All Forum Posts by: Laurence V.

Its 30 days notice to cure if the tenant breaches one of the statutory tenant duties. 3 days for a breach of the lease not covered by that section. Your tenant smoking in the unit is a 3 day matter, being loud and disorderly is 30 notice to cure.

Thanks @Michael Gefvert. Sounds like I was right about that. Might be time to look for a new lawyer if their knowledge of landlord/tenant law is so poor...

Is your property covered by a conventional mortgage? There's a federal moratorium on evictions on any property with a Freddie or Fannie loan in place, among other fed programs.

It is a conventional loan, but I believe the CARES Act only prohibits eviction for nonpayment of rent. This is my source for that information.

Frederico, thanks for replying, but your answer doesn't quite make sense to me. Why would I have a choice between 30-day notice and going to court immediately? There are multiple issues here. I intend to ratchet up pressure slowly, starting with the 30-day notice. Then moving on to a 3-day eviction notice if he doesn't remove the unauthorized resident. My hope is the tenant decides to take my cash for keys offer. And yes, I do want the tenant to move out. I think we all know that destructive tenant is worse than an empty unit in the long run. And I have the capital required to weather some lost rent, but maybe not the patience to deal with three different tenants calling me and telling me the latest escalation. (It's pretty clear to me who the problem is.)

I've been a landlord for about 7 years, but I have what might become my first eviction case. Unsurprisingly, the middle of a pandemic is not an ideal time to deal with this. I have a triplex and two units have been complaining about the tenant in the third who they feel threatened by. He has continued to pay rent, but he has:

• Played loud music after midnight (Lease rule addendum violation)
• An unauthorized occupant (Lease Violation)
• Smoking in the apartment (Lease Violation)
• Possibly the unauthorized occupant is selling drugs. Frequent trips to random cars in street apparently exchanging something reported by tenants whose windows overlook the street.
• Driven drunk and hit another tenants parked car on the street.

I contacted my lawyer (only 3rd time in 7+ years), who told me I must give them a 30 day notice to correct pursuant to ORC 5321.11. Does this sound correct? Putting aside the fact that the courts are currently closed, the 30 day notice only appears to apply to things that "materially affects health and safety" as specified in another section. That only seems to indicate loud noises disturbing other tenants would fall under that definition. Otherwise, should I look for a different lawyer? Does anyone have a recommendation in the Dayton, OH area?

Additionally, does anyone have any idea the burden of proof required to evict a tenant for illicit substances? Ohio Law says the landlord must evict "if the landlord has actual knowledge of or has reasonable cause to believe..." I have suspicions, but little in the way of solid evidence. I haven't visited the property in the last few weeks. Normally I would be more hands on, but I have been trying to keep my personal interactions down as a result of COVID-19.

Knowing the courts are closed and will have a backlog once opened, I have offered the tenant a cash refund of one full months rent if he moves out and leaves the unit in good condition. He has declined the offer so far. I have also told him the unauthorized occupant must leave, but via text message and not in a formal, written notice.

Any thoughts and experiences are appreciated!

The 'ESA' definitely came prior to the letter. That's mostly my issue in this case. Letter is dated after I confronted the tenant, but references treatment going back some time. It does come from a legitimate local therapist. (I didn't call, but all the information/details about the therapist checks out.) 

I do hope for more regulations concerning ESAs. I have no problem with the concept, but I definitely feel like it has been abused.

@Steve Vaughan @Account Closed What you suggest is really what I was asking about here. I do have a question on the application explicitly asking about animals, not 'pets'. (I did cleared it with my lawyer before anyone asks.) Lease does state that any falsehoods on application discovered later are grounds for lease termination. I'm not willing to push it that far in this case, but I believe I would be within my rights to. Whether a judge would side with me over it might be another issue though.

@Lynn McGeein You echo my thoughts exactly. Unfortunately, Ohio (where I live and invest) requires interest be paid to the tenant on security deposits in excess of 1 month's rent. It's not terrible in terms of cost of money, but I've avoided it because of the logistical nightmare of having to keep track of interest owed to all of my tenants would be. I only have 5 units now, so it wouldn't be too bad, but as I scale up it would quickly become cumbersome.

It is from a local therapist. It's just a cat and I am pet friendly (within reason). In this case, I'm more annoyed that I feel the tenant was dishonest in the application. This person has been a little more needy than other tenants, but nothing crazy. I'm going to agree with @Russ Draper and take a hard look at whether or not we renew the lease. Though there's 11 months left at this point, so a lot can happen.

Just a slight twist on the emotional support animal (ESA) question. I'm aware that I can't turn anyone down or charge a pet fee for an ESA. But what can or should I do if a tenant just moves in a ESA without telling me or mentioning it in the application? I think the answer might be 'just accept it and move on'.

Specifically here, I have a question on my application "What type(s) of animals do you have?" which the applicant indicated none. Now, less than a month after they moved in I found a cat on the property when I was making some minor repairs the tenant had requested. I told the tenant I would have to enforce the lease but gave her a couple options. She emailed me a few days later saying the cat is an ESA with a letter from a therapist. In this case I've already decided to accept it and move on, but I'm curious what everyone else's thoughts are. I suppose eviction for lying on the application is a potential response, but I don't see that going very well for the landlord in court.

@Joe Splitrock @Thomas S. Appreciate all the advice. I have notified the tenant about the fee's and offered her an early release which she seems eager to take. Apparently I haven't lived up to the new windows, landscaping, or other amenities that I seem to have "promised" in exchange for a $10 increase in rent...

I only fear that I will sound hypocritical "I have to adhere to the Fee's in the lease... By the way, I'll waive early termination Fee..." I suppose I am being a bit hypocritical here.

@Christos Philippou In general I believe you're right. However, specifically in this case I believe I'm better off in the long run without this Tenant. I have been nothing but professional with her and have responded to any of her previous complaints  within 24 hours. She's a inherited renter who is very demanding. As I mentioned, she's probably paying $75 less rent than than market demands. (Probably even less. It's a 3 bedroom renting for $515 when 2 bedrooms are renting for about $575-600.) Last lease renewal, I raised her rent by $10 a month and she threw an absolute fit. 

I actually believe I am somewhat to blame for encouraging this behavior. She gave me a check in December and asked me not to cash it until 5 days later which I allowed penalty-free because I didn't want to be the Grinch that ruined Christmas. I now think she's trying to take advantage of my previous non-confrontational attitude.