Being a property owner comes with the good, the bad and the ugly. Unfortunately, sometimes you (or your property management company) will have to deal with difficult situations like tenant evictions. While we hope it’s not something you encounter, it’s an important topic to discuss if you are a landlord or property owner in Columbus.
What to Know About Evictions in Franklin County, Ohio
There is a series of events that kick off the eviction process for tenants living in Ohio. For us at RL Property Management, our process includes the following timeline:
Posting a 3-day notice on a tenant’s door
If a tenant falls behind on rent, we post a 3-day notice on their door halfway through the month in which they are late on a payment. This is the first step in the eviction process. The 3-day notice informs the resident that they have three business days to pay the rent in full (or move out).
The eviction process begins
After three business days (or around the 20th of the month) if no action has been taken by the tenant to pay or move out, we begin the eviction process by sending the eviction paperwork over to our attorneys. They file it with the court.
Schedule the eviction hearing
Next, it takes about 2-3 weeks to get the eviction hearing scheduled. At the hearing, we (and our attorney) appear to testify that the resident is still living at the property and still hasn’t paid the rent. Typically at that hearing or the next one, we will receive judgment and that gives us the right to pursue a setout, which is the last step in getting a resident out of the property.
What are the Fees for an Eviction?
Some property management companies will handle the eviction process for you. Be sure to ask about this when interviewing potential companies.
At RL Property Management, we charge a one-time flat fee of $200 to handle an eviction from start to finish for a property owner. Our attorney group charges roughly a $100 fee, and then there are some hard costs in terms of the court. The court costs are approximately $130 to file the paperwork and handle the eviction. In total it’s around $400 once we’ve actually filed the eviction.
Are There Alternatives to an Eviction?
Evictions are costly and time-consuming. Not only must you deal with the eviction process, but you must also then turn over the rental unit for a new tenant.
We offer tenants an opportunity to cancel the eviction by doing what we call a “pay and stay.” This means a tenant pays the entire full balance of the past-due rent and thus gets fully caught up on their rent payments. There is a charge for tenants to do a “pay and stay,” and this fee is in place to make the landlord whole again in terms of their eviction costs.
We find that about 50 percent of the time, tenants will do a “pay and stay” and things proceed as normal.
While no one prefers to pursue an eviction, there are times when it becomes necessary. At RL Property Management, we do everything we can to prevent evictions in the first place, but when they’re required, we handle the entire process for our clients. To learn more, feel free to contact us anytime.
