Q: my land lord is pretty much kicking us out, and aren’t giving us our prepaid rent back. is that legal to do?
they said the whole house smells like cat urine, but we have multiple litter boxes, and nobody has agreed with our landlord. we prepaid 4 months worth of rent, and they’re keeping it and kicking us out, they said they have to replace carpets, but isn’t that what the security deposit is for?
A:
When a tenant vacates, landlord must give a tenant a written notice of any security deposit or money retained. Landlord must give the notice within 30 days after the tenant vacates. If not, then tenant can sue landlord in small claims court for the return of the money. If the tenant has given landlord written notice of tenant's forwarding postal address, the tenant can sue for double the amount landlord has wrongfully withheld, plus the tenant can ask the court to have the landlord pay tenant's attorney fees. But landlord can claim reimbursement for damages beyond normal wear and tear. The judge will decide if the damage is beyond normal wear and tear. See this link: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5321.16
Send landlord a letter by FedEx, with confirmation of delivery, of your forwarding address and demand refund of your money. Or use the Find a Lawyer tab to retain a local real estate attorney to contact landlord and represent you.
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