Ohio tenant/landlord laws cigarette smoking damage

Specialist · OH · Member since 2019 · 59 posts · 18 votes

Tenants lease says nothing about smoking. She gave a deposit of $765 but smoked in the unit for 2 years. How much of that 765 can I charge her for cleaning up the unit? Need new blinds, paint carpet etc. located in Ohio

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Peter Sanchez

Real Estate Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2014 · 236 posts · 328 votes

Rent some ozone machines or whatever it takes to remove the smell of cigarettes. THAT'S how much you can deduct. The rest goes to the tenant, unless something else is damaged. You get what is required to get the place back to the starting point (minus wear and tear). You don't get to keep the whole thing because of some kind of moral outrage over someone smoking on your property. I wish I could keep the security deposit on everyone who listens to dub-step. They are terrible people and that is terrible music, but that's not how it works.

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Lynn McGeein
Real Estate Agent · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
2y
@Austin Wood nicotine is oily so you need a degreaser. We inherited a tenant smoker and just let her stay for years as it needed full renovation anyway. Found out that ozone machines are dangerous during and even after use - read epa report. My husband has asthma so we researched before using one then didn't. TSP works really well to remove it but messy, use gloves and good ventilation or respirator mask. We found it in the paint section. Vinegar and water can work if it's not too bad. Ours was bad, took 2 washes with TSP, yellow just dripping off ceilings and down walls, pooling on slab. Really gross. We threw out cabinets, flooring, light fixtures, planned on new windows and doors, anyway, had vents cleaned. We do not allow smoking in our leases and have huge penalties built in for additional cleaning services if they do as I'm not doing that again. Not sure it would hold up in court but it's been years and seems to work.
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
2y
This post is four years old. Bottom line: even if your lease allows smoking, the tenant is still responsible for cleaning. They should wash the walls, cabinets, and everything else. They should replace blinds damaged by the smoking. They should professionally clean the carpet.
The reality is, they won't. They will leave the place filthy and walk away from their $750 deposit because it's the cheaper, easier option.
Landlords need to set rules, inspect regularly, and enforce the rules.
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