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Eviction Process in Ohio


If you are being evicted in the state of Ohio, you may not know how to proceed.  Learning about the eviction process in Ohio can help you understand your rights and options under the law.  After reading this guide, you will understand the steps involved in the eviction process in Ohio and how long each step will take.

Getting Notice

Before the eviction process in Ohio courts can get started, your landlord needs to serve you proper legal notice to give you an opportunity to fix the problem.  The length of time you will have to comply depends on why you are being evicted.

If you have failed to pay rent on time, your landlord can give you a three-day notice that you must pay all rent owed or face eviction proceedings.  If you pay all past-due rent to your landlord, as well as any reasonable late fees, within the three-day notice period, your landlord must reinstate your tenancy with no further action.

If you have breached your lease in some way—for instance, by keeping an unauthorized pet—your landlord is first required to give you a 30-day notice to comply.  This notice tells you that you have violated a provision of your lease and details how you can correct it before your landlord will continue the eviction process in Ohio.  The notice will clearly state how you can bring yourself back into compliance (for instance, by paying a higher damage deposit, fixing damage to your apartment, or re-homing an unauthorized pet).

If you do not comply with the terms of the notice to comply, at the end of the thirty day period, your landlord can give you a three-day notice to leave the premises.

Court Filings and Hearings

If you fail to comply with the notice you have been given in the period of time allotted, your landlord can file an eviction lawsuit  (called a “forcible entry and detainer” suit in Ohio) with the clerk of the local municipal court.  The landlord will continue the eviction process in Ohio by filing a complaint, and you will be served with a copy of both the complaint, which details why you are being evicted, and a summons, which will tell you when your hearing has been scheduled for.

You are not required to attend the court hearing, but if you fail to appear, your landlord will win the suit automatically and the eviction process in Ohio will continue.  You may be able to fight the eviction if your landlord has behaved improperly.  You should consult with a lawyer who has experience with the eviction process in Ohio to understand your full range of legal options.

Writ of Restitution

If your landlord wins the hearing, they can seek a writ of restitution against you.  This will allow the sheriff to come to your house and remove you forcibly.  Your landlord cannot at any time, even after winning an eviction hearing, evict you forcibly on their own.  Your landlord must use the legal eviction process in Ohio, which only allows a sheriff to forcibly remove any tenant.

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