Ohio tenant/landlord laws cigarette smoking damage

[Austin Wood]

Tenants lease says nothing about smoking. She gave a deposit of $765 but smoked in the unit for 2 years. How much of that 765 can I charge her for cleaning up the unit? Need new blinds, paint carpet etc. located in Ohio

[Peter Sanchez]

Rent some ozone machines or whatever it takes to remove the smell of cigarettes.  THAT'S how much you can deduct.  The rest goes to the tenant, unless something else is damaged.  You get what is required to get the place back to the starting point (minus wear and tear).  You don't get to keep the whole thing because of some kind of moral outrage over someone smoking on your property.  I wish I could keep the security deposit on everyone who listens to dub-step.  They are terrible people and that is terrible music, but that's not how it works.