Knowing Your Rights as a Tenant

Housing

Aug 7

Introduction

If you’ve ever lived in a rental unit, you know that conditions can be less than ideal. Whenever there’s an issue, you have to call someone else to fix it, which can take longer than you want. And, of course, there’s always that one awful landlord that everyone seems to experience at least once in their life! Perhaps you’ve caught yourself wondering before, ‘is this allowed’? If you have, look no further! You have certain rights as a tenant, which we will aim to outline in no uncertain terms.

What are my Rights?

As a tenant, you are entitled to certain things under the law. So long as you keep to the terms of the lease, you are entitled to exclusive possession of your home until the lease is up. You have the right to complain to a government agency if your landlord violates the law, and to complain to your landlord should they fail to hold up their obligations as a landlord. You have the right to band together with other tenants in order to bargain over lease terms, the right to know the name and address of your landlord, and the right to privacy, which your landlord may not violate. Even should you fail to uphold your lease or to pay rent, your landlord may not seize your possessions as compensation. Finally, your landlord must make repairs to your unit within a reasonable amount of time after being notified of an issue; what is considered ‘reasonable’, however, may vary based on the seriousness and type of the issue.

Landlord and Tenant Obligations

The landlord of a housing unit must always “Comply with the requirements of all applicable building, housing, health, and safety codes that materially affect health and safety” (Section 5321.04), make repairs and keep the rental unit in a habitable condition, supply running water and reasonable heat, and not abuse the right of access; that is, they may not enter without permission, or without giving reasonable advance notice (24 hours is the usual minimum). For a complete list of landlord obligations, refer to Ohio Law section 5321.04.

As a tenant, however, you have obligations, too: you must keep the unit reasonably clean and tidy, which means disposing of garbage and such, and you may not intentionally deface or damage the rental unit. You must comply with the terms of the lease, and you must not disturb the peace or cause problems for your neighbors with your behavior. You also may not unreasonably withhold consent from your landlord to enter the premises, for instance when they must inspect something or make repairs.

Vouching for Yourself as a Tenant

Knowing your rights is well and good, but what do you do when your landlord violates the law or does not comply with their obligations? The first one to talk to is, of course, the landlord themself. If something is wrong with the unit, they make changes to the lease that you feel are unfair, or you suspect you’ve been the victim of housing discrimination, you must bring it up with your landlord before taking any sort of legal action against them. If they refuse to comply with or acknowledge reasonable demands, then it is time to take action. You have a few options in this case: the most straightforward is escrowing rent. “Escrowing your rent means that you deposit your rental payments with the clerk of the municipal or county court, depending on where you live, instead of paying your landlord” (Ohio Bar).

Before you start escrowing rent, you must wait a full 30 days after informing your landlord of your demands. If the landlord fails to comply and the court agrees that your demands are reasonable, they will hold the rent money until the landlord complies with the demands of the tenant, at which point the court will release the escrowed rent to them. Don’t forget, your fellow renters are also your allies; they will almost certainly stand beside you in the face of injustice, so don’t be afraid to band together if necessary! If still more drastic measures are needed, you may need to look at lodging a formal complaint with the court. Low-income tenants may qualify for free legal services from legal aid programs, which are available all throughout Ohio.

Conclusion

Knowing your rights and obligations as a renter is important. Renting isn’t always easy with a broken down unit or a difficult landlord, so we hope that you now have a somewhat clearer idea of your own rights. Go forth, armed with knowledge, and spread the word to your fellow renters!