Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Ohio

In Ohio, a landlord cannot unilaterally change the terms of a written lease agreement that is still in effect. If your lease agreement has expired and you are still living there, then you are likely living there on a month to month tenancy unless your lease had an automatic year to year renewal clause.

If you are there on a month to month tenancy, then either the landlord or the tenant can change the terms of the rental agreement by giving 30 days notice to the other side pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.17. However, such 30 days notice only starts to be counted from the start of the next rental period. Thus if your landlord gave you notice of a change in the lease agreement on June 15, 2012, the change time period would start to run on July 1, 2012 and the new terms would go into effect on August 1, 2012.

The other problem that the landlord is going to have is that courts will not enforce unconscionable agreements. $30.00 per day in late fees equals about $900.00 per month. A court might find that a bit stiff and refuse to enforce it.