Landlord / Ex / Eviction
landlord tenant attorney Ohio Aug 2, 2026
Location: Ohio. There’s a lot to unpack, so I’ll make a short version, then add some details. So my girlfriend has been separated from her husband for about 5 years. He moved out, lived somewhere on his own. Before they were married, she purchased her home (family home), while they were married the house was refinanced. His name was then added to the loan. About a year and a half ago, my girlfriend moved in with me with her kids. Her (ex) husband approached us and asked to rent the house. At the time it made sense, the kids could keep a familiar place to go to, their stuff wouldn’t even have to be moved. So we drew up a lease agreement, set a rate for rent, asked him to put the utilities in his name, and all is done. Went good for about 6 months, except he never transferred utilities, so we paid them and he reimbursed us. Around December payments stopped coming. He then got in trouble for something, had a week in jail, etc. We kept asking him for payments, kept getting more excuses and promises of paying at a later date. Around March (still hadn’t received a payment) all communication from him stopped, he hasn’t even spoken to his children. We also found out that while they were together he took out a business loan (he owns a business) but defaulted on it, my gf had co-signed on it at the time, so naturally they came after her. It is now August, he is still living in the house with his girlfriend, we have been covering the mortgage, I have been cover all of his children’s expenses (which I happily do because I can afford it and they are great kids), still no communication from him. He has trashed the house, there is garbage all over the driveway and yard, there is damage to the house visible from the street and there are multiple people living there (he was the only person listed on the lease). I got fed up and turned the utilities off, some girl reinstated them the next day. We have called, texted, left notices. He refuses to move out. We have hired lawyers to negotiate the business loan default, the only option she has is to sell the house and use the equity to pay the loan off. But he will not get out of the house. Yesterday we taped a 3 day notice to the door so we can file an eviction. Our lawyers said we cannot, but we have a written and signed agreement on the terms for him to be in the home, which he has not followed at all. He is over $10k in back rent, utilities and the late fees as described in the agreement. Not to mention the damages. When we file the eviction, what could we expect as outcome? Will they handle this like a normal eviction, or throw this out because they are technically still married? There’s a strong chance he will not even show up to court.
