Need to Know OH Laws About "Eviction"

Yes you can evict a pregnant woman and as long as she is not on the mortgage and not paying rent she has to go. You are not doing her any favors by continuing to let her live there. Please see an attorney and get things started. Also if she has moved her boyfriend in and you had agreed that she was the only one to live there then that is automatic grounds for eviction. The man that owns the house next to me evicted his previous tennent for moving in his pregnant neice. It can be done.

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I moved from Cincinnati to Columbus and rented my town house. I had to evict my very first tenants. You must definitely file paper work with the court house before you try to kick them out. My eviction request was thrown out on the first try because I set a precedence by allowing the tenants to stay when paying late and making partial payments. After the first eviction request is thrown out, you have now officially started the process. The first time she is late or only pays the partial amount, file immediately. Then you will be able to evict her legally. It could take several months or more if she decides to play by the rules for a while. As would be expected, my tenants packed up in the middle of the night and tried to run without any payments. Thank goodness for a nosy neighbor who called me. I was able to track them down and at least get a partial payment. I lost thousands in rent and damages. Fortunately my tenants after that were much better. They aren't all bad. Good luck!

I think you need to pay her a visit. And while you are here change the locks without her knowlegde and get her evicted through the court. I am not fimiliar with the law but I think you can get her eveicted even if you don't have a contract. By the way before you serve her with the notice I would go through the house and take pictures. Date those pictures just in case the boyfriend decides that he needs to leave you a mess or even your sister. I would hope that she is not that way for your relationship but you never know. Also give you parents a heads up on what is going on. They might be able to help you.
But I agree with one of the writers that I have never heard of it being illegal to evict someone who is pregant. I think that would be a line coming from someone that is trying to protect your sister from being out on her rump.
But I do think you need to take action. Who in this world of the economy could afford a house payment and rent.
I would call the court house and see what you can do.
Hope this helps

I worked for a rental company and we had to evict people a lot. You need to file the papers through your local courthouse. First you serve them with a 3 day notice, file it, then they have 30 days to pay or get out. If they don't pay then you will need to have the police come with you and evict them. Change the locks and throw their stuff out of the house. Depending on how much you are owed you can also take them to small claims court.

Since she and her boyfriend are living there and have paid some money towards rent they do have some rights. You have done the first correct step by providing requests and notices in writing. More than likely you will have to go to court and file an eviction notice. It costs but I don't know. How much.
I know of no law about nor being able to evict a pregnant woman. I think thats likely b.s.

You are in a really tough situation. I know nothing about the laws in OH, but I do know about families and how decisions can have far-reaching effects. If possible, I would document all the calls, emails, and personal conversations as you remember them, with approximate dates. Then take some time to go in person with a friend or supportive family member and just lay it all out for her. You could try to find some low-cost options for her just to show your good will, but I can't imagine that the fact of her pregnancy "protects" her from eviction - seriously! If you sold the house, do you think the next owner would have to allow her to live there just because she's pregnant? Once you have that chat, give her a reasonable, but short! amount of time to be moved out - you may need to have someone there to keep her from taking or damaging your belongings out of spite - and then be prepared to back up your word with legal action if necessary. This is bound to leave some scars, no matter how careful you are, but I don't think you are helping her by allowing her to take advantage of you. And you certainly have no obligation to the boyfriend!
All the best!

Ok, Yes you can evict them. My husband and I are landlords in the state of Ohio. I know she is your sister but she is stealling for you and your kids. Litereally stealling. You have two kids to take care of and provide for. Don't you want to send them to college. She is stealing money out of their mouths. You are a good person to have put up with this for this long. She is an adult who made an adult agreement.

