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Table of Contents
3: Understanding Rental Applications and Leases
4: Moving Into Your Apartment
5: Problems During Your Tenancy
6: Retaliation By Your Landlord
7: Landlord Duties To The Tenant
11: Problems Caused by Third Parties or Guests
12: Unauthorized Entries By The Landlord
13: Moving Out
15: Month To Month Tenancies
16: The Rules Of The Court
17: The Administrative Structure Of The Court
18: Court Tactics
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. This wesbite is a GREAT resource.
you can reach me at andy at ruzicholaw.com or
eewillison at earthlink.net
thanks
Thanks for visiting our site. Please leave comments/questions or points of concern.
This has been a great resource however I am having a hard time finding out if I have the right to see my electric meter. My building has them in a storage room that is kept locked and the electric company has “estimated” my current bill as $60 more that what I usually pay. They are willing to adjust the bill, if I can look at the meter and the management company will not let me into the storage room. What should I do? I find it ridiculous that I am not permitted to see the meter for which I pay!
RESPONSE: If you are paying the electric bill you should be able to see the electric meter. Not every reading is estimated. Check your electric bill and you will see “actual” readings from time to time. That means that the electric company came and read the meter. It is not uncommon for the electric company to give estimated readings from time to time, however.
Question: If a person is evicted, are they financially responsible for the remainder of the months rent in their lease? Thanks
RESPONSE: Yes, the person would be responsible for the remainder of the months of rent on the lease unless the landlord re-rented the premises in the meantime to someone else. The landlord cannot collect double rent.
My sister and her husband are living in the top level of a two-story apartment. Since they moved in two months ago, their downstairs neighbor has come to their door repeatedly to complain about the noise being made by my one year old nephew (evidently she works second shift). Today, the landlord came in answer to another noise complaint from the downstairs neighbor and sided with her, because he said the previous tenant had had a two year old and never caused any problems. The landlord also said that since the downstairs neighbor has lived there for five years, he was siding with her.
My sister told both of them that she honestly doesn’t know what more she can do to keep a small child quiet. The neighbor responded by saying that she intends to call the police the next time.
Any thoughts? Is there a resource that could help my family figure out a solution?
RESPONSE: Perhaps there is another unit available in the building that you could move to where your child would disturb less people or where it would less likely for your child to disturb anyone. Like an end unit, for example.
i pay $500 in rent (no utilities) when we first moved in it was $400 in the last 5yrs he has raised our rent $100 cause we asked him to fix things…he absolutly refuses to put any money in the apartment all he wants to do is raise our rent…we received a letter today 1-12-10 that he was lowering our rent to $375+ultities starting on Feb.1st thats less than a month away…on Feb. 1st he is taking the utilities out of his name..can he turn the utilitites off in the middle of winter with a child in the home??
RESPONSE: If you are on a month to month agreement, then the landlord can change the terms of that agreement by giving you 30 days written notice of the change. However, if you are under a written lease agreement, the landlord cannot unilaterally change the terms of that agreement while it is in effect.
Is there any process in Ohio that lets one break a lease early, if need be? I am a good renter, but I am also thinking of buying a home, and I want to know how I might be able to get out of a lease if I need to. Is there any way to do so?
RESPONSE: go to ohiolandlordtenant.com/break.html for more information on breaking your lease.
There was a gas leak at the apt. complex where I live. The gas co. was out for 3 days, digging in the front lawn by the street. Then Sat. and Sun. came along, and of course nobody was working on it. Monday a plumbing co. came and finally we had hot water by evening. My question is for 6 days we had only ice cold water. That meant for showers, washing dishes etc.. Since the dryers are run on gas we didn’t have use of the laundry room either. They provided 1 apt. (that was being renovated) in a building across the complex, to shower in if you wanted to lug your shampoo, towels and clothes over there with you. This was supposed to accomodate about 100 people. You could use other buildings laundry rooms, again if you wanted to take everything with you. This particular week we had 30 to 40 degree weather along with high winds, thunderstorms and plenty of cold rain. They had also turned the heat off 2 wks. earlier because it was the beginning of May, “so we should open our windows and enjoy the nice weather”. This is Ohio, 2 nights ago we had hail and a frost warning! My point is we all suffered through, but since we are paying rent for shelter, heat and hot water…do we have to pay for those 6 days?
