Create and Download the Ohio Residential Lease & Rental Agreement printable PDF for Landlords. This state-specific Lease is customizable and includes OH laws.
Document Last Modified: 11/7/2023
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Every Ohio Landlord needs an Ohio Lease Agreement. If you have a rental property in Ohio, it’s controlled by the Lease laws of the state. This means that a basic Lease or a generic Lease template won’t provide you or your property the protection it needs
We make sure you’re protected by:
Plus, our Ohio Lease is EZ to create and customize:
Pro Tip: In addition to complying with all Ohio state laws, our Ohio Lease also complies with all Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus requirements.
Rated “excellent” 4.8 from 5,000+ reviews on Trustpilot
Ohio Landlords have to comply with the state’s Landlord-Tenant Laws throughout every phase of the rental process. This includes everything from Tenant Screening to Lease Renewal.
Pro Tip: We make it EZ for Ohio Landlords to comply with Landlord-Tenant Laws:
In addition to these tools, here’s an overview of some key Landlord-Tenant Laws to help every Landlord be a Pro Landlord.
| Category | State Law |
|---|---|
| Ending and Renewing | A one-year lease with an automatic renewal clause must be notarized, per Ohio’s statute of conveyances. R.C. 5301.01 |
Fixed Term: Notice would be as is specified within the lease. However, leases requiring 60 days notice of intent not to renew have been held unenforceable by Ohio Courts.
Periodic: However long the periodic tenancy is, that is how much notice one party wishing to terminate the lease must give the other. For instance, a month to month lease requires 30 days notice of intent to terminate.
The landlord must pay the tenant interest on any amount of the security deposit in excess of 1 month’s rent. R.C. 5321.16(A)
Contact your local housing or zoning office to be sure your rental property complies with city and county requirements for inspections, rent control, occupancy limits, property codes, and zoning. Many cities and counties require inspections, registrations and have specific maintenance regulations.
The only required disclosure in Ohio is the Lead-Based Paint Disclosure:
Note: This disclosure is automatically included in our Ohio Lease Agreement.
Pro Tip: When you build our Ohio Lease, you can choose from over 25 addendums and disclosures. Simply check a box to add any that you want to your Lease Package.
In addition to complying with all state laws, Ohio Landlords must comply with all local ordinances. Here are a few key ones that Landlords should be familiar with:
Pro Tip: Our Ohio Lease Agreement complies with all Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus laws.
Do Leases need to be notarized in Ohio?
Only Lease Agreements that are three years or longer need to be notarized. Rental Contracts of less than three years just need to be signed by all parties in order to be fully executed and legally binding.
One exception to this is Leases with automatic renewal clauses. According to Ohio’s statute of conveyances, a one-year lease with an automatic renewal clause must be notarized
Pro Tip: With our Ohio Rental Agreements, Landlords get unlimited access to electronic signing. This means that you and your renters can review and sign the Lease entirely online!
Is a verbal Lease binding in Ohio?
Ohio law says that both written and verbal Leases are enforceable in court. That said, verbal Leases don’t provide Landlords with the protection they need.
Should you ever need to go to court, you’ll be much better positioned to win if you have a well-written and comprehensive Lease Agreement that’s been signed by the Landlord and Tenant.
What is the standard rent term?
A standard Lease term is one year. However, Rental Contracts can be written for any term that the parties agree on. Month-to-month, Short-term, or Vacation Leases can also be created and are fully enforceable.
Who needs a Lease Agreement?
Anyone that Leases real estate needs a Lease Agreement. This is true whether you rent commercial real estate, single-family houses, condos, apartments, or duplexes. The Lease Agreement documents the terms under which Tenants - or lessees - rent property from Landlords, or lessors. It provides all rules and policies and protects the Landlord should problems arise with the Tenant or if the Tenant does not comply with all property rules and requirements.
It’s the most important form that Landlords use and it’s vital to have a great Lease in place before handing over legal possession of your property.
Pro Tip: Want to learn more about why Leases are so important? Watch our video: Landlording 101: Understanding and Creating a Great Lease Agreement
What should be in the Rental Contract?
All Rental Contracts should include some basic information including names of occupants, name and contact information for the Landlord, rent amount, Lease term, late fee policies, and security deposit information.
This is the general information that’s included on all simple Leases, including blank and fillable Lease templates or the Lease Agreement provided by the Ohio Association of Realtors.
While this information is important, it’s usually not enough to protect Landlords and their investments. Full protection comes with a great Lease that includes all state-required language and disclosures, including terms specific to the rental property - for example, parking policies, yard maintenance policies, and pet policies.
We know that the Lease Agreement is only the first of many forms that Landlords need. That’s why we have over 450 Landlord forms, including over 200 free forms, for every phase of the Landlord Lifecycle.
Here are a few of the most popular Ohio forms:
When you own property in multiple states, it means that one, great state-specific Lease won’t do the job. That’s why we have state-specific Leases for all 50 states!
Here are some of the ones used most frequently by Ohio Landlords:
We know that there are plenty of online Leases available, but there are lots of reasons why ours is the best and preferred by Pro Landlords!
But, we know that oftentimes results speak louder than words. Thankfully, we’ve got the results to back up our products.
