What can I do if my landlord won't fix things around the apartment?

A. If there are problems around your apartment that seriously affect your health and safety, or if there are promises in the rental agreement that your landlord refuses to keep, then you can turn to the remedies provided to you in Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.07. This section says that if you are current on your rent, you can send a written notice to the landlord notifying him of the problems at the apartment. If the landlord has not remedied the problems in thirty days of his receipt of the letter, then the tenant has three options.

First, the tenant can start escrowing the rent with the local municipal court. This means that you pay your rent to the court rather than to the landlord, and the Court will decide whether the landlord gets the rent and when (usually after proof of fixing up the apartment).

Second, you can petition the court to compel the landlord to make certain repairs. As a part of this petition, the court may instruct the tenant to escrow his rent. When the escrowed rent builds up to a sufficient amount, the court may instruct the tenant to make repairs himself and then reimburse the tenant out of the escrowed rent still under the court's control.

Lastly, if the landlord has not remedied the conditions at the apartment within the thirty day period, then the tenant can terminate the rental agreement and move out. Tenants should be advised that most courts consider this to be a somewhat drastic option, and require that the conditions at the apartment be extremely poor. You would be surprised at what some courts think a tenant should be able to put up with. Best to keep this option as a last resort, and never use it as an excuse to move out for another reason (like you got kicked out of school or you found a better place to live).

So the answer is not to just quit paying rent until the landlord fixes things. The answer is to follow the law. A 5321.07 compliance letter is available for sale on another page of this website.

If you found this information helpful and are looking for more information or would like to support this website, please consider ordering a copy of our publication on how to get your landlord to make repairs.

Disclaimer: The information provided on ohiolandlordtenant.com is not intended to be legal advice, but general information related to legal issues commonly encountered. The law in your state may be different from that discussed here. The facts in your case may be different too.

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