RESPONSE: If the conditions were so bad that it forced you to move out then you would have a pretty good argument for getting reimbursed for hotel expenses, etc.
i have been having trouble with my girlfriends apartment manager she has been leaving rude notes on my car just picking at me about where i park an how much i stay there i can understand the parking but she continues to harasse me about getting on the lease an filling out a application i could understand it if i was living there i dont pay the bills i dont have any of my property there other than my car when i park there .i have already explained to her our situation as a couple is complicated .an neither of us want me on the lease an i dont think the co-signer would like it either .i do stay there often maybe 2 in a half days a week at the most 3 usually consecutively an randomly spread out .she happens to notice an acts uncompromisable because she lives across the hall.I want to know how long is a guest aloud to stay before a landlord or manager can force eviction with a claim that someone is living there ?
We have 10 girls moving into a 10 bedroom house in Columbus. The house only has a 50 gallon hot water heater for the entire house. Is the landlord obligated to provide a bigger one given that the house is set up for 10 people?
What if we only gave a verbal notice of intent to move and mailing address for return of the security deposit? We were not aware of the legal requirement of written notice. The landlord did return part of the deposit to the address we gave. Our original lease was for one year and we stayed for 6 years with only verbal renewal of the lease. During which time the property was sold so it is a different landlord. The landlord is now deducting money for painting and replacing window blinds. We also were not aware of the interest due on the deposit which was almost double the rent. It has been more than a month since we moved. Are we out of luck because of no written notice? It’s hard to believe these laws have been around for decades since no one seems to know about them. What’s the point? Shouldn’t there be a requirement to notify the renter of rights like there is in other matters. We just bought a house and had to sign a mountain of documents acknowledging notification of various things.
I was renting an apartment and received moving out charges statement with multiple charges but main ones is“cockroach infestation.” I called them to confirm and explain these charges. Instead, they told me total charges due are even more because they had to call pest control to eliminate roaches. I had roaches problem about six months after I moved in there and told them about it multiple times. They refused to call pest control and told me, with pest control “The problem will get worse” and refused to give permission to do so on my own. They also refused to transfer me to a new apartment. Why should I be held responsible for the charges now? I wanted to take care of the problem and they never allowed meto take care of it and neither did they take care of the problem at that time. Please advise me and help me in dealing with this issue.
Thanks
What is the law on replacing carpet in an apartment? I was told there is supposed to be new carpet and new paint put in prior to new tenants moving in. Is this correct? If not, what is the law on that and where can I find resources that notate these laws for my own copy?
got sued by ex-landlord. he won the case even though we were permitted to give our side of all the facts. landlord lied in court and judge believed him, not us. before going landlord said he always wins in court. all he really did was steal our deposit then charge $219 more to fix things that needed repair before we moved in. my appeal was rejected. we always paid on time for 4 yrs. we were not allowed to give evidence showing how landlord did not make repairs properly when asked to, and our pictures indicating same were not allowed in court. even though we used a lawyer, we lost to a judge who didn’t listen to anything but the landlord. we did what we were required to do as far as notification in proper time and gave forwarding address and request for deposit return. instead he wants us to pay for wear and tear, repairs for things pre-existing to our rental, and made up additional false charges. beyond spending more money for another attny, can we appeal again?? or do we just accept that honesty doesn’t matter?
I have 2 situations going on simultaneously. 1 for myself and the other for my mother.
Mine) I left my apt appropriately according to my lease, notice was given in advance over 30 days. Upon receipt of my security deposit, I called the mgmt company for an explaination of the fees as well as the electric bill. I have called probably 4-5 times and have not received a response back. The itemized summary of fees withheld from my deposit are extremely vague. Are they (mgmt company) required to provide a thorough explaination?
Mother) Her landlord has sold the property. Is the landlord obligated to provide her with notice. My mother had provided the orginal landlord with her intent to vacate, however the new landlord was not informed. Now the new landlord wants my mother to pay weekly rent as well as forfiet her deposit, although she have no written lease with the new landlord and her lease has expired therefore she has been month to month agreement.
Thanks,
Sue
My landlord is being forclosed on and didn’t tell me 5 months ago when I moved in and sign a six month lease with no deposit. The house is being auctioned on 12/11/10 so I didn’t pay him this months rent. He just put a 3 day notice on my door because I refuse to pay him now that I have to move again. Can he evict me and I am not 30 days late, can he even evict me at all since he will no longer own the house. Now I guess I see why he didn’t make me pay a deposit bcuz he knew he would have to give it back after the house is auctioned. What a rip off!
i am in a 2 bedroom apartment with 2 kids, 1 boy 1 girl that dont live with me. they share the second bedroom, but when both are here the boy sleeps in the living room. recently my elderly father has taken ill and has had to come live with me and i now have a baby on the way. the apartment was fine when we moved in two months ago but with finding out about the new baby and dad this month there is just not enough room. how can i get out of my lease without being sued or having to pay the remaining 9 months of rent?
