Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Ohio

What is required of a Landlord to do to the unit before tenants move in?

Myself and four other people moved in a house in Akron, OH. Before we all moved in the man that the landlord sent out told us that before we moved in he would have cleaned the place up from head to toe. Inside the house was loads of trash, baby furniture, animal fieses ground into the carpet, ruined carpet w/ a foul urine smell in it, trash in back of house as well as under porch, and a green frige that had been turned off for more than 6 mo. that still has food in it. He told us in person that all of this would be taken care of before our date to move in. Also, he has stated that he is to fix our first floor BR, again, it hasn't been touched. We have asked him about adding a gas hook-up for our dryer, still, nothing. There is also other minor repairs that was agreed to be fixed that hasn't. If you could E-Mail me or give me a call on what I can do, it will greatly be appreciated. Thank you.


Asked on 7/05/01, 1:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Gregg Manes Gregg A. Manes, Esq.

Re: What is required of a Landlord to do to the unit before tenants move in?

The law says the the premises must be habitable. If the place is so deplorable that you can not live there anymore, then you can leave, under the doctrine known as constructive eviction. At that point you should not be responsible for rent under the remainder of the lease, but that will not stop the landlord from trying to get damages. I would call the health department and this will force the landlord to fix the premises, but the health department may also condemn the property. The longer you wait to move, the harder it will be to show constructive eviction. Take pictures of the deplorable condition in case the landlord tries to say that you did it.

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Answered on 7/14/01, 2:56 pm


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