No lease just means it is a month to month contract. You need to put in a certified letter and post it on the door that you want them out in 30 days. Be specific about the date....like thrity days from "date," the date of my mortgage being due if "all bills (be specific)" have not been made current you and your illegal co-tenant (put his name)whom I didn't not authorize to reside at "address" are to vacate the property of "address." If they don't move at the end of that thrity days you put a notice of eviction on their door. Buy a newpaper. Take a picture with the date. In the notice you tell them they have three days to leave or you will go to the county court house and start the legal process of eviction. This will buy them another two to four weeks in the property until the court date. You will then have to go to court if they still don't move. In court provide what ever written or recorded proof of your agreement; proof you've been paid, proof you have given then a move out notice and eviction notice. Provide a break down of bills they have not covered. The judge will set a move out day. If they are not out by then you call the cops. They will make them move. I can not stress this enough....TAKE PICTURES OR VIDEO OF EVERYTHING YOU CAN....before and after, especially if you go after them for damages to your home. Make sure the pictures have a time and date stamp or as I've said take a picture of a newspaper (include this in video too). Talk to the county court house. You can have your paperwork ready to go.

Please know this will strain your relationship with your sister. If by chance she does come current on all bills, make her and co-tenant sign a lease immediately. Make everything very very clear. When dealing with friends and family it is even more important then with a stranger to have things in black and white.

Peace and good luck.

Deb

Since there is no lease or contract signed, and you want them out by the end of the month, I would consider taking some time off and going to your place, changing the locks, and plan on staying there for a week or 2 to make sure she and her man get everything out of the house. Since you are not there, she could technically be trashing your place right now. that would make me very nervous.
good luck...I think its terrible that your own family is taking advtage of you like this. They are the ones who should be going over and above to help eachother out...not just be a one way street

You have got yourself in a mess here.
The ideal solution would be to hire a locksmith and some strong guys, and on a day when both your sister and her boyfriend were out, to change all the locks,and move their stuff out to a storage locker!
Your best bet is to consult a lawyer(check around for the local legal association or someone who provides legal representation pro bono.
Whether she is your sister or not, she is doing you a big wrong by taking advantage of you.
YOUR PRIMARY CONCERN NOW is for YOU and YOUR CHILDREN, NOT your sister.
YOUR CHILDREN come FIRST, and THEIR HOME is not to be taken over by your sister!
It is time to get a backbone, and decide that you are not going to take it any more.
Whether anyone likes your decision or not....it is important that you do WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR CHILDREN.
Keep repeating that to yourself as many times as it takes for you to get it through your head and for you to accomplish your objective.
And your objective is to keep your home for yourself and your children.
Any money that your sister has paid toward the mortgage was rent for the privilege of living there.
I hope you can get the results you want.

I live in Akron - Summit County... I'm currently trying to evict someone for the first time from a house I own close to my own home. Verbal contracts are a little harder to enforce then written, but they can be enforce - a contract is a contract. Rent increases can be done (usually with a 30 or 60 day notice) and since you e-mailed her (hopefully you still have a copy of what you sent), you have proof of the increased in rent for the courts.

As for pregnancy - it's not a free pass not to pay your bills, yes you can eveict someone who is pregnant.

We had to give our tenit a 30 day written leave notice (for letting an unautherized person & criminal move into the house , changing stuff in the house - now making the house violate codes, excessive pets & clutter, cops being called to the house a number of times for fighting, and other issues with our verbal contract). But if the issue is payment you can start the eviction procces within 3 days. You will however need to post a 3 day notice to vacate on the all entry doors & take pictures of them on the doors or have a witness (we pick one up at the clerk of courts for free) and can fill in the courts on the 4th day. If you want to give her the 30 notice - it's just a letter you post on all entry doors (don't mail it not even certified - if they don't sign for it or if everyone doesn't get one... it doesn't count) and take pictures to prove you posted or have a party not invauled to witness (they will have to go to court with you if it get to that point) on the 31st day you need to post the 3 day notice the same way, or you can by pass the 30 notice if she isn't paying (DON'T ACCEPT ANY MONEY IF YOU CHOOSE TO EVICE HER - or you will have to start over from the beginning).

On the 4th day (weekends don't count) you can go to the clerk of courts and file for an eviction. Paper to file should be there... bring any proof, lease or tell them it's verbal (that way if your sister brings one they know it's fake), e-mail on rent increas, filing fee (Akron is $110), and copies of 30 day and/or 3 day notice(s).