QUESTION:
I live in Park Leigh North appartments off of westerville rd and they are saying that i am responsible to pay for the repairs on my back door, which was kicked in durring a burglary early last month. I dont believe i should have any liability for this and insurance wont cover it either. I also dont believe the door should have been left screwed shut with a 2X4 (this was their quick fix) for almost a month now without any indication as to when they were going to fix it. Shouldnt the repairs to the actual structure fall back on Park Leigh since it is their property? Everytime i talk to them the seem more and more shady. Any advice would help. Also i may be needing legal representation depening on how this goes.
Thanks!
Lynn
Lynn
Generally the foreclosure process lasts quite a long time. Sometimes it can drag out for a couple years and there is always the chance that your landlord can get the property out of foreclosure. If you are still living in the premises then you still have an obligation to pay rent in a timely manner. The landlord can evict you even if you are a day late on your rent.
As to your mother’s situation, the new landlord must honor the lease. The old landlord generally has no duty to inform your mother of a sale of the property unless such notice was part of the lease. The new landlord can’t change the terms of the lease if it is still in effect. If the lease has expired, the new landlord must give 30 days written notice of any changes to the lease before such changes must be honored.
Generally, you get one shot at the appeal and can’t appeal again. For an additional $219, you may want to ask yourself whether it would be worth it even if you could appeal twice.
There is no law in Ohio requiring new carpet and paint before each new tenant.
for more information – visit http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/vbb/showthread.php?1486-Does-a-landlord-have-a-duty-in-Ohio-to-replace-carpet-every-2-years
If you have documentation supporting your calls about pest control then you are in a good position. If not, your argument becomes more difficult to maintain. I would still think you have a good argument against paying the charges. You can always go to small claims court and sue to get your security deposit back.
for more info – see http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faqsecdep.html
your questions are answered here
http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/fullstory13.html
and here
http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/security_deposit_interest.html
Columbus City Codes may require more water heaters given the amount of people involved. You may wish to contact City Code Enforcement for an answer.
Oftentimes, a provision in the lease will define when a guest becomes a resident. Review the lease for such a provision. If you are over at the apartment on a regular basis, you may be considered a resident and could subject yourself and girlfriend to eviction for breach of the lease.
I have a quick question and can’t seem to find anything that directly covers it. I live in Ohio and my landlord had a painter come paint my bathroom because their was mildew. The painter got paint on my couch and tried to use paint thinner to get it out (I can smell the thinner and he didn’t tell me it happened). It is on the arm of the couch by the door and is white paint on a brown couch. The landlord came to look at it and said that it is indeed ruined, but perhaps I could check with my renter’s insurance because his deductible is likely high.
I called and my insurance does not cover it. I informed him of this. He never emailed me back and now he did and wants to know “What do I expect him to do about it?”
Well I want it either fixed or replaced…the couch set I bought is not even 2 years old. Is there something in the law I can cite or reference when making my request? I have had many problems with him and would like to have everything “covered” right away.
Thank you.
Question:
If an exterminator shows up at my door without any sort of notice, am I compelled to allow him entry? If I’ve received no notice of intent to enter, and he enters regardless, is this an unauthorized entry?
My land lord has fabricated the story that the exterminator said my apartment has “bug hazards” (There are none…), and now I’m being forced into an inspection of my apartment three times a month, as well as having my tenancy under threat. They’ve given me no means of appeal to this decision, no proof or evidence that this decision is based on.
I also a very strong disagreement with the specific person they have employed to do these things. Am I allowed to bar specific individuals from my home, provided I allow a separate staff member to conduct the inspection? Do I get any say in WHO comes into my home, if there are multiple staff members?
Response: Generally a landlord must give you 24 hours written notice of entries unless it is an emergency and then as much notice as possible.
