Q: I’m in Ohio on a month-to-month lease - the landlord keeps coming in without notice
He claims the house is dirty because it’s not kept up 24/7 and threatened us to kick us out next time he comes in. He says he will NOT give us a heads up as he wants to catch the house as it is.
The house is clean, some dust here and there but we clean the house twice a week. He won’t believe us nor is he being reasonable at all. We just moved and don’t have a lot of money - what can we do? I also have a young child.
A: Unfortunately, there probably is not much you can do. Ohio law requires landlord to give reasonable notice, typically 24 hours, but there is no penalty if a landlord doesn't. You could call the police and say landlord is trespassing, but they are unlikely to do anything. The legal system does not really provide a solution to make a bad landlord into a good landlord. But he can't just kick you out. He would have to follow a proper eviction process, and prove that you violated the lease. But the court is unlikely to order an eviction because the house is dusty. If you are on a month to month lease, either you or landlord can terminate the lease at the end of a month by giving 30 days written notice. If your lease is for a longer term, landlord could decide not to renew when the lease term expires. If landlord continues to be a problem, use the Find a Lawyer tab to retain a local attorney to contact landlord on your behalf.
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