Landlord Entering Your Home

Under state law (Ohio Revised Code 5321.04), for a landlord or their authorized agents (property managers, maintenance workers) to legally enter a tenant’s home in non-emergency situations, the landlord or their authorized agent (e.g. property manager, maintenance workers) must:

1. Give the tenant reasonable advance notice (usually at least 24 hours prior to entry)
2. Enter only during reasonable times
3. Not make repeated entry or demands for entry that harass the tenant

Manufactured (mobile) home park owners are required to follow these same rules (according to Ohio Revised Code 4781.38) with regard to park residents, regardless of whether park residents own or rent their homes in the park. In addition, park owners must follow these rules not only when entering a park resident’s home, but also when entering a resident’s lot space.

If a landlord meets their obligations to enter lawfully, and is not entering the tenant’s home to violate other tenant rights, then state law (Ohio Revised Code 5321.05) requires the tenant to grant their landlord (or their authorized agents) entry so the landlord can “inspect the premises, make ordinary, necessary, or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements, deliver parcels that are too large for the tenant's mail facilities, supply necessary or agreed services, or exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen, or contractors.”

Similarly, Ohio Revised Code 4781.39 requires manufactured home park residents to allow park owners and their agents to make lawful entry into the resident’s home to inspect utility connections, or onto the resident’s lot space to to “to inspect the premises, make ordinary, necessary, or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements, deliver parcels which are too large for the resident's mail facilities, or supply necessary or agreed services.”

Tenant and Resident Remedies - What to Do When Landlords or Park Owners Enter Unlawfully

If a landlord is entering a tenant’s home unlawfully, R.C. 5321.04 allows their tenant to do the following.

1. Sue the landlord to recover actual financial damages resulting from the unlawful or harassing entry or entry demands
2. Apply for a court order to stop the landlord from continuing their prohibited behavior, and to obtain reasonable attorney’s fees
3. Terminate the rental agreement and move out

In addition, tenants in Cincinnati and Cleveland may choose to sue for a certain amount of money for each incident of unlawful entry or harassing entry demands, without having to show actual damages, thanks to stronger local unlawful entry ordinances in those cities.

If a manufactured (mobile) home park owner is entering a resident’s home or lot space unlawfully, Ohio Revised Code 4781.38 allows the park resident to do the following.

1. Sue the park owner to recover actual financial damages resulting from the unlawful or harassing entry or entry demands
2. Apply for a court order to stop the park owner from continuing their prohibited behavior, and to obtain reasonable attorney’s fees
3. Terminate the lot or home rental agreement and move out of the park

Discrimination & Sexual Harassment

Federal and state law also prohibit landlords, park owners, and their authorized agents from subjecting tenants and residents to certain forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment, which is a form of sex-based discrimination. If a landlord, park owner, or one of their authorized agents is entering a tenant’s home to sexually harass the tenant or park resident, or to otherwise discriminate against the tenant or park resident, then the landlord is not only violating state law against unlawful entry – they are also state and federal civil rights law. In these situations, tenants and residents may not only use the remedies for unlawful entry under state law, tenants should also contact their local legal aid organization or fair housing center to report the unlawful discrimination, or directly report the matter to HUD, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, and (in the case of sexual harassment) the US Department of Justice Initiative on Sexual Harassment in Housing.