Call 211
This website provides eviction guidance for renters and landlords during COVID-19.
If you can pay your rent, you should. Landlords can still evict tenants when coronavirus is over. Your choices now will affect you and your family later.
If you need help, contact 211 or apply for Rental Assistance online:
If you cannot pay your rent, or cannot pay the full amount of your rent, you should communicate with your landlord in writing.
Email or text your landlord to explain your situation. Offer to pay whatever you can, and ask them to work with you. Use the example language below to write your landlord now:
Sample Email/Text to Your Landlord
Today’s date
Hi landlord’s name, I hope you and yours are safe and healthy. I wanted to keep you updated about my situation. I have lost income/work/my job because of the COVID-19 crisis and cannot afford to pay my April rent at this time. Would you be willing to:
1. Waive April late fees?
2. Agree not to evict me for not being able to pay April rent on time, and instead agree that after the governor lifts the stay at home order, we will work out a repayment agreement that works for both of us?
The news is reporting that most mortgage holders can qualify for a forbearance because of COVID-19. If you receive a forbearance from your lender, would you also be willing to not charge me rent for those months?
Thanks for your flexibility and understanding,
Your name
Your address
Your phone number
Copy Text
If you are being evicted, contact Legal Aid for free assistance:
ABLE (Advocates for Basic Legal Equality) and LAWO (Legal Aid of Western Ohio) are non-profit regional law firms that provide high quality legal assistance in civil matters to help eligible low-income individuals and groups in western Ohio achieve self reliance, and equal justice and economic opportunity.
Work with your tenants to help prevent evictions. If your tenant is struggling to pay rent, there is help for you.
Contact 211 for free assistance:
Contact your mortgage servicer now and find out if you have a federally backed mortgage.
The CARES Act makes it possible for anyone with a federally backed mortgage to request up to a six month forbearance with no penalties, with the option to extend another six months.
Additionally, make sure to contact your mortgage servicer now, as all financial institutions are being encouraged to offer forbearance plans to their customers.
More Eviction Guidance and Support
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What if I am unable to make my mortgage payments?
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An answer goes here.

What is illegal landlord behavior?
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It is illegal for a landlord to do any of the following to remove a tenant from their property:

  • Physically forcing the tenant out of the property
  • Threatening to hurt the tenant if the tenant does not leave
  • Removing the tenant’s things without permission
  • Turning off utilities (gas, electric, water) at the property
  • Changing the locks
  • Altering the property to make it unlivable If the landlord engages in any of the activities above, the court may award the tenant damages and attorney fees.
Can I be evicted outside of the court system?
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  • You cannot be moved out of your home without a court order.
  • Your landlord cannot evict you, kick you out, or ask you to leave your apartment for having COVID-19.
  • Your landlord cannot evict you, kick you out, or ask you to leave your apartment for being under home quarantine.
  • Being under isolation or quarantine in a hospital or other facility does not change your tenancy — your apartment remains your primary residence.
  • You will still need to pay rent during quarantine or any time in a medical facility, just as is the case for any illness.
  • Your landlord cannot discriminate against you, kick you out, or ask you to leave your apartment because of fears … and stigma around COVID-19, including discrimination or harassment on the basis of actual or perceived race, … national origin, disability, or other protected classes.
  • If you are facing discrimination and harassment by your landlord, please file a complaint online:
What is the CARES Act?
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  • Evictions for not paying rent and late fees are prohibited until July 25th for any landlord who has a federally backed mortgage or who receives government housing subsidies.
  • Roughly 70% of all mortgages for 1–4 family homes are federally backed (by FHA, HUD, VA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Dept. of Agriculture).
  • The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau now has links on their website so renters can look up and determine if their building is covered by the CARES Act protections because it has a federally or GSE-backed mortgage. Go to www.consumerfinance.gov/renters and scroll down to “Find out if your housing is covered by the CARES Act.”
Can I be evicted for having COVID-19?
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No.

Your landlord cannot evict you, kick you out, or ask you to leave your apartment for having COVID-19.

Your landlord cannot evict you, kick you out, or ask you to leave your apartment for being under home quarantine.

Being under isolation or quarantine in a hospital or other facility does not change your tenancy — your apartment remains your primary residence

Can I be evicted for having guests during COVID-19?
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No. A tenant’s right to have guests is found in their right to possess and control the premises—usually based in the lease—and under the legal concept of the covenant of quiet enjoyment. In Ohio, this right is implied in every rental lease agreement. The right of a tenant to have guests in her rental unit is violated when a landlord obstructs, interferes with, or takes away from the tenant, the ability to invite and have guests. The right to have guests includes the right to use the common area for travel to and from the rental unit. There is nothing in Ohio’s Stay at Home order that gives a landlord the power to infringe on the right of a tenant to have guests.

What can I do if I am a subsidized housing tenant?
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To make it easier for tenants of subsidized housing to request a rent recalculation because they have had a change in income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our friends at the Connecticut Fair Housing Center created a form that allows tenants to put in the information about their decrease in income, address, etc.

Once the form is completed, the program automatically generates an email to the tenant’s housing authority as well as to the tenant.

There is also an option to have the letter emailed to the tenant only so that the tenant can decide where to send the letter.

Generate a letter by going to ctfairhousing.org/rent.

Can I evict tenants for having COVID-19?
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No.

A landlord cannot evict a tenant, kick out a tenant, or ask a tenant to leave their apartment for having COVID-19.

A landlord cannot evict a tenant, kick out a tenant, or ask a tenant to leave their apartment for being under home quarantine.

Being under isolation or quarantine in a hospital or other facility does not change a tenant’s tenancy — their apartment remains their primary residence

Can I evict tenants for having guests during COVID-19?
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No. A tenant’s right to have guests is found in their right to possess and control the premises—usually based in the lease—and under the legal concept of the covenant of quiet enjoyment. In Ohio, this right is implied in every rental lease agreement. The right of a tenant to have guests in her rental unit is violated when a landlord obstructs, interferes with, or takes away from the tenant, the ability to invite and have guests. The right to have guests includes the right to use the common area for travel to and from the rental unit. There is nothing in Ohio’s Stay at Home order that gives a landlord the power to infringe on the right of a tenant to have guests.EOT;