I got most of my info from the Akron Court's civil clerk, most clerks are very helpful so give your city clerk a call, let them know this is your first time evicting and ask them any questions as you have. If your not in Akron, it might be a little diffent as to what you have to do.

I can try to help more if you'd like me to, but I'm working on my first one also.

Oh, one last thing... on all paper make sure you put and occupants behind the known names of people you are servicing, or else they can have someone move in and make you go through it again.

J.,

You may want to double check with Neighborhood Housing but you should be able to give her a 30 day notice without any problems. With no signed lease, you are on a month to month verbal agreement. 30 days is sufficient!

Another thing you could do, I know this has helped some of my Dads unpaying tenants......tell them you are going to have a Realtor walk thru the house and put it up for sale! I've done that for my Dad and within a month, his tenant got her act together.

Let me know if you need any phone numbers to help.

Good luck. I know how difficult it is when family is involved.

P. Bowman
Roediger Realty, Inc.

you dont need a lawyer that info is available at lots of different websites and you dont need to worry anyways.. being pregnant isnt allowable for eviction anyways..you can indeed evict her..she has violated you enough and you need to geta backbone..i know i lost my shirt to some family members..but the law is on your side.evict her soon

You're going to have to make some hard deicisons on how to proceed and how far you want to take this, including:
* Is it worth your house ending up in foreclosure?
* Is it worth having to deal with nightmare it will create regarding your credit history?
* Is it worthwhile to get a lawyer if it means you can save your credit history and possibly even your house?
* Do you REALLY WANT to keep the house?

Since there is no legally binding contract, yes it might complicate things some, but they have nothing to fall back on either.

Yes, she can too be evicted. There may be a special process (the way you notify her and special time-frames to comply with), but you do have rights as the homeowner; it's your name on the mortgage.

Educate yourself on Ohio law, and here's a place to start: http://www.rentlaw.com/eviction/oheviction.htm#
While there are references to leases, #1 on the list is "Failure to pay rent when due" and that wasn't tied to a lease or contract, and there's no mention of pregnancy being a issue. According to that site, you can serve her with a 3 day notice to vacate, and even gives recommended language for such notice. There's even a "Search Ohio Eviction Attorney" link. I don't know if any of them are reputable, but it's a place to start. One of the law firms (Simon, Lapidos & Uhler) seems to offer free initial consultations. I have to think that they aren't the only ones - that there have to be others that offer free initial consultations as well.

NOTE: Someone suggested before serving her with the 3 day notice, to go in and take pictures in case she trashes the place further - EXCELLENT IDEA. Also, make a list of changes she made that you didn't authorize. Be sure to write down your understanding of the agreements you two made regarding her living in the house. AND, make a list of every payment she's made to you, the date she paid it, whether it was cash or check, if any of the checks bounced, etc.

It might end up being easier to just try to see if you can sell the house. That way you aren't being a "horrible ogre for kicking out a pregnant lady" - you just "can't afford to keep the house because your rent and other expenses have gone up, and that's the only way you can remedy the situation."

For what it's worth, and good luck!

Wow, I have a grown daughter like that! Wish I knew the answer for you. There are legal aid societies in every state, or you could probably find the information on line.
My heart goes out to you. I know how difficult it is to stand up to a family member who is using you.
My advice is to have the utilities turned off if they are in your name,usually a tenant cannot have the utilities turned on without the owners permission, and send a letter by registered mail that she is to vacate the property on a certain day if all expenses are not paid. If she wants to stay, draw up a lease agreement and have it notarized.
You will have to treat her like a stranger, not like your sister, because she is using you and you are enableing her, not really helping her.

So sorry to read about your situation. It has to be extremely hard on you, especially since it is your own family you are dealing with. My suggestion to you would be to contact your local Municipal Court (Clerk of Courts Office, Civil Division) to ask what the eviction proceedures are. If they will not tell you I would suggest you contact your local legal aid office, since you indicated you cannot afford an attorney. I think this may be something you can do yourself without attorney invovement.

