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A tenant or manufactured (mobile) home park resident who is being threatened with eviction should immediately contact their local legal aid organization for help. Click here to find their office and phone number.
Eviction is a serious matter. Getting evicted from a house or apartment will make it harder to find housing in the future. Getting evicted from a manufactured (mobile) home park can mean losing a home the park resident has paid to purchase. Eviction should always be avoided whenever possible.
Eviction is a Very Specific Thing
People sometimes talk about “getting evicted” any time they need to move. But eviction is different from a landlord simply refusing to renew a lease or terminating a tenant’s month-to-month rental agreement with 30 days notice.
Landlords need to go to court and get a court order before they can legally evict a tenant. Landlords can only evict tenants for certain reasons, and tenants facing eviction have certain legal rights.
Common Reasons for Eviction
“Self-Help” Evictions Prohibited
Eviction requires a court order. A landlord can’t just lock out a tenant, shut off their utilities, or remove a tenant’s belongings without a court order. If a landlord does any of this, Ohio Revised Code 5321.15 gives tenants the right to sue the landlord for damages. Tenants who have been illegally evicted, or who are being threatened with illegal eviction, should contact their local legal aid organization.
Notice Required
Tenants should seek legal assistance as soon as they get an eviction notice.
The eviction process starts with a formal written notice delivered to a tenant or posted on the tenant’s door.
This notice must include the statement, “You are being asked to leave the premises. If you do not leave, an eviction action may be initiated against you. If you are in doubt regarding your legal rights and obligations as a tenant, it is recommended that you seek legal assistance."
In most cases, this will be a 3-day eviction notice. If the tenant doesn’t leave within those 3 days, the landlord can file an eviction case in court.
3-day eviction notices are used in private housing, manufactured (mobile) home parks, and for tenants using Section 8 HUD Housing Choice Vouchers.
Tenants in public housing and multi-family Section 8 housing may be entitled to longer eviction notices (in some cases up to 30 days), depending on the reason for eviction.
Eviction notices to public housing tenants must inform them of their right to a formal grievance hearing. Notices to multi-family Section 8 tenants must inform them of their right to meet with the landlord or management to discuss the eviction.
After the Notice: What Comes Next
Tenants should seek legal assistance as soon as possible – ideally, as soon as they receive the eviction notice.
After the deadline in the notice expires (usually in 3 days), the landlord can file for an eviction case in court. Then the tenant will receive a court summons (usually by certified mail) stating when and where the eviction court hearing will occur. The court hearing will usually be scheduled for about 2 weeks after the summons is issued.
Along with the summons, the tenant will receive a copy of the complaint stating the reasons why the landlord is attempting to evict them.
If the summons and complaint includes the words “second cause,” the landlord is not only applying for a court order to remove the tenant from their home – the landlord is also suing the tenant for money.
Preparing for Court & Fighting Eviction
The tenant must attend the court hearing. If a tenant fails to show up for their hearing, the landlord will almost always win the case. Even if a tenant has already moved out, the tenant must attend the hearing to have the eviction dismissed.
To learn more about eviction court proceedings and common defenses to eviction, visit https://www.ohiolegalhelp.org/topic/how-fight-eviction-ohio
Tenant’s Right to Cure?
For some problems, state law allows a landlord to immediately begin the eviction process. But for other problems, the tenant has a “right to cure” – which means that, for these problems, the landlord must first give the tenant written notice of the problem and 30 days to fix it. Only if the tenant fails to fix these problems within 30 days of being properly notice of them can the landlord file to evict the tenant for these reasons. (See Ohio Revised Code 1923.02 and R.C. 5321.11.)
Tenants have a right to cure when they have violated their rental agreement or responsibilities under Ohio Revised Code 5321.05 in ways that affect health and safety. If a landlord is trying to evict over a problem the tenant had a “right to cure” – but the landlord did not give the tenant proper notice or 30 days to fix the problem – then the tenant can use this as a defense in court that may prevent them from being evicted.
“Pay to Stay”
Some cities and villages in Ohio have passed local “Pay to Stay” policies that make it harder for tenants to be evicted for late payment of rent. Details vary from one policy to the next, but in general “Pay to Stay” policies prevents tenants from being evicted simply for nonpayment of rent if the tenant is able to pay back rent and reasonable late fees by the time of their eviction hearing.
“Pay to Stay” currently exists in the following 20 Ohio cities and villages: Akron, Athens, Chauncey, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Columbus, Dayton, Euclid, Gahanna, Grandview Heights, Lakewood, Maple Heights, Newburgh Heights, Reynoldsburg, Richmond Heights, South Euclid, Toledo, Worthington, and Yellow Springs. For more information, visit our Local Service Finder, check this “Pay to Stay” Guide, or contact COHHIO at 888-485-799 or rentinfo@cohhio.org
“Good Cause” in Subsidized Housing
In subsidized housing (e.g. public housing, project-based / multi-family Section 8 housing, HUD Housing Choice Vouchers), landlords can only evict tenants for “good cause” – including: a major lease violation, repeated minor lease violations, illegal drug use, or other criminal activity by a tenant or their guests. Usually a tenant’s failure to pay full rent on time is “good cause” to evict a tenant from public housing, but not always – it depends on the details.
“Material Violations” in Manufactured (Mobile) Home Parks
Manufactured (mobile) home park residents can only be evicted for nonpayment or multiple “material violations” of park rules within 6 months. In both cases, residents can be evicted after a 3-day notice. However, for a first “material violation” of park rules other than nonpayment, residents are required to receive a 30-day notice that states the resident has the right to prevent eviction by fixing the problem within 30 days.
If a Tenant Loses in Court: Getting Set Out
If a tenant loses their eviction case, a “red tag” will be posted on their door. This notice will give the tenant either 5 or 7 days to move out (depending on where in Ohio you’re located). If the tenant doesn’t move out by then, the landlord can ask the sheriff to remove them and their belongings from the home.
If a Park Resident Loses in Court: Getting Set Out
If a manufactured (mobile) home park resident rents their home, the set out process works the same as it does for any other tenant (see above). If the park resident owns their home, and has not removed their home from the park within 3 days after losing their eviction hearing, then the resident will receive a notice giving them 14 days to remove their home from the park. If the resident does not remove their home from the park within those 14 days, the resident loses ownership of the home, and the park owner may remove, destroy, sell, or take over ownership and operation of the home.
Removing an Eviction from a Tenant’s or Park Resident’s Record
Ohio currently has no statewide process for removing an eviction from a tenant’s or park resident’s record. It is up to the municipal court that handles the eviction case. Some courts allow tenants to apply to have eviction records sealed or just removed from online access. Sometimes this is only for eviction cases that were dismissed because the tenant won. Other times, tenants or residents can apply to remove any eviction record after a certain amount of time. To learn more about these options, contact your local municipal court.
