tenant in jail before he can give me forwarding address

[Brandon McCombs]

Hello,

I have a tenant and rental unit in Ohio. My tenant moved out Nov 30 and said when I'm ready to return his security deposit he will give me a forwarding address at that time since he doesn't know where he will be by then. I had told him I have 30 days per Ohio law to return his deposit. Well, on Monday of this week (12/14) I was called by the police chief of the next town up the river who left me a voicemail stating that my tenant was now in jail (I don't have all the details yet). The question is how long do I have to wait before claiming the deposit as income or do I have to keep it in my security deposit bank account forever until he contacts me given the circumstances?

The relevant Ohio law is here http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/5321.16 It only mentions I have 30 days and that's assuming the tenant provides the needed information to me. I'm assuming that I can wait 30 days and then count it as income. I'd like to hear others' thoughts on the matter though.

thanks

[Matt Motil]

Tenant is required to give you a forwarding address - but don't assume a time limit here. If he's in jail and you know which one, then send him his security deposit to the prison via certified mail. If he's owed less money for damages, etc, then you take that out of the deposit, but include a letter with the check so there is an accounting of the finances. Ultimately, it's a security that you held on his behalf to cover finalizing the terms of the lease. Just because he's in jail currently doesn't mean you get out of returning his money.