be used against residential tenants, but can be used against commericial tenants.Thus a landlord may employ the statutory eviction process found in Ohio Revised Code Section 1923 against commercial tenants.The case law on this is Sterling Heath Care v. Laughlin, 1993 Ohio App. LEXIS 2659.click here to buy our complete landlord’s kit

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Guide to Ohio Eviction Law and Process

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Landlord’s Guide to Ohio Eviction Law

by Eric E. Willison, Esq. and

Andrew J. Ruzicho II, Esq.

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Franklin County eviction forms

Request for set out

Instructions to the clerk

Notice of Voluntary Dismissal

Pretrial order

Latest civil cost sheet

Writ of Restitution Procedures

Avoid this eviction nightmare: student sublets to scam artist

Mr. Johnson, in return for right to occupy the apartment for the remainder of Jocelyn’s lease with the University Rentals, from June 23, 2007 to September 6, 2007, had agreed to do the following:

1. Pay a security deposit of $300, to be refunded upon assessment of no damage
2. Comply with all the specifics related to the use of the apartment as listed in the lease that Jocelyn had executed with the University Rentals, a copy of which he was duly supplied
3. Pay $100 rent for the last week of June 2007
4. Pay, before July 1, 2007, $400 rent for July 2007
5. Pay, before August 1, 2007, $400 rent for August 2007
6. Pay, before September 1, 2007, $100 rent for the first week of September 2007
7. Surrender the apartment in the order he received (with no changes from the way Jocelyn had received it from the University Rentals–the record of which exists in the management’s office).
8. Surrender the two keys to Jocelyn
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