Tenant Abandonment - Need Advice

[Brandon Styles]

Hello BP. I'm looking for some advice and help. I have a tenet who I have not heard from in about 3 weeks. This tenant owes me now 2 months worth of rent. I've tried calling and texting this tenant but I have not received any replies or responses. A few days ago I put a pay or quit notice on his door. Today I went back to the apartment to check up on things and I noticed that the pay or quit notice that I put on a door had been removed so I know someone has been there inside but I do not know if it was him or maybe a friend of his that has access to the apartment. Since I have not heard from this tenant in 3 weeks and he owes 2 months worth of rent, I'm considering his actions abandonment of the unit. What I want to know now is what's the path I take when dealing with a tenant who appears to have abandoned the unit? By the way, I'm in Ohio, so I know Ohio tenant laws may be different than other states.

[Michele Fischer]

Read your tenant landlord laws and see what is required to consider the unit abandoned.  We have to post an abandonment notice, takes a week.

If you proceed to eviction you will need to have the tenant served papers, so you are stuck if they are gone or non responsive.

If it were me I would post both an abandonment notice and an offer for cash for keys.  If you can pay whoever is there a few hundred dollars to get repossession that is the best scenario at this point.