The typical Ohio eviction process takes about five weeks. The eviction process starts with the posting of a three day notice. In certain cases, a longer notice is necessary but generally a three day notice covers most of the eviction issues that a landlord can encounter.
The day of posting the three day notice does not count and neither do weekends or holidays. So, despite the name, a three day notice, may take four to five days to expire.
Once the three day eviction notice expires, the landlord has the ability to file the eviction case in court. Any gap between the expiration of the three day notice and the filing of the eviction complaint is more time lost.
Once the eviction complaint is filed, the court will usually schedule a hearing two to three weeks later. Sometimes the tenant is able to delay the hearing by about a week. If so, this will add to the eviction timeline.
If the eviction is granted at the hearing then the tenant will usually have five to ten days to get out or risk being set out.
At this point, you have to schedule a set out with the bailiff. Getting the tenant completely out will thus depend upon the bailiff’s schedule.
Given this timeline, you can understand why the process takes a good five weeks in Ohio. If you are lucky, you may be able to whittle it down to 4 weeks. If you are not so lucky, the Ohio eviction process could take longer.
Landlords can take control of the process by serving an eviction notice as soon as there is a breach of the lease. Inform the tenant that you are simply protecting your rights and that they can avoid such notices by complying with the terms of the lease. Landlords who wait to serve an eviction notice are simply costing themselves more time.