ohiolandlord
02-08-2006, 05:23 PM
Help! Nightmare tenant. Signed an agreement no pets - was given letter 2 months later regarding no pet - got another pet in addition to one she already had - refuses to get rid of them. She has unauthorized person "living in the house" despite clause that only her and her kids could live there. Caused a grease fire, ruining the stove, wall, flooring due to trying to deep fry in aluminum pie/roaster pan. Animals are doing damage in house. Also, she has cigarette burns all over bathroom vanity top which was new when she moved in.
The problem we have is she traded a truck to us (value worth 10 months rent, which is the terms of the lease - not up until this August. Can we get her out early without having to refund too much of the money by offsetting the damages she's caused? Can we ask for offset of attny fees as well due to her damages?
In Ohio, if the tenant is violating the terms of the rental agreement, it does not matter if she has prepaid her rent. Payment of rent is only one of the terms of the lease. Not having pets is another, as well as not having unauthorized occupants and not doing damage to the place.
You have grounds for an eviction. Once you have evicted the tenant, you can use the pre-paid rent to offset the damages. If you bring a lawsuit against her and specify that you are suing pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.05, the court may award you attorneys fees.
Once you evict the tenant, you will have the duty to mitigate your damages, meaning that you must promptly repair the place and get it back on the market and get new tenants into it.
Once the new tenants are in, you will have to refund to the old tenant whatever the new tenants pay you until the remaining pre-paid rent is exhausted (otherwise you would be collecting double rent).
Once the tenant is out, you will want to document what the place looks like before you fix it up by taking pictures or video. You don't want it to be your word against the tenant's when it comes to damages.
To better understand the eviction process, you can go to our FAQ section at <a href="http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faq2.html">http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faq2.html</a>.
To get information on evictions from a landlord's point of view, you can download our online kit from <a href="http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/evictkit.html">http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/evictkit.html</a>
The problem we have is she traded a truck to us (value worth 10 months rent, which is the terms of the lease - not up until this August. Can we get her out early without having to refund too much of the money by offsetting the damages she's caused? Can we ask for offset of attny fees as well due to her damages?
In Ohio, if the tenant is violating the terms of the rental agreement, it does not matter if she has prepaid her rent. Payment of rent is only one of the terms of the lease. Not having pets is another, as well as not having unauthorized occupants and not doing damage to the place.
You have grounds for an eviction. Once you have evicted the tenant, you can use the pre-paid rent to offset the damages. If you bring a lawsuit against her and specify that you are suing pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.05, the court may award you attorneys fees.
Once you evict the tenant, you will have the duty to mitigate your damages, meaning that you must promptly repair the place and get it back on the market and get new tenants into it.
Once the new tenants are in, you will have to refund to the old tenant whatever the new tenants pay you until the remaining pre-paid rent is exhausted (otherwise you would be collecting double rent).
Once the tenant is out, you will want to document what the place looks like before you fix it up by taking pictures or video. You don't want it to be your word against the tenant's when it comes to damages.
To better understand the eviction process, you can go to our FAQ section at <a href="http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faq2.html">http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faq2.html</a>.
To get information on evictions from a landlord's point of view, you can download our online kit from <a href="http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/evictkit.html">http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/evictkit.html</a>