Fight disputes with landlords by paying rent into escrow

Though our law office generally deals with personal injury cases in Toledo and northwest Ohio, occasionally we have to address other areas of concern. In my Toledo Blade column on Sunday, for instance, a reader asked what she could do if her landlord wouldn't make repairs. I could tell she was tempted to stop paying her rent, but this would be a huge mistake. In Ohio, tenants have the right to pay their rent into an escrow account through a municipal or county court. That way, they can get a landlord's attention because the money stops flowing, but it's done in a legal way. In Toledo, a case is opened and if the complaint doesn't have anything to do with a health or safety code issue, it's referred to the citizen dispute program. If the matter can be worked out, the case is closed. If it can't, it proceeds through the housing court. Though it can be tempting to stop paying rent to an absentee landlord, you're only given the landlord ammunition to evict you.