Hope this helps and good luck to you.

I don't know how it stands now, but a few years back we had to evict a FAMILY with 2 little girls and a newborn. We felt terrible but the mortgage had to be paid and they weren't paying the rent they owed us and we couldn't afford to let them freeload off of us. We had no problem with the law but it still felt crappy. I can only imagine how bad you feel cuz she's your sister but she obviously doesn't feel bad taking advantage of you. Give her notice in writing that she has until 30 days from now to pay. Send it by registered mail so she'll have to sign for it and then you have proof that she received it. The hard part will be in following through with it but you have to for your own sake. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

your not being harsh at all in my eyes. Its to bad your sister has taken it this far. from my understanding you'll have to go to the police station of where your house is and there they will give you a 3-week avication notice to give them. if there not out by then the police will get involved and serve there own 30 avication notce and at the end of that 1 if there not out the police will escort them from your property. I had a friend go through the same thing. hope this helps

You need to go to the local courthouse and file eviction papers. You don't need a lawyer. Just walk in and file them. Doesn't matter that there is no lease. The sheriff will then drive to the house and serve your sister the papers. I believe they give her 15 or 20 days (or something similar), and then when time is up the sheriff will return (you can go too if you want) and physically remove her if she hasn't vacated yet. It will cost you a few dollars to file the papers, but thats it and no lawyer needed. I would suggest you get your stuff out first so they don't get mad and sell your stuff for revenge. I don't think the fact she is pregnant matters at all, if so every person who didn't want to pay rent would just get pregnant so they could live for free lol! Just get to the courthouse and file the papers.

Don't feel bad. Your sister ruined this relationship, not you! I would do the same thing! Good luck and keep us posted.

Three words! GET A LAWYER!

Hate to tell you this J.; but the fact of the matter is your sister can be evicted & you may loose the house because the mortgage has not been kept up. Let the bank know who is living in the house & who you feel is responsible for the mortgage. If sis can't or won't help pay; then she needs to get out!!!! I have had family move in on us to stay & stay & stay....... you get the drift. It didn't matter that they help keep the house clean; it was the fact that they did not help financially. Your folks should understand that sis is not standing on her own feet; but is relying on you for a roof over her head. & the boyfriend.... don't even get me started! Suffice it to say, he sounds just a hint bit lazy? You can't keep going the way the state of our nation is financially is in today's market. You can get help to handle this situtation through several agencies that will cost you little to nothing. Someone else might have some of the email addresses handy; afraid I don't, sorry. Even your bank that holds the mortgage can help with getting sis to pay or get out. I don't feel that I helped you much; but maybe I have given you food for thought & maybe sis will read this & feel ashamed of herself for taking advantage of you all this time. NOT! Talking to a lawyer doesn't cost a thing & will give you the ammo you need to make a decision on what to do next. Good Luck, J..

You have been far too nice for too long. They don't play fair. Face it - they are taking advantage of you. It's time for some tough love. You are not doing them - or their baby (if there is one) any favor by letting them get away with this. I had to get tough with my brother. It sucks but it has to be done.

I don't know about the eviction thing - since you don't have a written lease that has been violated and they have apparently been living there for quite some time (as they say "Possession is 9 tenths of the law"...) - BUT - you are still the owner of the house.

Are the utilities in your name? Shut them off. I don't think they can just get them turned back on without the permission of the homeowner. THEN maybe they will be willing to sign a written lease.

Meanwhile - rent a POD and get ALL of YOUR belongings out of the house. Give them access to nothing else. Don't stay there. Be nice, but you're done fighting with them. (Besides, they may retaliate against you in some way.)

If war is declared here are a few ideas...

When they are gone (on vacation... maybe a long weekend...) change all of the locks and re-claim the house. I would also install an ADT-type alarm system (they always have specials and you can pay for it month to month) and DO NOT give anyone the codes! (It sounds like your parents are enabling them.) Move all of their stuff out and put it in a POD. After that any time they set foot on the property they will set-off the alarm and you can arrest them for trespassing.

