How to Stop Wrongful Eviction in Ohio
Not every landlord in Ohio is an honorable businessman. Some will attempt to evict tenants for asserting tenancy rights and demanding the landlord maintain her property in accordance with the law. A court of law presents the best opportunity for a tenant to prove his case and stop an eviction proceeding. A smart tenants keeps all her paperwork and evidence of landlord contact to present at such a hearing.
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A Paperwork Error
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An eviction in Ohio is considered null and void if the landlord did not follow proper procedure when attempting to execute the eviction order. According to the Ohio Renter's Rights website, a landlord is required to place a written notice of three-day eviction on a tenant's door as a first step of the eviction process. Without this order the court has no jurisdiction to hear the eviction case. An eviction in this instance is considered wrongful until the landlord gives proper notice to the tenant.
Retaliatory Action by Landlord
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It is illegal for a landlord to retaliate against a tenant for asserting his tenancy rights. If a tenant is able to prove in a court of law that her landlord enacted eviction proceedings against him as a retaliation for demanding the landlord make repairs to the property in accordance with health and safety regulations he may stop an eviction proceeding. The tenant has a choice in this event of retaining possession of her rental property or ending the lease agreement without an eviction.
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Not Enough Notice
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A landlord is required to give her tenant a certain amount of notice if he intends to rent the property to another person. In Ohio, if the tenant rents on a month-to-month basis she is required to receive 30 days advance notice of his impending eviction. If the tenant can prove that no such notice was given by the landlord he can stop an eviction proceeding. This is more akin to a stay of execution as the tenant will still have to vacate the premises after a proper 30 day period has passed. Those on a yearly lease know at least a year in advance of when the lease is due to expire and require no such notice.
Get it in Writing
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The most important part of stopping a wrongful eviction is evidence. In short, you need everything in writing. Make all demands for repairs to the property in writing using dated mediums such as the postal service. A judge is going to pay more attention to hard evidence than two parties bickering back and forth with ultimately no proof. If your landlord refuses to accept your mailed requests for repairs, be persistent. A judge isn't going to believe that the U.S. Postal Service continually failed to deliver your mail.
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