• Ohio documents its apartment laws in the Ohio Revised Code, the body of laws created and set forth by the state. Under chapter 5321, titled "Landlords and Tenants," the state of Ohio stipulates rules that both landlords and tenants must follow in regards to the operation of apartments and landlord-tenant agreements. These laws cover issues such as apartment cleanliness and both tenants' and landlords' responsibilities.
  
  

Apartment Premises

• Apartment landlords and tenants share responsibility when it comes to laws concerning the upkeep of the apartment premises.The Ohio Revised Code requires the landlord to keep the apartments in a safe, sanitary and habitable condition by making all repairs and doing whatever is necessary. This includes following building, health and safety codes. It also involves keeping building essentials in good working order, such as the electrical, heating units and appliances and equipment that were supplied to the tenant. On the other hand, the tenant is required to maintain general cleanliness, disposing of trash in the proper places and keeping the apartment's plumbing fixtures as clean as possible. The tenant must also use appliances, electrical and plumbing fixtures appropriately.
  
  

Tenant Responsibilities

• A tenant has a few major responsibilities to his rental unit and/or apartment community. The Ohio Revised Code states that tenants should refrain from damaging the apartment premises; this includes both his rental unit and any common areas that exist. Tenants have a duty not to disturb neighbors. Also, tenants' guests in the apartment have these same responsibilities as stipulated by Ohio law.
  
  

Landlord Duties

• Apartment landlords must provide certain services for tenants. For example, landlords have the duty to provide running water and "reasonable" amounts of hot water and heat at all times. Ohio law doesn't stipulate how the word "reasonable" is to be interpreted. This part of the law doesn't apply to rental units in which the heat and hot water are under the exclusive control of the tenant, such as when tenants receive water supplies from public utilities. Under Ohio law, landlords who have four or more rental units within the same building must supply trash cans and arrange for garbage pickup.
  
  

Landlord Retaliation

• Ohio law prohibits landlords from taking action against tenants in some cases. Tenants have a right to complain to appropriate government agencies concerning conditions about which the landlord has become complacent, such as making sure the apartment complies with building, health and safety codes. If the tenant decides to complain to either a government agency or the landlord himself, Ohio law prohibits landlords from threatening eviction, withholding services or increasing the amount of rent due. The same prohibitions apply if tenants join together in an attempt to collectively bargain or negotiate any terms and conditions of the rental agreement.
  
  

Right of Access

• Ohio law requires that landlords give tenants twenty-four hours notice before entering rental units. The law leaves exceptions, however; landlords do not have to give the required notice if an emergency situation exists or if a twenty-four hour notice is otherwise impossible. A tenant cannot unreasonably withhold consent for the landlord to enter the rental unit for the purpose of inspecting the apartment, making needed repairs or delivering mail and packages that are too large for the tenant's mailbox.