| Quick Facts | Answer |
| Acceptable Deductions | Unpaid rent and late fees
Costs of damage Costs due to a breach of lease Cleaning costs |
| Return Deadline | 30 days |
| Itemized Deductions | Required |
| Penalty for Late Return | 2x amount due + attorneys’ fees |
For laws on security deposit collections and holdings in Ohio, click here.
Some cities and counties may have regulations which are different from those presented here. Always check local laws.
Security Deposit Deductions in Ohio
Ohio allows these deductions from a security deposit:
- Unpaid rent and outstanding late fees
- Costs of damage excluding normal wear and tear
- Costs incurred due to a breach of the lease
- Cleaning costs
Most states, including Ohio, do not have a legal limit on how much a landlord can charge for damages except that the charges must be reasonable and reflect actual landlord expenses.
If the cost of the damages exceeds the amount of the security deposit, landlords are entitled to seek additional damages from the former tenant.
What Is Considered Normal Wear and Tear in Ohio?
“Normal wear and tear” is damage and deterioration to a property that happens over time using an ordinary and reasonable level of care. Normal wear and tear includes things like:
- Gently worn carpets
- Lightly scratched glass
- Faded paint and flooring
- Lightly dirtied grout
- Loose door handles
- Stained bath fixtures
“Excessive damage” means any careless, reckless, or intentional damage that occurs because of someone on the property with the tenant’s permission. Examples include:
- Heavily stained, burned, or torn carpets
- Broken tiles or windows
- Holes in the wall
- Missing fixtures
Can the Landlord Charge for Replacing the Carpet in Ohio?
Ohio landlords can charge for replacing the carpet if it is damaged beyond normal wear and tear. Case law has established that landlords must depreciate furnishings and only charge for the remaining useful life of the carpet.
A tenant that moves out after ten years cannot be charged for a carpet expected to last eight years despite the level of damage. If the tenant damages the same carpet beyond repair after four years, the tenant can only be charged half of the value of the carpet.
Some wear and tear on a rental unit’s carpet is expected after normal day-to-day use of the property. For example, carpets typically become discolored, indented, or gently worn, when used in a normal way.
However, non-typical, abusive use of carpet results in rips, visible stains, or burns. Landlords have the right to charge the tenant for the replacement of the carpet in areas where serious damage has occurred.
Can the Landlord Charge for Nail Holes in Ohio?
Ohio landlords can charge a tenant for nail holes if they damage the walls in a way that doesn’t demonstrate an ordinary and reasonable level of care.
Tenants have the right to use the walls within their unit in a reasonable way. This includes inserting small nails or thumbtacks to hang posters or pictures.
However, large holes from drilling, multiple nail holes, large nail holes, and holes made for hanging heavier things may be considered damage, and thus chargeable to the tenant.
Can the Landlord Charge a Cleaning Fee in Ohio?
Ohio law allows landlords to charge reasonable cleaning costs. This means the cost is consistent with normal rates for cleaning services and the cleaning is limited to bringing the unit back to its original condition at the start of the lease.
Landlords cannot charge for excessive deep cleaning or at a rate that is not typical for local cleaning services.
Can the Landlord Charge for Painting in Ohio?
In Ohio, landlords can charge for painting, except for normal wear and tear. For example, if the tenant:
- Causes damage beyond normal wear and tear
- Repaints the wall but is not permitted to do so under the lease agreement
- Repaints the wall in an unprofessional way
However, Ohio case law requires that landlords prorate the useful life of the paint. If a landlord uses paint expected to last six years, tenants cannot be charged for painting after a seven-year tenancy, despite the level of damage.
Normal wear includes:
- Minor scrapes from daily use
- Fading due to sunlight
- Minor cracks in the original paint
Landlords can charge for repainting if the damage is not the result of normal use. This includes stains, large or deep scratches, and water damage.
Security Deposit Returns in Ohio
Landlords must return a security deposit with a written notice (if there are deductions) to the tenant’s forwarding address no later than 30 days after the lease ends and the tenant vacates the rental unit.
How Long Do Landlords Have To Return Security Deposits in Ohio?
Ohio landlords have 30 days after the lease ends and the tenant vacates the rental unit to return any unused portion of the security deposit.
Do Landlords Owe Interest on Security Deposits in Ohio?
Landlords in Ohio owe 5% interest, but only on the amount of the security deposit collected above $50 or one month’s rent, whichever is higher. If the lease term is shorter than six months, this rule does not apply.
If the rent on a one-year lease is $1,000 per month and the landlord collects a $1,500 security deposit, the landlord owes $25 in interest at the end of the year (5% of $500).
How Do Landlords Give Notice in Ohio?
Written notice must be delivered to the tenant’s forwarding address and must include the amount of the security deposit due, if any, to the tenant, plus a detailed list of deductions.
