Time: Our office will notify you of your hearing time. You should arrive at the court 15-20 minutes before your hearing is scheduled to start. Your attorney will meet with you for a few minutes to go over a few hearing details before it begins. The courts often schedule several hearings at or near the same time, so you may have a wait. Once your case is called, the hearing will likely take 5-20 minutes.
What to bring: You should bring any notes or records you have regarding the tenant violation(s) that justify the eviction. This will usually be your notes or records regarding the month(s) the tenant has failed to pay rent.
Hearing questions: One representative of the landlord will have to testify about the tenancy and reason for the eviction. You will be sworn in and asked questions about:
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- Your identity
- Your role with the landlord (manager, owner, etc.)
- The tenant’s lease (written or verbal) and its basic terms
- Your familiarity with the circumstances leading to the eviction (receiving and tracking rent payments, other lease violations, etc.)
- Your service of the three-day eviction notice
- Your request to have the tenant evicted
- Any other issues unique to your case
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If your tenant moves out before the hearing: If your tenant moves out before the hearing, you should notify our office immediately. If they have abandoned their tenancy, the hearing probably won’t be necessary. If you think it is possible they have moved out, but you aren’t sure, you should call our office to discuss what you are seeing so we can make a determination as to how we should proceed.
Appearance: There is no required dress code, but we encourage you to dress in business casual attire.
Next steps: The court will normally approve the eviction at your hearing. The tenant will then be given anywhere from 0-7 days to leave the premises. If the tenant does not leave by the required date, then you will need to notify our office and we will file a request with the court to schedule a day and time for the court bailiff to remove the tenant. You will need to be present for that process and have the ability to have locks changed. If the tenant’s personal property is still in the residence, we will advise you regarding the proper method of disposing of it.
Other legal claims: We will often file multiple legal claims in your case. Usually these will be for 1) the eviction (“restitution of the premises”), and 2) financial damages (back rent, damage to the property, court costs, etc.). The tenant has 28 days to respond to the financial claims. The first hearing will only deal with the eviction portion. At the end of the hearing, you will have to decide if you want to proceed with the financial claim or dismiss it. You should be considering the expected value of that claim, likelihood of being able to collect from the tenant, and costs of litigating the claim in making your decision. Your attorney will discuss these issues with you and help you in making your decision. If we proceed with your financial claims, you will provide evidence of your damages in a later court filing or hearing on that issue.
Location: The courts in which we most often handle eviction cases are:
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- Ashland Municipal Court (Ashland County) – 1209 East Main Street, Ashland, Ohio 44805 (Parking in front. Enter building on your left.)
- Mansfield Municipal Court (Richland County) – 30 North Diamond Street, Mansfield, Ohio 44902 (Enter Park Ave. West entrance just East of the Methodist Church.)
- Wooster Municipal Court (Wayne County) – 215 North Grant Street, Wooster, Ohio 44691 (Parking lot across Grant Street.)
- Millersburg Municipal Court (Holmes County) – 1 East Jackson Street, Millersburg, Ohio44654 (Parking in rear.)
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More information: This site is intended to assist you and make your hearing experience easier, but is not expected to answer every question or concern you might have. You are always welcome and encouraged to call our office to hold a telephone conference or schedule a meeting with your attorney. We want to answer all of your questions and make sure your eviction case goes as smoothly and efficiently as possible.