ohiolandlord
08-03-2008, 07:22 PM
Q. My brother currently lives with me rent free, pays no utilities or contributes to the house (maintenance, cleaning, etc.) in any way. He has advised that if I want him to leave "I need to get the law involved". Would the correct process be to give him a 30 day eviction notice or is there something better you recommend?
A. Much depends upon how long he has been at your home. If he has only been there for a week or so, and arrived as a guest for what was supposed to be a few days, then the law will likely not consider him to be a tenant, but a trespasser. But if there was any understanding between you that he would be a tenant at the home, then a tenancy at will has been established, and the fact that he pays nothing for rent or utilities doesn’t matter. You will have to evict him using the statutory process outlined in Ohio Revised Code Section 1923.04. For a look at that statute, you can go to http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/1923.html.
Q. My stepson was given an eviction notice and he was not able to vacate the premises by the time the landlord stated. Now she is taking him to court. His court date is the 13th of May. My question is: If he has vacated the premises before the 13th will he still have to appear in court?
A. He does not have to attend the hearing, but if he doesn’t then a Magistrate’s Decision granting possession of the premises will likely be issued against him and be on his record. If he goes to the hearing and informs the court that he has left and tenders the key to the landlord at that time, and asks for the possession action in the eviction to be dismissed as moot, then the court will dismiss that (since the court will not grant an eviction against a tenant who has already left). At that point, if any future landlord ever asks, he can deny that the eviction was granted, point out on the record where it was dismissed as moot, and things won’t look so bad to future landlords.
Q. My mother-in-law vacated an apartment. The landlord did not return the deposit and he did not give her a written explanation within 30 days as to why the deposit was not returned. We sent a letter stating the Ohio law that he was required to return the deposit or give written notice. Landlord called me last night and said he was going to return the deposit, but was going to sue my mother-in-law for $1,600 for damages from the cat. Is this considered retaliation? Landlord told my mother-in-law not to worry about cleaning when she moved out because he was going to paint and replace the carpet -- normal wear and tear. What options do we have if he sues? He's only suing because he had to return her deposit.
A. While the landlord is certainly free to sue for any damages to which he feels entitled, you can bring up the timing of the lawsuit to the court in attacking his credibility. You could also argue that his failure to deduct such an amount from the security deposit via the itemization is an attempt to do an end run around Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.16’s purposes (which is to balance the playing field between landlords and tenants). The argument being that the legislature intended to give tenants a way to obtain attorneys fees and double damages in disputes with the landlord over security deposits.
The landlord will of course argue that he gave the deposit back, which is all that the law requires and that the legislature meant to require of him. I’m not sure how this one comes out. A great deal will depend upon the factual background that you are able to develop through evidence. One thing is for certain though, and that is that a landlord can only recover for actual damages. That means that even if he does prevail in the court on the issue of whether the cat damaged the carpets, he will not get to recover for new carpets. Rather, he will have to establish the age of the carpet that was damaged and then can get a pro-rated recovery for that.
A. Much depends upon how long he has been at your home. If he has only been there for a week or so, and arrived as a guest for what was supposed to be a few days, then the law will likely not consider him to be a tenant, but a trespasser. But if there was any understanding between you that he would be a tenant at the home, then a tenancy at will has been established, and the fact that he pays nothing for rent or utilities doesn’t matter. You will have to evict him using the statutory process outlined in Ohio Revised Code Section 1923.04. For a look at that statute, you can go to http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/1923.html.
Q. My stepson was given an eviction notice and he was not able to vacate the premises by the time the landlord stated. Now she is taking him to court. His court date is the 13th of May. My question is: If he has vacated the premises before the 13th will he still have to appear in court?
A. He does not have to attend the hearing, but if he doesn’t then a Magistrate’s Decision granting possession of the premises will likely be issued against him and be on his record. If he goes to the hearing and informs the court that he has left and tenders the key to the landlord at that time, and asks for the possession action in the eviction to be dismissed as moot, then the court will dismiss that (since the court will not grant an eviction against a tenant who has already left). At that point, if any future landlord ever asks, he can deny that the eviction was granted, point out on the record where it was dismissed as moot, and things won’t look so bad to future landlords.
Q. My mother-in-law vacated an apartment. The landlord did not return the deposit and he did not give her a written explanation within 30 days as to why the deposit was not returned. We sent a letter stating the Ohio law that he was required to return the deposit or give written notice. Landlord called me last night and said he was going to return the deposit, but was going to sue my mother-in-law for $1,600 for damages from the cat. Is this considered retaliation? Landlord told my mother-in-law not to worry about cleaning when she moved out because he was going to paint and replace the carpet -- normal wear and tear. What options do we have if he sues? He's only suing because he had to return her deposit.
A. While the landlord is certainly free to sue for any damages to which he feels entitled, you can bring up the timing of the lawsuit to the court in attacking his credibility. You could also argue that his failure to deduct such an amount from the security deposit via the itemization is an attempt to do an end run around Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.16’s purposes (which is to balance the playing field between landlords and tenants). The argument being that the legislature intended to give tenants a way to obtain attorneys fees and double damages in disputes with the landlord over security deposits.
The landlord will of course argue that he gave the deposit back, which is all that the law requires and that the legislature meant to require of him. I’m not sure how this one comes out. A great deal will depend upon the factual background that you are able to develop through evidence. One thing is for certain though, and that is that a landlord can only recover for actual damages. That means that even if he does prevail in the court on the issue of whether the cat damaged the carpets, he will not get to recover for new carpets. Rather, he will have to establish the age of the carpet that was damaged and then can get a pro-rated recovery for that.