The written list must be specific enough to show that the deductions are legally permitted (i.e., not for normal wear and tear).
Can a Security Deposit Be Used for Last Month’s Rent in Ohio?
Ohio law does not forbid the security deposit from being used for any outstanding rent.
Landlords can include a provision in the lease agreement that the security deposit cannot be used for the last month’s rent until the tenant vacates the rental unit.
Security Deposit Disputes in Ohio
If landlords do not return the security deposit within the 30-day period, tenants are entitled to recover the amount wrongfully withheld plus damages in court equal to the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorneys’ fees.
However, if the tenant fails to provide a forwarding address, they are not entitled to damages or attorneys’ fees.
Tenants can also take legal action against a landlord for:
- Failure to provide a detailed written notice when deductions are made from a security deposit
- Unreasonable deductions
How Can Tenants File a Dispute for a Security Deposit in Ohio?
If a landlord fails to return the security deposit, the tenant can file a dispute in Small Claims Court if the amount of damages is less than $6,000. If the amount is greater, the tenant must file a civil case in the local Municipal Court.
A small claims case must be filed within 4 to 6 years, depending on whether the lease agreement was oral or written. An attorney is not required but is allowed. Cases are filed in the Small Claims Court in the city or county where the property is located or where the defendant lives or does business.
Sources
- 1 Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16(B)
-
Upon termination of the rental agreement any property or money held by the landlord as a security deposit may be applied to the payment of past due rent and to the payment of the amount of damages that the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant’s noncompliance with section 5321.05 of the Revised Code or the rental agreement. Any deduction from the security deposit shall be itemized and identified by the landlord in a written notice delivered to the tenant together with the amount due, within thirty days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession. The tenant shall provide the landlord in writing with a forwarding address or new address to which the written notice and amount due from the landlord may be sent. If the tenant fails to provide the landlord with the forwarding or new address as required, the tenant shall not be entitled to damages or attorneys fees under division (C) of this section.
Source Link - 2 Levine v. Kellogg, 153 N.E.3d 663, 677 n.3 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020)
-
Claims for damages such as replacement carpet should account for depreciation due to reasonable wear and tear, quality, and life expectancy of the carpet. [internal citations omitted]Source Link
- 3 Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16(A)
-
Any security deposit in excess of fifty dollars or one month’s periodic rent, whichever is greater, shall bear interest on the excess at the rate of five per cent per annum if the tenant remains in possession of the premises for six months or more, and shall be computed and paid annually by the landlord to the tenant.
Source Link - 4 Nolan v. Sutton, 97 Ohio App. 3d 616, 619 (Ohio Ct. App. 1994)
-
[U]nder the statutory scheme established under the landlord/tenant law, the sufficiency of the itemization must be determined at the time it is sent to the tenant, not at the time it may later be clarified through discovery in a lawsuit.
In the case at bar, there is simply no way to determine from the “Security Deposit Transmittal” form received by the tenant whether the $40 for cleaning was due to ordinary wear and tear or something above that.
Source Link - 5 Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.16(C)
-
If the landlord fails to comply with division (B) of this section, the tenant may recover the property and money due him, together with damages in an amount equal to the amount wrongfully withheld, and reasonable attorneys fees.
Source Link - 6 Ohio Rev. Code § 1925.02(A)(1)
-
Except as provided in division (A)(2) of this section, a small claims division established under section 1925.01 of the Revised Code has jurisdiction in civil actions for the recovery of taxes and money only, for amounts not exceeding six thousand dollars, exclusive of interest and costs.
Source Link - 7 Ohio Rev. Code § 1901.17
-
A municipal court shall have original jurisdiction only in those cases in which the amount claimed by any party, or the appraised value of the personal property sought to be recovered, does not exceed fifteen thousand dollars, except that this limit does not apply to the housing division or environmental division of a municipal court.
Judgment may be rendered in excess of the jurisdictional amount, when the excess consists of interest, damages for the detention of personal property, or costs accrued after the commencement of the action.
This section does not limit the jurisdiction of a municipal court to appoint trustees to receive and distribute earnings in accordance with section 2329.70 of the Revised Code.
Source Link - 8 Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.07(A)
-
Except as provided in sections 126.301 and 1302.98 of the Revised Code, an action upon a contract not in writing, express or implied, shall be brought within four years after the cause of action accrued.
Source Link - 9 Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.06
-
Except as provided in sections 126.301, 1302.98, 1303.16, 1345.10, and 2305.04 of the Revised Code, an action upon a specialty or an agreement, contract, or promise in writing shall be brought within six years after the cause of action accrued.
Source Link - 10 Ohio Rev. Code § 1925.01
-
The appearance of an attorney at law on behalf of any party is permitted but not required. Notice to the attorney of record for a party is equivalent to notice to the party.
Source Link
