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| To amend section 5321.01 and to enact section 5321.20 | 1 |
| of the Revised Code to enable members of the armed | 2 |
| services and the Ohio National Guard to terminate | 3 |
| a rental agreement when the member receives | 4 |
| military orders to deploy or for a permanent | 5 |
| change of station. | 6 |
| Section 1. That section 5321.01 be amended and section | 7 |
| 5321.20 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: | 8 |
| Sec. 5321.01. As used in this chapter: | 9 |
| (A) "Tenant" means a person entitled under a rental agreement | 10 |
| to the use and occupancy of residential premises to the exclusion | 11 |
| of others. | 12 |
| (B) "Landlord" means the owner, lessor, or sublessor of | 13 |
| residential premises, the agent of the owner, lessor, or | 14 |
| sublessor, or any person authorized by the owner, lessor, or | 15 |
| sublessor to manage the premises or to receive rent from a tenant | 16 |
| under a rental agreement. | 17 |
| (C) "Residential premises" means a dwelling unit for | 18 |
| residential use and occupancy and the structure of which it is a | 19 |
| part, the facilities and appurtenances in it, and the grounds, | 20 |
| areas, and facilities for the use of tenants generally or the use | 21 |
| of which is promised the tenant. "Residential premises" includes a | 22 |
| dwelling unit that is owned or operated by a college or | 23 |
| university. "Residential premises" does not include any of the | 24 |
| following: | 25 |
| (1) Prisons, jails, workhouses, and other places of | 26 |
| incarceration or correction, including, but not limited to, | 27 |
| halfway houses or residential arrangements that are used or | 28 |
| occupied as a requirement of a community control sanction, a | 29 |
| post-release control sanction, or parole; | 30 |
| (2) Hospitals and similar institutions with the primary | 31 |
| purpose of providing medical services, and homes licensed pursuant | 32 |
| to Chapter 3721. of the Revised Code; | 33 |
| (3) Tourist homes, hotels, motels, recreational vehicle | 34 |
| parks, recreation camps, combined park-camps, temporary | 35 |
| park-camps, and other similar facilities where circumstances | 36 |
| indicate a transient occupancy; | 37 |
| (4) Elementary and secondary boarding schools, where the cost | 38 |
| of room and board is included as part of the cost of tuition; | 39 |
| (5) Orphanages and similar institutions; | 40 |
| (6) Farm residences furnished in connection with the rental | 41 |
| of land of a minimum of two acres for production of agricultural | 42 |
| products by one or more of the occupants; | 43 |
| (7) Dwelling units subject to sections 3733.41 to 3733.49 of | 44 |
| the Revised Code; | 45 |
| (8) Occupancy by an owner of a condominium unit; | 46 |
| (9) Occupancy in a facility licensed as an SRO facility | 47 |
| pursuant to Chapter 3731. of the Revised Code, if the facility is | 48 |
| owned or operated by an organization that is exempt from taxation | 49 |
| under section 501(c)(3) of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," | 50 |
| 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 501, as amended, or by an entity or | 51 |
| group of entities in which such an organization has a controlling | 52 |
| interest, and if either of the following applies: | 53 |
| (a) The occupancy is for a period of less than sixty days. | 54 |
| (b) The occupancy is for participation in a program operated | 55 |
| by the facility, or by a public entity or private charitable | 56 |
| organization pursuant to a contract with the facility, to provide | 57 |
| either of the following: | 58 |
| (i) Services licensed, certified, registered, or approved by | 59 |
| a governmental agency or private accrediting organization for the | 60 |
| rehabilitation of mentally ill persons, developmentally disabled | 61 |
| persons, adults or juveniles convicted of criminal offenses, or | 62 |
| persons suffering from substance abuse; | 63 |
| (ii) Shelter for juvenile runaways, victims of domestic | 64 |
| violence, or homeless persons. | 65 |
| (10) Emergency shelters operated by organizations exempt from | 66 |
| federal income taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the "Internal | 67 |
| Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 501, as | 68 |
| amended, for persons whose circumstances indicate a transient | 69 |
| occupancy, including homeless people, victims of domestic | 70 |
| violence, and juvenile runaways. | 71 |
| (D) "Rental agreement" means any agreement or lease, written | 72 |
| or oral, which establishes or modifies the terms, conditions, | 73 |
| rules, or any other provisions concerning the use and occupancy of | 74 |
| residential premises by one of the parties. | 75 |
| (E) "Security deposit" means any deposit of money or property | 76 |
| to secure performance by the tenant under a rental agreement. | 77 |
| (F) "Dwelling unit" means a structure or the part of a | 78 |
| structure that is used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by | 79 |
| one person who maintains a household or by two or more persons who | 80 |
| maintain a common household. | 81 |
| (G) "Controlled substance" has the same meaning as in section | 82 |
| 3719.01 of the Revised Code. | 83 |