Question - Has the house value dropped in this market? How much equity do you have in the house? Are you willing to let that go?

You could stop paying the mortgage. The mortgage company will eventually foreclose but that will also mess with your credit rating.
-OR - You could put it up for sale. Sell it cheap to someone who buys distressed property. Sell it right out from under them. Force them to pay rent to someone else.
- OR - You could contact the mortgage company and see if you can have them assume the mortgage. Then you're free and the entire responsibility for the house is their problem.
- OR - You could re-finance with a lower interest rate but without the escrow items. (We've done that.) If you do that, and then sign over the deed for the house to them, you'd at least have a lower mortgage payment and they'd be forced to pay for their own property taxes. [You'd still want insurance on the house in case something happens to it (like a fire) since you're paying for it – but only insure the house itself - NOT their contents.]

Most lawyers have a free initial consultation. I'd talk to one. Sometimes legal advice is available through work, a union, a legal aide society, someone at church, a friend...

Good luck!

I have never heard of not being able to evict a pregnant woman (I think if that were true there would be alot of women/men doing that!) Shame on your sister for taking advantage of your good heart. It sounds like she needs some hard life lessons to mature her. Find some help at a public legal aid office who should give you assistance for free. I wish you the best!

We have a rental. Here is Medina Ohio we had someone evicted (a friend) so let me tell you to get a lawyer. It cost $350 for us. First he will write a 3 day eviction. If she doesn't respond there will be a court date. Make sure you are there and show your proof that she hasn't paid things by getting the reciets where you have paid it. They will give her some time to move.(we had a lease not sure about without one. she has to be out in a week) If they are not out by the day stated then a officer of the court shows up and excourts them out and you can vacate there things from the house. Hope I have helped!!

You have to go to your local court system and file an eviction. It is YOUR property in YOUR name. If she knows the system she can still stay there about 6-8 weeks after you file b/c it takes that long for the process to be completed. You'll have to go to a court hearing, which is really no big deal. I have a rental prop. and had to go through all this a couple years ago, but if you continue to do nothing, she won't leave. As far as her being pregnant, I don't know what the rules are in that case, but if I was you I wouldn't waste any more time. The fact that the property is in your name should be enough to get her out even though you have no contracts with her. Hope I helped, Good luck..... I also heard you couldn't evict people with children in the winter, so you might want to get on it. It's not legal to change the locks if you have a written agreement, but b/c she's family and there's no agreement you could do that. you don't need an attorney for this situation. Just file the eviction right away to cover your back.

http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/1923.html

No it is not illegal to evict a pregnant woman, but be careful with family. It would be nice if your parents could talk some sense into her.

Good Morning J.,

I have never heard of a Ohio law that you are not able to evict a pregnant woman in Ohio. I believe that you have to provide your sister 30 day notice in order to evict her and her boyfriend. You could always have a phone consultation with an attorney a lot of times they are free. Or you also could contact the Columbus urban league to see how if they can assist you in anyway.

Sorry to hear how your sister has treated you it is very disrespectful and ungrateful. I hope you are able to get her out of your house soon.

Becoming pregnant has nothing to do with being evicted. Now if she had kids already that might be a different light on things. You need her to talk to you and let you know what is going on. You could send a certified letter to her that she has to sign for.Since you have no lease or any signed agreements you are in a tough spot.You can however evict the boyfriend , it was never agreed that he could live in your home. And I am sure that if he leaves she will as well.I would seriously think about talking to a attorney about this and protecting your rights.
try this web site and learn more :
http://ohioevict.com/

