The Cincinnati Tenant Protection Ordinance in CMC Chapter 1011, enacted in 2018, prohibits landlord harassment of tenants, including threats, lockouts, utility shutoffs, and retaliatory conduct intended to force a tenant out without legal process.
CMC Chapter 1011 codifies a Cincinnati-specific tenant protection framework. It bans self-help eviction, prohibits intentional disruption of essential services such as water, heat, or electricity, and forbids retaliatory rent increases or non-renewals after a tenant exercises a protected right. The ordinance complements Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5321, which sets baseline landlord duties statewide, and it gives Cincinnati tenants additional administrative remedies through the city. Tenants who experience harassment can file complaints with the city, and landlords face fines, restoration orders, and potential civil liability for proven violations.
Lockouts, utility shutoffs, threats, and retaliatory rent or notice actions designed to force out a tenant without a court order can trigger civil fines, damages, and orders restoring possession or services.
Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati's Source-of-Income Discrimination Ordinance, added to CMC Chapter 914 in 2020, makes it unlawful for landlords to refuse to rent to tenants who pa...
Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati does not have a just cause eviction ordinance. Ohio landlord-tenant law under ORC §5321 allows landlords to terminate tenancies for various reason...
See how Cincinnati's tenant anti-harassment rules stack up against other locations.
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