Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Ohio

how long does a landlord have in the state of Ohio to sue for damages after the tenants have moved out at the end of their lease.


Asked on 6/29/13, 10:34 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Thomas Sacerich Thomas J. Sacerich, Attorney at Law

Do you have an oral or written lease?

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Answered on 6/29/13, 8:53 pm
Eric Willison Eric Eastman Willison

In Ohio, there are three statutes of limitation at play. A statute of limitation is the time within which a plaintiff must bring it will soon upon a certain claim for relief. actions based upon a written contract such as a lease must be bought with in 15 years. Actions brought upon an oral contract must be bought within six years. But actions brought to recover for damage to property must be brought within 2 years.

The general rule is that if a claim for relief can be brought under multiple legal theories, then it must be brought with him the shortest of the various statutes of limitation of that apply.

For instance, when people try to sue attorneys for legal malpractice They have a1 year statute of limitations for doing so. When they miss this time period they often attempt to sue on the written contract for legal representation arguing that the attorney breached that written contract and arguing that they had 15 years to bring suit. But Ohio courts have uniformly held that the one year statute of limitations is the proper one to use.

So your landlord will argue he had either 15 years or 6 years to bring the lawsuit but you will argue that he had two years. However I can't tell you which argument will win. There's no case law that I have found on this particular subject. As an attorney, the best I can do is tell you is how to frame the argument.

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Answered on 6/30/13, 5:03 am


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