Ohio law: If someone sleeps on your couch, you can't make them leave? (Kent: for sale, rental)

[Gaylenwoof]

A couple of years ago, a friend let an acquaintance stay at her house for the winter because he didn't have anywhere else to go. He turned out to be alcoholic and a constant problem. In the spring she asked him to leave. He didn't want to go. One day she locked him out of the house. When she came home from work, he had broken though a window and was asleep, drunk, on her couch. She called the police. They wouldn't do anything because, according to Ohio law (supposedly) if you let someone stay at your house for even one night, then to force them to leave you have to give notice and they have 30 days, or whatever, just like a landlord dealing with a tenant. The police threatened to arrest our friend if she continued to try to lock him out of her house without going through the whole legal eviction process.

The whole idea seems bizarre to me, but the "just one night" thing seems over the top. I can't believe that this could really be what the law says. We often have friends or family stay over at our house. Sometimes we have parties and let people stay (too drunk to drive, bad winter road conditions, etc.) I can't believe that, legally, we would have to go though a drawn out eviction process if we wanted to get rid of them.

We also sometimes "take in strays" - mostly women in abusive situations who need a safe, stable environment for a while. They sometimes stay for a few months while they work through various issues. We've never had any trouble getting them to leave - they've always either agreed to leave or freely chose to leave. But now I'm wondering if we've been putting ourselves at risk of a lot more inconvenience - the potential legal need for a formal eviction process - in these situations.

I'm wondering if anyone here has a legal background and/or has found themselves in a situation where a guest didn't want to leave and you needed to evict them. I'd like to know what the law really requires (is one night really enough?) and is this sort of thing common in other states as well? (I'm thinking of "couch surfing" groups on the internet, B&Bs, hotels, etc.)

What keywords would you use to search for these laws on the web? Tenants rights? or is there a more specific term?

[Icemodeled]

We are landlords and one of our tenants recently called saying they let a guy stay a few months and he wont leave. Tenants say they didnt know him well, wanted to help him out but he then refused to leave. After going to the courthouse and called police, found out we would have to evict him. Im unsure about one night vs one month. I think one night stay should not mean living there.

this was just 2 months ago.

[000000]

random people on the internet are no substitute for a real lawyer.

[hensleya1]

The "one night thing" is incorrect.... and why a cop isn't a lawyer.

Ohio defines a "tenant" as the person entitled per the terms of a rental agreement to occupy the premises... and that person exclusively.

That said, shoot me a PM. I am licensed to practice in Ohio and if you'd like we can discuss it further.

[Gaylenwoof]

Originally Posted by hensleya1

Ohio defines a "tenant" as the person entitled per the terms of a rental agreement to occupy the premises... and that person exclusively.
That said, shoot me a PM. I am licensed to practice in Ohio and if you'd like we can discuss it further.

Thanks for your insights. This is helpful. But what I would really like are some links to the relevant sections of Ohio laws and/or keywords that I could search to most efficiently find these relevant sections of law for myself. I spent a few minutes searching and came to the feeling that I could spend hours searching and still not know if I'm looking at the most relevant laws or instances of precedence. I'm trying to avoid re-creating this wheel if someone here has already gone through this and found the relevant details, or perhaps already found a news article that explains this stuff and gives references to sources.

Bottom line: I want to have the ability to reference the specific legal wording that explains exactly what is required or not required if I let guests stay in my home for, say, a few months. If my ability to point to specific sections of Ohio law does not convince the cops that I can legally kick a guest out without a formal process, then perhaps I would need to hire a lawyer. But the idea is to hopefully avoid cops, lawyers, and formal processes right from the start by knowing the relevant references to law upfront.

[hensleya1]

O.R.C. 5321 - Landlords and Tenants

As used in this chapter:
(A) "Tenant" means a person entitled under a rental agreement to the use and occupancy of residential premises to the exclusion of others.

(B) "Landlord" means the owner, lessor, or sublessor of residential premises, the agent of the owner, lessor, or sublessor, or any person authorized by the owner, lessor, or sublessor to manage the premises or to receive rent from a tenant under a rental agreement.

In a nutshell - a tenant doesn't have tenant's rights unless he's actually on the lease agreement.

Now, there's "implied tenancy" which can arise out of staying for an extended time, but this is typically measured in terms of months... if someone crashes on your couch for one night, kick them out... no problem.

[Gaylenwoof]

Originally Posted by hensleya1

O.R.C. 5321 - Landlords and Tenants
Now, there's "implied tenancy" which can arise out of staying for an extended time, but this is typically measured in terms of months... if someone crashes on your couch for one night, kick them out... no problem.

