Guide for landlords new to the eviction process.
Will I (the landlord/property manager/owner) need to show up at court for the eviction hearing?
Yes, you will need to show up at court. The judge requires you to testify as to proper service of the eviction notice and as to the lease violation supporting the eviction action.
If you hired a notice server through me, then the notice server will go to court instead of you. Generally, the notice server can handle the court appearance unless the tenant shows up and makes wild claims that the notice server knows nothing about.
When will the hearing be held?
The hearing will be held about two weeks after the filing of the eviction complaint by me. After I file the complaint, the court sends me a hearing notice via regular mail. Regular mail is in no hurry to get to me. You or I or both of us can also look up the hearing date online at the court’s website. You can do this by simply searching by using the landlord’s name, property manager’s name or the tenant’s name.
At the bottom of the picture above, you can see that the eviction hearing was scheduled for 12/29/2025. If you look up your case and see no hearing scheduled yet then the hearing has not been scheduled yet. Check again later.
If you look up your case and can’t find it, check again tomorrow.
How do I get updates on my case?
You or I or both of us can also look up updates concerning the case online at the court’s website. As I indicated above, the only notice I receive is the hearing notice via regular mail, and regular mail is in no hurry to get to me. You can do this by simply searching by using the landlord’s name, property manager’s name or the tenant’s name. The court’s website is generally available 24 hours – 7 days a week. If you are having trouble sleeping because you are worried about your case, please resist the urge to email or text message or call me outside of normal business hours because you can easily consult the status of your case online.
How do I prepare for the eviction hearing?
Please read my article on eviction hearing preparation.
How do I get the tenant out after the eviction hearing?
Please consult the article on the post eviction process in Franklin County here. If your case is in another county, the procedure will be similar but not exactly the same. For questions about when a red tag has been posted or scheduling a set out, please contact the bailiff at 614-645-7780.
How do I get my money back from the tenant?
Short answer is that you can’t get blood from a stone. I typically do not pursue an action for money owed because the success rate of collecting anything is very low and the time and expense involved often exceeds what is owed. If you are interested in the process, consult my article on the matter here.
For even more common eviction questions answered, consult my article here.