Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Ohio

Is my rent being raised illegally? A new landlord has taken over the complex, and all the tenants were told (after several months) we no longer have to pay a third party for water, sewage and trash; now we pay the landlord directly for these services. They said to just include it with the rent, no need for a separate payment, and it will be a flat fee depending on how many bedrooms your apartment has, when it was not a flat rate before. (The new flat rate for my apartment is in fact cheaper, but only by a couple of bucks; it's still pretty high for these services.) They also said they were making it available for us to pay our rent online, and we needed to fill out a form with our email address and signature in order to be in the online payment system. Well today I called and asked when I would actually be able to pay my rent online. I was told that they were waiting to get the paperwork back from everyone first, they did not know when this would be available. This made me wonder: why is it so important that everyone sign up together in order to pay their rent online, when we've been paying it by check, and this option is still available? Could the signing of this "form" be a sneaky way of saying we agreed to having our rent raised? Incidentally if I sound a little 'paranoid' it is because of several smaller ways this new company has been rubbing people the wrong way since they took over. Thank you.


Asked on 5/21/15, 3:47 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Eric Willison Eric Eastman Willison

In Ohio, it depends upon whether you are still under a lease or not. If your lease with the landlord is for a set period of time, the rent and other conditions of the lease cannot be altered withing that period of time without the consent of both parties. But if you are living under a month to month lease agreement, then either the landlord or the tenant can modify the lease agreement by giving the other side 30 days notice (from the beginning of the next rental period pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.17). Of course, upon receiving that notice of a modified lease condition, you can simply move out and find a new place within the 30 day period.

Whenever you do leave this place you should carefully document its condition when you leave by making a video of it on your phone so you won't get blamed for damages you did not do.

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Answered on 5/22/15, 5:31 am


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