Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Ohio

I'm currently renting a small house in Lucas County Ohio. My landlord has admitted to coming onto our rental property while we were gone and using her key to go through our closed and locked garage. She has also been caught going through the pole barn in the back yard and peeking in our living room, bedroom and kitchen windows multiple times. She drops in without notice and posts handwritten notices (i.e. "You have 24 hours to leave or I'm calling the cops") even though our rent was paid and we had not violated any terms on our lease. I'm in the third trimester of my first pregnancy and last month I was put on bed-rest and a heart monitor. We called her immediately after leaving the ER and explained that there was a medical emergency and we would probably be late paying rent but would get it to them as soon as possible along with a $50 late fee for the inconvenience. She said that was fine and just to get us the rent when we could. A few days later she was calling multiple times late at night and leaving bizarre and threatening voice-mails. She threatened to find out where my parents live and force them to pay the rent if we didn't get her a check by morning. She also tried telling us we were 3 months behind on rent (which we had to show copies of the rent receipts she had given us for those months in order to calm her down) and was posting handwritten notices saying we owed $200 more for rent then the lease states (although there is nothing in the lease that states that late payment gives her the right to raise rent in the middle of the lease term.) Last night I was home alone in bed and heard her pounding on the doors and yelling. I called my boyfriend told him what was happening. He told me not to get out of bed or answer the door without someone else there. What can we do? Does she have the right to go through our garage or look in our windows? Can't these voice-mails be considered harassment? Help!


Asked on 12/10/12, 10:19 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Eric Willison Eric Eastman Willison

In Ohio, once the landlord transfers possession to the tenant via the lease agreement, the landlord cannot exercise any rights to possession of the property (like coming onto the property without your permission) until she goes through the statutory eviction process. Thus the law will treat her coming on to your property the same as any trespasser who does not have permission.

The only exception to this is that Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.04 states that a landlord may enter the property for the purposes of inspection or repair so long as the landlord gives reasonable notice to the tenant. Reasonable notice is presumed to be 24 hours (though the landlord can enter without notice if there is an emergency).

You should send the landlord a letter (keeping a photocopy of the signed letter for your records) and send it certified mail, return receipt requested. The letter should outline the problems you have with her coming onto the property without permission or notice and tell her that she must stop this immediately. If she continues to come on the property, then you can call the police and file charges against her. Further, if she continues to come on the property after receipt of your letter, this may serve as a basis for termination of the lease agreement.

Lastly, you are correct that the landlord cannot change the rent in the middle of the lease term without your consent. Even if you are a bit late on the rent, the only thing the landlord can do with that is to evict you. During the course of that eviction proceeding, she may offer to drop the eviction if you will pay higher rent, but again, you would have to agree with that.

From now on you should be documenting all of your dealings with the landlord. That means tape recording her phone calls with you (this is legal in Ohio) and keeping copies of all communications you send to her and that she sends to you.

Lastly, when you do leave this place, you will want to document the condition of the premises prior to moving out so that she does not come up with damages that were not there.

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Answered on 12/10/12, 10:38 am


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