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Good Cause Eviction

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Under current tenant-landlords laws, once a lease expires, landlords may end a rental tenancy for any reason at all. Because of this, many landlords-- especially those who rent to households with low incomes-- offer only month-to-month leases or allow longer-term leases to expire without offering an option to renew. As gentrification occurs and landlords seek more profit, many families are kicked out of homes with short notice, through no fault or control of their own, and too often left homeless without other options.

 

Good Cause Eviction laws help to protect against this practice. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless has proposed a Good Cause Eviction ordinance in our city that would permit a landlord to terminate a residential tenancy (or refuse a lease renewal) only for one of the following reasons:

  • Tenant fails to pay rent

  • Tenant materially violates the rental agreement or legal obligations regarding the residence

  • The residence will be occupied by the landlord or a family member

  • To perform repairs necessary to make the rental residence safe and habitable and the performance of the work will make the residence temporarily uninhabitable while the work is being done

  • To comply with city orders to vacate the property

A lease provision that waives a tenant’ rights under the ordinance would be void and unenforceable.

 

Until the Good Cause Eviction ordinance is passed, this initiative also calls for a moratorium on the city’s use of property tax abatement, tax increment financing, or any other city financial incentive or pass-through funding on properties from which tenants were required to move without good cause (as outlined above) within the past 24 months.

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Residents and community groups have long advocated for renter protection like this, without broad support from City Hall. With increasing attention on Cincinnati’s abysmal eviction rate, City Council has recently moved forward with much smaller legislative gains in this area, but it is not enough to create a significant impact.

Status

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Find out more about the Coalition’s work to resist displacement here.

Learn More

Follow the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition on social media.

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  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Get Involved

Reach out to the staff at the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition (contact listed below) to find out how to support their work on Good Cause Eviction and tenant organizing.

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