CINCINNNATI — Across the country this year, tenants are getting hit with rent hikes as landlords upgrade their apartments.
But in some cases, the landlord is telling them they have to move out, even if they have a lease. Is that legal?
Emilia Vinokur is a Ukrainian immigrant who has called a small apartment in Cincinnati's Mt. Washington neighborhood home for over a decade.
That is, until she received a notice telling her to move out in 60 days.
Her dated 1960s apartment is about to undergo a major renovation, and the owner needs her out.
“They don’t want anybody on the property,” Vinokur said. “When they renovate, they don’t want anybody.”
She wondered how a landlord could toss her out if they decided to renovate.
What the law says
So we checked the law and found that if you’re under a lease, they can do it, but will need to move you into another apartment (at the same rent) during construction.
But if your lease has ended, and you are month-to-month like Vinokur, you are at their mercy.
That is one of the big risks of a month-to-month lease.
Attorney Nick DiNardo of Legal Aid said in that case you may need a lawyer’s help.
“If you have an attorney representing you, we can get a good outcome for our clients in more than 80% of our cases. If you don’t have an attorney the chances of being successful even if you have a good defense are quite low,” DiNardo said.
We get her some extra time
We reached out to the ownership company which told us “the building needs to be rehabbed. It has not been updated in years. But we are giving tenants double the legally required 30 days to vacate.”
But there is some good news in this case.
After we raised concerns about how Vinokur will be able to move herself and all her belongings in such a short time, the company has now agreed to give her a little more time to move.
They are extending her lease until May.
But that is still not much help to a woman who said she has been a model tenant for years.
“How tough will it be to pack all this stuff up? It will be tough, very tough,” she said.
Unfortunately, if your lease has ended, all a landlord has to do is give you a 30-day notice to vacate.
So try to keep that lease renewed so you don’t waste your money.
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