| (H) "Student tenant" means a person who occupies a dwelling | 84 |
| unit owned or operated by the college or university at which the | 85 |
| person is a student, and who has a rental agreement that is | 86 |
| contingent upon the person's status as a student. | 87 |
| (I) "Recreational vehicle park," "recreation camp," "combined | 88 |
| park-camp," and "temporary park-camp" have the same meanings as in | 89 |
| section 3729.01 of the Revised Code. | 90 |
| (J) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in | 91 |
| section 2929.01 of the Revised Code. | 92 |
| (K) "Post-release control sanction" has the same meaning as | 93 |
| in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code. | 94 |
| (L) "School premises" has the same meaning as in section | 95 |
| 2925.01 of the Revised Code. | 96 |
| (M) "Sexually oriented offense" and "child-victim oriented | 97 |
| offense" have the same meanings as in section 2950.01 of the | 98 |
| Revised Code. | 99 |
| (N) "Preschool or child day-care center premises" has the | 100 |
| same meaning as in section 2950.034 of the Revised Code. | 101 |
| (O) "Active duty" means duty that is in response to military | 102 |
| orders to deploy with a military unit or as an individual in | 103 |
| support of a military operation, for a period of not less than | 104 |
| ninety days. The military orders may be in response to an | 105 |
| executive order of the President of the United States, an act of | 106 |
| the congress of the United States, or an order of the governor. | 107 |
| When associated with these military orders, "active duty" includes | 108 |
| full-time training, training at a school designated as a service | 109 |
| school by law or by the secretary of the military department | 110 |
| concerned, and full-time national guard duty. | 111 |
| (P) "Service member" means a member of the armed forces or | 112 |
| reserve forces of the United States or a member of the Ohio | 113 |
| national guard. | 114 |
| (Q) "Military orders" means official military orders or any | 115 |
| notification, certification, or verification from the service | 116 |
| member's commanding officer with respect to the service member's | 117 |
| current or future military duty status. | 118 |
| Sec. 5321.20. (A) A tenant who is a service member may, at | 119 |
| the tenant's option, terminate a rental agreement at any time | 120 |
| after the tenant receives military orders that require the tenant | 121 |
| to do either of the following: | 122 |
| (1) Relocate due to a permanent change of station; | 123 |
| (2) Deploy on active duty with a military unit, or as a | 124 |
| person in support of a military operation, for a period of not | 125 |
| less than ninety days. | 126 |
| (B) To terminate a rental agreement pursuant to this section, | 127 |
| the tenant shall deliver a written notice of the termination, | 128 |
| along with a copy of the military orders, to the landlord at the | 129 |
| address where rent normally is paid. The delivery may be in person | 130 |
| or sent by United States mail, return receipt requested, to that | 131 |
| address. | 132 |
| (C) The termination of a rental agreement pursuant to this | 133 |
| section is effective as follows: | 134 |
| (1) In the case of a month-to-month rental agreement, thirty | 135 |
| days after the date on which the next rental payment is due; | 136 |
| (2) In the case of any other rental agreement, on the last | 137 |
| day of the month that follows the month in which the notice is | 138 |
| delivered. | 139 |
| (D)(1) The tenant shall pay on a prorated basis any rent that | 140 |
| is due for the period preceding the effective termination date of | 141 |
| the rental agreement. | 142 |
| (2) The landlord shall refund within thirty days after the | 143 |
| effective termination date any rental amounts that the tenant paid | 144 |
| in advance for any period that is after the effective termination | 145 |
| date of the rental agreement. | 146 |
| (3) The landlord shall return to the tenant any deposit and | 147 |
| other amounts due to the tenant as this chapter requires, as if | 148 |
| the rental agreement ended on the effective termination date | 149 |
| pursuant to its own terms. | 150 |
| (E) The early termination of a rental agreement pursuant to | 151 |
| this section is deemed to be a termination pursuant to the terms | 152 |
| of the rental agreement and the early termination may not be used | 153 |
| as a basis to withhold a security deposit or other amounts due the | 154 |
| tenant. A landlord may withhold amounts for actual damages in the | 155 |
| same manner and for the same reasons as this chapter permits for | 156 |
| rental agreements that expire pursuant to their own terms. | 157 |
| (F)(1) If a landlord violates this section, the tenant may | 158 |
| recover double damages resulting from that violation and may | 159 |
| recover reasonable attorney's fees. | 160 |
| (2) A tenant who terminates the rental agreement due to | 161 |
| deployment may file for damages at any time prior to ninety days | 162 |
| following the tenant's return from deployment or at any later time | 163 |
| as otherwise provided by law. | 164 |
| Section 2. That existing section 5321.01 of the Revised Code | 165 |
| is hereby repealed. | 166 |