Generally, the landlord is required to give you at least 24 hours notice of such entries. If it is an emergency situation, the landlord need give only as much notice as possible given the emergency. I don’t think you can pick who gets to come into your home and who doesn’t. I would think that the landlord would get tired of paying these people to keep inspecting your premises and hopefully this ends soon. For more information on unlawful entries, see http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faq9.html
You could either take the landlord or painter or both to small claims court if the damages were $3000 or less. This may be your best bet to getting it resolved.
Our 9 yr old lease states we are to take care of mowing the lawn. We live in a twin single home and up until this summer our neighbors on the other side shared in this duty. Recently our landlady called and told us she wanted us to take care of the lawn since the neighbors living on the other side work and we don’t. We are on social security disability. She said we are the only ones she hasn’t raised the rent on cause she knew we couldn’t afford it. So the duty of mowing the lawn is left up to us. Can she legally make us or hint that she will raise our rent if we don’t take over the neighbors duty of sharing the mowing?
Response: I would go with what the lease says. You may want to let me know what the exact language on the lease is. If your lease has expired and you are on a month to month tenancy as a result, then the landlady can raise your rent with 30 days written notice.
I live in a duplex, have had and continue to deal with a strange management company and their antics. The latest issue, are the tall trees that are above the duplex. I informed management…they do not spot check the duplex unless I call. I called about the branches that are clogging the gutters of the roof. I called after a “tree pruning” group cut branches while leaving many huge branches barely hanging there. One of those branches fell and damaged the roof of my car. I had my car fixed but management denies everything, even though when I returned home after calling them again there were two men quickly gathering up the remaining branches. They work for the management company. There are branches remaining. If nothing continues about the branches my car will be damaged again. What can I do? Don’t want to move..can not afford it either. Just been through a nasty divorce..VERY BAD dealings with the court system/attorneys don’t want to have to go to court.
Response: You might be able to contact your insurance company and use your comprehensive coverage to cover the damage to your car.
I have been living in my garden apartment for about 6 months, and on estimation (by the property manager) had approximately 20 visits from maintenance, including 2 visits for the water heater, 1 for a broken kitchen sink, 2 for the refrigerator going bad, and 2 for AC failure (both in summer, once taking 2 weeks to repair). I have asthma so being without AC was a medical emergency and I had to find other places to stay. After speaking with my property manager, they are ‘willing’ to move me to a town home, if I renew my lease and pay the full amount for the town home. I am willing to stay within the complex because several close friends live there and haven’t had any issues, but I see their offer as something that is very beneficial to them, and not so much for me. I would like to demand monetary compensation, but they are usually able to take care of the issues in a somewhat timely manner, its just the large number of issues, and the frequency. Would I be able to get compensation and if so how much would be appropriate to ask for?
Our 9 yr old lease states we are to take care of mowing the lawn. We live in a twin single home and up until this summer our neighbors on the other side shared in this duty. Recently our landlady called and told us she wanted us to take care of the lawn since the neighbors living on the other side work and we don’t. We are on social security disability. She said we are the only ones she hasn’t raised the rent on cause she knew we couldn’t afford it. So the duty of mowing the lawn is left up to us. Can she legally make us or hint that she will raise our rent if we don’t take over the neighbors duty of sharing the mowing?
Response: I would go with what the lease says. You may want to let me know what the exact language on the lease is. If your lease has expired and you are on a month to month tenancy as a result, then the landlady can raise your rent with 30 days written notice.
It just says : Will keep the yard mowed and trimmed.
The lease ended on 8-31-2005
so I guess this is a month to month….does that mean the lease is not longer enforceable if its expired? Doesn’t that make the lease null and void?
Hello my name is James and my fiancee and our 2 daughters have been living in this upstairs unit of a 2 family. We rent the second and third floors as part of our lease and recently weve had a very bad infestation of bed bugs theyve gotten allinto our furniture of which weve only had about 3 months brand new. They somehow originated upstairs i believe and horribly bit my daughters up. Ive went to the health department and they cited my landlord. I called him today and asked what was his plan of action towards getting rid of him, and he just acted as if the health department didnt contact him, neither cite him. I actually have a copy of the citation that was mailed to his personal adress the health department has his contact information. During our conversation he asked me did i still have the infestation at which time i told him yes, and he continued to give me the run around about keeping clean linens and clothes, i feel that thats irrelevant to the infestation because they harbor into furniture crevices and anything else that works to their advantage. I provided him with the inspectors name who cited him and he said that he’d contact him tomorrow. I feel i should be on my best game and contact the inspector also tomorrow. My landlord has 15 days from the date of the citation to handle the problem and its already been 5 days. Ive read the many different cases with waiting proper time before just moving out of a property. But with something as annoying as a bed bug infestation, and with the power of a signed letter from the pediatrician i feel the 15 days that the city has given him is way more than enough due to the fact that i first informed him of the infestation way back on the first of the month. Its sad though that i have no way to prove that he’s known since the first of the month, but i also feel that the date of the pediatricians letter of diagnoses will definitely help to cover me in the case that the court would ever ssay i didnt provide sufficient time for the landlord to solve the problem. I just wanted to know what is the best plan of action because now im going to end up throwing out brand new furniture that ive barely sat on. Is 15 days enough of a notice to be able to just find a new place of residence and move out? Or do i have to stick it out for an extended amount of time. I have proof of rent, as do i also have a paid in full receipt for my furniture to prove that its barely old. Also should i directly contact the court now because i feel that he should not receive augusts rental payment. Please get back to me asap as i need to know what is the best course of action.
