A.  In Ohio, if the landlord receives written or actual notice of the tenant’s security deposit forwarding address, the landlord must return the security deposit or the balance plus an itemized list of reasons in writing as to why the tenant is not getting the deposit back.  This must be accomplished within 30 days of the receipt of the written notice and the end of the tenancy.

If the tenant can show that any portion of the security deposit was wrongfully withheld, then the tenant is entitled to recover double damages and attorneys fees under Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.16.

A.  The answer is that it depends.  If the tenant has breached the lease or is holding over after the tenancy has expired, then the landlord need only post a three day notice.  But if the tenant has violated Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.05, then the landlord must give the tenant 30 days to fix the problem first, and then, if the tenant has not remedied the problem, then a three day notice may be posted.

If the relationship between the landlord and the tenant is month to month, then Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.17 requires that the landlord give the tenant 30 day’s notice that the month to month tenancy will be ending.  The timing of the thirty days is important, as the 30 day time period only begins to count from the start of the next rental term.  If the tenant holds over after that, then the landlord need only post the three day notice to vacate.