CLEVELAND -- Being one day late on rent is an extreme, but completely legal, justification for a landlord to file for an eviction in Ohio. This may sound unusual, and that’s because it is. Ohio is one of five states where, upon a single missed payment, property owners can immediately give tenants a three-day notice to leave or face eviction proceedings. During this time, landlords are not legally obligated to accept the rent payment.
Several municipalities in Cuyahoga County have decided to consider local “Pay to Stay” ordinances to give tenants more ways to stay stably housed.
The ability for property owners to evict with such immediacy is problematic for many reasons. Firstly, housing is health care. This was true before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it became more apparent over the past year. When COVID-19 hit, Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry immediately set into action a plan to reduce the number of residents at our men’s shelter, which typically serves about 400 people a night. Through the utilization of hotels in the city and county, LMM and our partners (Cuyahoga County, the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, YWCA, and others) safely housed individuals experiencing homelessness in noncongregate settings, limiting the spread of COVID. If it wasn’t for these quick efforts and federal interventions that reduced demand for shelter, COVID may have infected as much as 40% of the shelter population.
Secondly, evictions disproportionately hurt families with children. On average, 9,000 evictions are filed in Cleveland annually. According to The Cleveland Eviction Study, about 90% of evictions are for nonpayment of rent, about 80% involve African American renters, about 75% had female heads of house, and nearly 60% of households had children. Studies show that children who are not stably housed face additional health challenges, learning loss, increased behavioral issues, and a lower likelihood of graduating from high school. It is unacceptable that thousands of our neighbors, mainly Black women and children, are exposed to the stress and consequences of evictions.
This is where “Pay to Stay” can help. Pay to Stay codifies a landlord best practice that most property owners already informally adhere to. It helps level the playing field for renters who may be facing financial hardship. Pay to Stay proposals have passed in several Ohio municipalities, including Yellow Springs, Toledo, and Lakewood. Locally, the cities of South Euclid, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Euclid, and Maple Heights are considering the legislation. The ordinance provides tenants the chance to pay their rent in full (including any applicable late fees and court filing fees) up until the eviction hearing. It requires the landlord to accept the payment at any point in this time frame. Pay to Stay is a simple yet powerful way to keep families stably housed and reduces the need for safety-net services like emergency shelter.
While many property owners, especially small mom-and-pop landlords, may already provide a grace period to their tenants, such allowances are not universal. Pay to Stay eliminates the ability for bad actors to evict a tenant arbitrarily. Further, while Pay to Stay provides tenants with an additional strategy to stay stably housed, it does not prevent the landlord from deciding against renewing a tenant’s lease or evicting a tenant for cause.
LMM urges municipalities across Cuyahoga County to advance Pay to Stay legislation. It is good for tenants, as it provides them with another tool in the toolbox when facing eviction. It is good for landlords, as it ensures their costs are covered. And it is good for our community, as it reduces instability and protects renters who may have received emergency rental assistance after their rent due date. With the federal eviction moratorium set to expire on March 31, we urge local governments to pursue avenues that promote the health and well-being of renters by advancing tenant protections that are commonplace throughout the country.
Margie Glick is the director of advocacy for Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry.
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Tenant protections like ‘Pay to Stay’ create stability during pandemic and beyond: Margie Glick - cleveland.com
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