Inhereted Tenant Eviction help in Columbus, Ohio

[Catherine W.]

Hi All -

We have a problem.  We purchased a duplex on 6/30 and are currently living on one side.  There were previously two guys living on the other side; one moved out on time as notified by the prior owner (which was that the lease would be expiring at the end of June and they had to leave), the other did not and is still there, we think.

We do not have a lease with this guy, but right after we purchased the property, we told him he could stay until 7/5 and pay us prorated rent... after that we had renovations planned and he needed to be out.   Well two weeks later he hasn't paid us a dime and hasn't tried to contact us or work anything out despite our letters sent and notices posted on his door.  He did have the nerve to have friends visit him twice, though!  We filed an eviction last week and are waiting on that.

The odd thing now is that for the past few days, we're not sure if he's still there or not.  He has all of his crap still in the back yard, his dogs are still there, but we haven't seen or heard him.   My husband has been working on renovating our side of the duplex and had to go over there to do some plumbing (both sides of the duplex have one meter) earlier this week.  He noticed that the guy's dogs have been pooping and peeing all over the floor. We have no idea of what's going on and have no idea what to do.  I'd at least like to take the dogs out... but is that even allowed since they're not ours? 

This is probably something we need to get a lawyer involved in but if anyone has any guidance we would appreciate it!  We're kicking ourselves for not writing it into the contract to have the entire property vacant before closing.

[LaTonga Smith]

Hi Catherine! I am a licensed real estate agent in Columbus, OH and I also manage several rentals. First piece of advice, always make sure any agreements are written! Do you have a copy of the previous lease with the prior owners? Did you provide a letter detailing that you were the new owners? You can serve a 3 day notice to vacate--which you must do anyhow in order to evict the tenant and then file for eviction. Inbox me for more information.

[Mindy Jensen]

@Catherine W., I would contact Animal Control in your city and explain the situation. The dogs, if they are left alone, should be removed immediately. The animal control officers should know what to do.

I think the eviction is the best course of action. Follow it through. 

[Peter Lohmann]

No need for a lawyer - just continue the eviction process, and you'll have them out eventually. Nothing you can really do in the meantime.

[Ellie Hanson]

Animal control can remove the dogs ASAP as they've been abused and neglected.

[Steve Baldwin]

Hi Catherine!

The posters above are correct, call animal control ASAP. Besides that Ohio has an abandonment rule that could be quicker than the eviction process.... depending on your court date and actual set out date.

I see you post this a while back, have any updates?

Thanks!

Steve

[Account Closed]

You should be able to enter an rental if it is deemed an "emergency." At least thats the law in California. So if a pipe burst, you could enter to stop the pipe. I would say possible animal neglect falls into that category. What judge would rule against you.