A. You should have given your landlord written notice of the problem when it first occurred. You still need to give written notice and if nothing is done within a reasonable amount of time, you can escrow your rent, sue to compel the landlord to fix the problem or terminate your lease if the problem is serious enough under the law.
My building went into receivership after my 1 year lease was up. For the next 6 months, I was month to month with no valid lease. In May, I received a new lease agreement to sign, but had just made the decision to move into my mom’s house which was empty since my sis passed away. I paid my final month’s rent and sent my letter to the company right away saying that I would be moving out before the new lease agreement was due. The building manager told me all I had to do was clean out the place and leave the keys on the kitchen counter. I offered to let him do an inspection, but since he gave me the option, I just left the keys. We communicated by voice messages several times. I moved out the end of June. In the meantime, the building manager has failed to let the gas man in to turn off my gas meter and I am still getting the bill. In addition, it’s been over a month and I have not received my deposit back.
Do I have a right to my deposit? Do I have a right not to pay this gas bill?
A. You need to talk to the gas company about terminating your account. You need to give written notice of your new address to the landlord – only then does the clock start ticking on his duty to return your deposit or provide you with an itemization of charges against your deposit.
Wondering if cleaning up weeds in the yard is normal wear & tear as we were charged close to $400 for leaving weeds in the yard and they took that out of our deposit.
A. If the lease required you to take care of the yard and you failed to do so, then you could be charged for the weeding.
hi,my name is jason i stay with my fiance and are 3 kid’s we is reanting a house from a man and he don’t want to give us are deposit back and i want to know what can i do to get it back.
A. After you move out, you need to give the landlord written notice of your new address. Once the landlord gets this, he has 30 days to provide you with your deposit or a list of charges against your security deposit. If you question his charges as resulting from ordinary wear and tear, you should files a complaint in your county small claims court.
Hi ,, i am in na lease option contract and for almost a month now my
Bathroon has been leakin in my kitchen , well i woke up to find my part
Of my kitchen tiles in the floor , when u flush the toilet it leaks in the kitchen
All over the bar, floor and every where , i told them about it a month ago
Is there anything i can do to get them to fix it ,,,, it cant be too safe having toilet
Water in the kitchen.. i have talked to nthem recently and they keep tellin
Me that parts are on order.
About three months ago my bathroom was saturated when u would
Walk on the floor u could see water bubbleing up and hey never fixed that
Problem and i believe thats y my ceiling fell down ..
Is there anyway u could guide me in the right direction
Thank u beautiful442
A. You must provide the landlord with written notice of the problem. If after doing so, the landlord fails to fix the problem within a reasonable amount of time or 30 days, whichever comes first, you can escrow your rent with the county municipal court.
We moved into an apartment in December. We had looked at a one bedroom apartment before we moved in there, but it was not the same one we would be renting out. When we moved in I immediately noticed that all the cupboards in the kitchen reeked of cigarette smoke. I’ve always had a sensitivity to cigarette smoke (I get congested, sore throats, sometimes I even break out on my hands) but I didn’t think it would be a problem. Now, I’ve had a sore throat, and feel stuffed up in my head for about two weeks now. My fiance is sneezing alot (he’s also had a sensitivity to smoke when he was younger) and the only thing I can think of that is causing it is the smoke smell. The tenant in the apartment below us smokes like a chimney and when their door opens, we can get a strong whiff of the nasty smell. Is there anything we can do?
I’d like to get a hold of you, but theres no email or contact info. Great resource!!!