WOW, J.,
I feel for you. You try to help someone out and they stomp all over you. You seem to have trouble keeping firm boundaries, i.e. when they moved your bedroom suite! THAT was the time to get them out....actually the boyfriend should NEVER have been there. You set yourself up for that one..He's not pregnant so he can leave immediately...especially if he never paid anything. Whenever you have the exchange of money, it can get sticky, but if you have proof the rent has not been met, that would be in your favor. I have also heard something about the difficulty of eviction, but it can be done. Landlords have to do it all the time to the ilk of your sister and her BOYfriend. If you are out of state, that is a definite handicap. Where are your parents in all this, since they seem to know? Do they favor the sister and support all this junk? Can the sister move in with them? (just a thought, although given she has a WHOLE HOUSE to do with as she pleases....will you soon see nursery wallpaper on you bedroom walls?????..) This has gone on so long, she is rather entrenched, and obviously used to getting her way. You will have to "steel" yourself for the battle, if you take this on, as I am sure you will be challenging some long standing family dynamics....this is about more than just your house, if "yo know what I mean.."? Define what you want and have a way of enforcing it, and don't let your emotions pull you into the drama your sister is SURE to play.

OK, I'm editing this after reading some others' comments. I agree about the idea of calling the police. If there is no written contract, and they have been there on your good graces, and especially if they have NOT given you money (even if they did, you could give it back, since it is not enough anyway) that may be one of your easiest and cheapest options. You could go to the police station in your district and talk to them first, explaining the situation and see if they can help you. It is a possibility worth pursuing, but get ready for the backlash as your sister screams "victim", especially if she ends up being escorted out by the police..(OMG, my sister called the COPS on me..!) Then you must get their stuff out in such a way that is "legal" (It may just mean putting it out on the curb...ask the police) TAKE VIDEOS/PHOTOS of everything so they can't accuse you of stealing from them. Depending where your parents stand, perhaps it can be taken to their house (preferably by them, once it is out of your house) How much do they want to help....BOTH of you? I would say it is best to keep them OUT of the house once they are physically removed, so you may need to get the stuff to the curb yourself.

I wish I could imagine this magically going well for you and your sister mysteriously wanting to "do right" by you all of a sudden, but you will probably have a big fight on your hands, so don't let that discourage you from doing what needs to be done...and don't let it get you down. It would be in your favor to have some REAL renter-prospects waiting in line to actually rent your house properly to add clout to your actions. Otherwise the argument by your sister will be the house will just be empty anyway and WHY can't she and BF live happily there at your expense? Nonetheless, it is YOUR choice to leave it empty, if you choose, which I have done with my house for months at a time. Don't be BULLIED anymore!

Another thought is if you have any hopes of being the happy aunt to this new little one on the way. Your sister will use any of these feelings against you to punish you and keep you from that. Perhaps that could be diminished if you gave a nice baby shower, but that may not be possible for you, depending how this plays out. Just be prepared as much as possible for the "fallout".

I have no advice, just want to send positive thoughts your way. How terrible for your own sister to take advantage of you like that. I hope you can get the situation resolved quickly. Best of luck.

J.,

My husband and I are also landlords in Ohio. I didn't take the time to read everyone's responses, but did look at what Deborah H had to say, and I think she is right on with her advice. It isn't necessary to have a lawyer for the process, but be sure to be thorough with your paperwork and ask questions when you file things with the courthouse. I hope it goes well for you!

There are several ways to do this in Ohio. First and foremost you need to mail her a certified letter stating that on X day she will need to make her full back rental payment or leave the property. You must provide her with at least 7 days notice. Then if she does not comply, you must file eviction paperwork with the county courthouse. There is no such law that I'm aware of that states you cannot evict a pregnant woman, most likely this is just urban myth. I worked in property management, leasing for about 2 years and we evicted all types of families. Once your paperwork is filed with the courthouse they will set a hearing date, usually within 5 days. Then you appear in court, show proof to the judge that she has failed to pay and you did send her notification of her responsibility and she still refused to pay. You will then get favor of eviction and within 24 hours someone from the sheriff's department will red-tag the front door with 72 hours notice to vacate the property. Once the 72 hours have expired you will need to check that she left and if she didn't you call the number the court gives you and then someone from the court will come and set her out. Usually once you file with the court and she receives notice from them, she will most likely leave or pay you to avoid the eviction. Hope that helps, also you can google the county landlord regulations to get further help and information.

Best of luck.