Tenant Rights & Responsibilities

Ohio’s Landlord-Tenant Act (Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5321) covers many key rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords. Pay special attention to the landlord obligations in R.C. 5321.04 and the tenant obligations in R.C. 5321.05. The eviction process is covered in Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1923. Federal and state fair housing laws include protections against certain types of discrimination. In some Ohio cities and villages, local housing codes include additional rights and responsibilities, and local code agencies protect tenants’ rights to safe housing. No matter where you’re located in Ohio, COHHIO’s local resource finder map includes contact information for organizations near you working to help protect fair housing and tenant rights.

To help protect their rights, a tenant should always document everything about their rental experience – but especially the condition of their home and all communications with their landlord / property manager: 

• Take photos and video of rental home at move-in, move-out, and any time repairs are needed.
• Keep a copy of the lease in a safe place.
• Try to keep communication with the landlord / property manager in writing. Save copies of emails, text messages, letters and messages.
• If a tenant and landlord agree to something during a spoken conversation, the tenant should summarize that agreement in a follow-up email or text message to the landlord. For example: “I just wanted to confirm that it’s ok for me to store my stuff in the basement, like we talked about earlier today.”
• Take screenshots of everything that appears on any property management web portal. 
• If the landlord / property manager likes to communicate by phone, the tenant should download an automatic call recorder app and save the recordings. A tenant is not required to let their landlord or property manager know the tenant is recording the calls.

Tenants considering exercising their rights should also first learn about how landlords may retaliate, and how the law protects tenants from some kinds of retaliation.

For more information, click the tiles about specific issues, visit the Ohio Legal Help website, or contact COHHIO at 888-485-7999 or rentinfo@cohhio.org

Our “Local Services Finder” can also connect you with housing resources in your area.