Dear L,
In response to your notice of termination, dated x/x/xx:
Under Ohio law 5321.02, it is illegal for a landlord to terminate the rental agreement of a tenant for complaining that the L has violated 5321.04. This alsoapplies to month-to-month tenants. 5321.04 states that a landlord may not abuse the right of access, & must give a minimum of 24 hours notice before entering the tenant's property, except in the case of an emergency. Further, the L must enter at a reasonable time. Your agent (your father) has repeatedly abused the right of access & refused to leave our property when instructed to do so. Although we have complained to you about this on numerous occasions, you have done nothing to curtail his actions.
If you do not immediately withdraw your termination notice, in writing, we will sue you for retaliatory eviction under 5321.02. You will end up paying us damages for trespassing, plus our attorney fees and costs, and will still not be allowed to terminate our tenancy. Furthermore, you must instruct your father not to enter our land or house again without giving notice 24 hours in advance. Also, after giving notice, he may enter only between the hours of 9 am and 8 pm. [or whatever hours you pick]
Regarding your allegations of late rent payments, arrearages, & threats against your father: We have _never_ been late in paying the rent. We have no arrearages at all. We have never threatened your father in any way. We have merely called the police to remove a persistent trespasser. That is our legal right, & we will call them again if he trespasses on our land again.
Finally, you have never responded to our demand for reimbursement of your father's long distance calls. The total amount he charged to our phone was $XXX. Since he was in our house as your agent, you are responsible for the bill. [this may or may not be true, but you might as well stick it in there] If you do not send us a cheque for $XXX or object in writing before November 1, we will deduct this amount from our November rent cheque & consider the matter closed.
Sincerely,
T
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OK, that's the 5 minute rough & ready version. It's not perfect, but you can polish that up & put in the proper dates/times/incidents.
5321.17: The rental termination notice doesn't have to be certified. However, it has to be delivered to you at least 30 days before the next rental period begins. Your rental period begins on the 1st of the month or whenever you pay rent. If L delivered the notice on the 15th, it's not effective until the last day of the next month (about 45 days).
Good luck
BTW, you spelled my name wrong.
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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.
[This message has been edited by Tracey (edited October 08, 2000).]
