Ohio 3 Day Notice to Pay or Vacate

Giving notice is the first step in the eviction process, when a tenant fails to pay rent. In the state of Ohio, a 3 Day Notice is required and must contain specific language as specified under the Ohio Landlord Tenant Revised Code.

Landlords may not file in court to schedule an eviction hearing for non-payment of rent, until after serving this eviction notice and waiting the required three days. It can take weeks or even months between when landlords file for an eviction hearing, and the actual hearing in court, so landlords should serve this Ohio 3 Day Notice to Pay Rent as soon as the rent becomes late.

If the renters still haven't paid the rent by the eviction hearing, landlords must appear in court, or hire an agent to appear in court on their behalf. Assuming the judge rules in the landlord's favor, they must still schedule an actual eviction date, which will add even more weeks or months on to the period between when the tenant last paid rent, and when they must actually vacate the leased premises.

The law favors renters generally, and the eviction process takes months from start to finish. This is why tenant screening is so important: by screening out applicants who have a habit of not paying bills on time (visible on their credit reports), or those without sufficient income to pay both the rent and their debts and other obligations (verify income, check credit reports and rental applications), landlords can avoid 95% of trouble tenants before ever signing a lease agreement with them.

Who: Give this to a tenant who is behind on their rent.

What: This is the required written notice with the required text for the state of Ohio, that gives the tenant the opportunity to pay the owed rent or vacate the premises within 3 business days before the commencement of court action.

When: Give this notice after 3 business days have elapsed (not including the day of service or weekends/holidays) from the date the tenant was served with notice; provided the tenant has neither paid nor vacated.

Important: University and college student housing has different rules and regulations. Ohio's Landlord Tenant Act can be found at: http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/5321

PROPERTIES LOCATED IN CLEVELAND, USE THIS FORM INSTEAD: Cleveland 3 Day Notice for Non-Payment

Ohio Rental Forms and Templates

We know that the Lease Agreement is only the first of many forms that Landlords need. That’s why we have over 450 Landlord forms, including over 200 free forms, for every phase of the Landlord Lifecycle.

Here are a few of the most popular Ohio forms:

• Ohio 3 Day Notice to Pay or Vacate: This form is for Tenants that have unpaid rent. It must be issued before the eviction process can be initiated.
• Ohio 3 Day Notice to Vacate: This form can be used for Tenants with unpaid rent or for Lease violations other than nonpayment of rent. This form is required before initiating eviction proceedings.
• Cleveland 3 Day Notice for Non-Payment: Cleveland Landlords must submit a 3-day Notice before filing for eviction. This form includes all language required by the laws of Ohio and Cleveland.
• Cleveland 3 Day Notice to Vacate: This form can be used for Tenants that break the Lease for reasons other than nonpayment of rent. It includes all language that is required before

State-Specific Forms