Thanks! I started searching on the term "implied tenancy" and found the term "tenancy at will" which led me to pages that were relevant to my question, including a couple of pages with almost exactly the same question I'm asking. Unfortunately, the bottom line is still a bit vague for me. Here are some examples of what I found:

In Massachusetts, a "tenant at will" is: someone who has "lived in a rooming house for more than three consecutive months" Tenants without Leases - MassLegalHelp

Unfortunately, I didn't find anything so clear or specific for Ohio. I did find these odds & ends:

From a page called "Ohio Legal Services":
Tenancy At Will
A tenancy (the right to possess and use a premises or real property) in which a landlord rents the tenant the premises or real property on a day-to-day, or week-to-week, basis. A tenancy at will may be terminated by either the landlord or the tenant at any time. Tenancy At Will — public

This relates to a legal tenant or landlord trying to remove a house guest:
Legal Removal of Unwelcome House Guests
Any uninformed attempt to “evict” an uncooperative and unwanted house guest can be frustrating and costly for both tenant and landlord. The first step is to establish whether the house guest is a lodger, a bonafide house guest, or a roommate. Legal definitions may vary slightly from state to state, so check with our local housing department for details. [...] Unfortunately, there is a catch. If the house guest has been living in the unit for more than 30 days, the courts might consider him or her a tenant. In this case, you may only terminate tenancy by formal written notice, regardless of whether the individual’s name is on the lease. If the house guest (who is now considered a tenant) does not vacate within the notice period, you will have to begin formal eviction proceedings.
Legal Removal of Unwelcome House Guests

And there is this (which again is targeted more specifically at house guests of tenants):
Guests Who Stay Too Long, Are They Tenants?
Now this is tricky because the rules change from city to city sometimes. Each rent board or state seems to think that regulating this is going to keep it clear. Not so, if the norm keeps changing.
All tenants have guests and visitors who are vacationing from far away places. [...]
The problem arises when guests stay too long and start to take on the aspects of tenancy. In some areas, that has to be carefully monitored because too many instances or rights of tenancy and look out...you have a tenant that never went through your approval process, your credit check and your prior landlords stamp of approval. That takes the control away from the owner/ manager and can be a huge headache.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/571692

Bottom line:
I started this thread hoping (but not really expecting) there might be a quick easy answer (or quick easy way to find an answer for any given location), but apparently it's just not that easy. (If I wanted to pursue it, I'd probably have to make phone calls to local agencies, etc.) It does seem clear that the Kent, Ohio cops misinformed my friend (or she misunderstood what they said). I'm guessing 30 days is probably the minimum, depending on where you live. I still don't know what the time limit is for the Kent area, but I frankly don't care enough to search any more.

In our case, some of our long-term (several months) guests have switched their mailing address to our address, and we have sometimes accepted money to help with food and/or utilities while they stayed, so even though we considered them guests, not tenants, we were putting ourselves at risk for potential legal trouble (although, luckily, we've never actually had any trouble). I don't think that this will ultimately stop us from "taking in strays" again, but in the future we will at least be conscious of the potential risks if they decide they don't want to leave.

[Wilson513]

I had an acquaintance who had a house for sale in the $1mm range. The realtor brought a guy who he said was good as gold with a signed contract at the asking price and no financing contingency.

The buyer claimed his whol family was staying in a hotel and it was driving him nutz so my acquaintance let him move in before the closing. Needless to say, the earnest money chceck bounced (the police would not prosecute because it was not for goods obtained) the closing was aborted, litigation ensued and two Chapter 13 filings and a year later the guy and his family split over a weekend to victimize someone else in the same school district.

Live and learn.

[dalsup79]

Originally Posted by hensleya1

The "one night thing" is incorrect.... and why a cop isn't a lawyer.

Ohio defines a "tenant" as the person entitled per the terms of a rental agreement to occupy the premises... and that person exclusively.

That said, shoot me a PM. I am licensed to practice in Ohio and if you'd like we can discuss it further.

I've tried to send you a PM about my situation, but their system won't let me because it's a brand new account, I guess.. Can you please try sending me one to hopefully overcome that restriction please?

Thank you,
Damien

[The Coupe]

How do you register on this forum? My son is in a stupor over an unbelievable situation. He let his "girl friend" who ran out of money stay with him. She has been there for more than 2 years now and will not get a job, and has become a drug addict and alcoholic. She threatens him and gets arrested etc. When he tells her he wants nothing to do with her she will not leave. In fact she had all her furniture moved into the house! He works long hours. Her parents came to take her home and she stayed there 1 day and got in a fight with them and came back to his house. One day after that she was taken taken by police to Riverside Hospital, mental floor for a couple of days, then taken to Talbot hall for a week. My son found a rehab place in southern Ohio and took her there, paid up front, and she stayed there for 2 days and called her mom to come get her. She did and now she is with her parents. My son texed her and said she was no longer welcome in his home. She threatened him with this crazy law. My so says she won't go and the law is on her side. He would gladly pay for a lawyer to help him. How do I get in contact with someone who will help with this mess? He has offered to pay for moving her stuff out, etc. He works so hard this is driving him nuts. She threatens suicide if he leaves her. He doesn't know from one day to the next when he comes home from work, if he will find a dead overdosed woman and has tried everything in the world. Like I said he will pay for legal help!!!! So how can I get a hold of someone to tell him to talk to?