I was in the hospital for two weeks because of a car accident when my rent became due, and was unable to make my rent payment on the first of the month.

Now my landlord wants to evict me, even though I am ready to pay him what I owe. Can he evict me?

A. No. In the case of Zanetos v. Sparks (1984), 13 Ohio App. 3d 242, the Tenth District Court of Appeals held that if a tenant fails to timely pay rent to the landlord for a justifiable reason, then the landlord cannot use this as the basis of an eviction action. The Court wrote that:

Clauses in written leases which give lessors the right to declare forfeiture of a lease for nonpayment of rent are valid. However, unless a lessee's conduct is willful or malicious, or if compensation for the breach cannot be made due to the lessor, a court exercising its equity powers will grant the lessee relief from forfeiture. The forfeiture clause for nonpayment of rent is not strictly construed, rather, it is viewed as merely security for the payment of rent. The courts will balance the equities of the case and relieve the forfeiture where the equities favor the lessee.

In Zanetos, the new owner of a bar was unsure of whom to pay the rent. By the time he got it straightened out, he was too late and the owner tried to evict him. The Court ruled that under such circumstances, it would not be fair to throw out the tenant. The Court reasoned that:

Numerous Ohio cases involving lease agreements stand for the proposition that equity abhors a forfeiture and that a forfeiture will not be declared where the equities of the parties can be adjusted. [citing] Gould v. Hyatt (App. 1926), 4 Ohio Law Abs. 468; Prosser v. Kruger (App. 1923), 1 Ohio Law Abs. 348; Dietrich v. Ezra Smith Co. (1920), 12 Ohio App. 243.

So if there is some good reason that you did not pay your rent on time, and the landlord is now using that untimely payment as an excuse to evict you even though you stand ready to pay all amounts due and owing, then the Court may dismiss the eviction action against you.

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