FINAL Alert Newsletter - Volume 33 - Issue 3 - Rent Deposit and Landlord Repairs

Sep 19, 2026

Issue highlights practical tenant guidance and legal information across Ohio, including how rent deposit (rent escrow) works when landlords refuse necessary repairs. It outlines tenant eligibility for deposit, notice requirements, timelines (often 30 days), and what courts and non-profit groups may do to help. The issue also explains Ohio’s Homestead Exemption, covering senior/disabled and disabled veterans benefits, eligibility criteria, and how to apply.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time2 min

AccessFree to download

In this issue

Rent Deposit and Landlord Repairs

Ohio’s Homestead Exemption

Blighted Properties

Consumer Protection for PUCO Utilities

Property Taxes

Personal Property After Eviction

Lead Poisoning – Know Your Rights

Legal Aid Help

In thIs Issue: Rent Deposit and Landlord Repairs 1 Ohio’s Homestead Exemption 2 Blighted Properties 3 Consumer Protection for PUCO Utilities 3 Property Taxes 4 Personal Property After Eviction 4 Lead Poisoning – Know Your Rights 5 Legal Aid Help 6 Rent Deposit: an Option to Get Your Landlord to Make Repairs By the Legal Aid Housing Practice Group If you are a tenant, your landlord is required to make certain necessary repairs to your rental unit, including: • Repairs to keep the property in a livable condition; • Repairs to meet housing and building codes that affect your health and safety; and • Repairs required by your lease. In Ohio, a tenant can pay rent to a court, instead of the landlord, after a landlord has refused to make necessary repairs within a reasonable amount of time. This is called “rent deposit” or “rent escrow.”However, the tenant must be very careful to follow certain rules in order to deposit rent to the court properly. Before a tenant can deposit rent into the court, the tenant generally must: • Be current on rent; • Give the landlord written notice of the repairs needed by sending the notice to the person or place where the rent is normally paid (the tenant should keep a copy of this notice); and • Give the landlord a reasonable time (usually 30 days, unless it’s an emergency) to make the repairs. If the landlord doesn’t make the repairs during this reasonable time, the tenant generally may deposit the next month’s rent with the Clerk of Court of the municipal court for the tenant’s community. Each month, the tenant must continue to deposit the rent with the Clerk of Court by the date the rent is due according to the tenant’s lease. The Clerk of Court may have additional rules for depositing the rent, which the tenant must follow. The rent will remain on deposit with the court until the tenant and the landlord agree on how and when it should be released, or the court decides to release it. Some non profit groups help tenants with the rent deposit process, at no charge to the tenant: • In Ohio (all counties): Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO),(888) 485-7999. • In Cuyahoga County: Rental Information Center of the Cleveland Tenants Organization,(216) 432-0609. • In Lake County: Fair Housing Resource Center, Inc.,(440) 392-0147. Also, some courts help tenants with the rent deposit process. For example, Cleveland Housing Court specialists can explain the rent deposit process to tenants. The specialists are located on the 13th Floor of the Justice Center, 1200 Ontario Street, Cleveland, OH 44113, and are available for dropin visits, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a. m. to 3:30 p. m. The Cleveland Housing Court phone number is (216) 664-4295. Ohio’s Homestead Exemption By Kristen Nawrocki Ohio has two types of Homestead Exemption: (1) senior and disabled persons homestead exemption and (2) disabled veterans enhanced homestead exemption. Senior and Disabled Persons Homestead Exemption protects the first $25,000 of your home’s value from taxation. For example, if your home is worth $100,000, you will be taxed as if the home were worth $75,000 . Who is eligible? (1) A homeowner who owns and lives in the home as their primary residence as of January 1st of the year for which they apply and • is 65 years old (or who will turn 65 the year for which they apply) or • is permanently and totally disabled as of the 1st day of the year for which they apply. (2) The surviving spouse of a person who had been enrolled in Homestead who was at least 59 years of age when the spouse died. (3) Applicants must have a total gross income (applicant plus applicant’s spouse, if any) below the amount set by law each year. The 2017 household income limit is $31, [800. See www.tax.ohio.gov](800. See www.tax.ohio.gov) for income limits in future years. Disabled Veterans Enhanced Homestead Exemption protects the first $50,000 of your home’s value

FAQs

What is rent deposit (rent escrow) in Ohio?

If a landlord refuses to make necessary repairs within a reasonable time, a tenant can pay rent to a court instead of the landlord. The rent stays on deposit until the tenant and landlord agree on release or the court decides.

What are the basic requirements before depositing rent with the court?

A tenant generally must be current on rent, give written notice of the needed repairs to the place where rent is normally paid, and give the landlord a reasonable time (usually 30 days, unless it is an emergency) to make the repairs.

What does Ohio’s Homestead Exemption protect from taxation?

For senior and disabled persons, it protects the first $25,000 of home value from taxation. For disabled veterans enhanced homestead exemption, it protects the first $50,000 of home value from taxation, with eligibility rules described for each group.

Sep 19, 2026

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