(a) It shall be unlawful for a landlord to terminate the lease agreement or periodic tenancy of any tenant without good cause or otherwise retaliate against any tenant because that tenant complained to the police or other village official or employee about nuisance or criminal activities on the landlord's premises or made calls for service to the police related to nuisance or criminal activities on the landlord's premises. It shall be unlawful for a landlord or any person acting as an agent for the landlord to intimidate or actively discourage a tenant and/or person associated with a tenant from calling the police to report nuisance activity associated with a property. It shall be presumed that any attempt to increase charges, reduce services, or to otherwise harass or retaliate against the tenant during the 12-month period following receipt of the complaint by the Chief of Police constitutes unlawful retaliation under this section.
(b) Such presumption shall be rebutted by the preponderance of evidence that the actions taken by the landlord were based upon good cause. GOOD CAUSE as used in this section means that a landlord must show good cause for his or her actions, other than one related to or caused by the operation of this section. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a tenant's lease agreement or periodic tenancy may be terminated for a failure to pay rent; committing nuisance activity as defined in § 684.01; committing waste upon the premises; violating the terms and conditions of the lease agreement or periodic tenancy; or as otherwise provided in R.C. Chapter 5321. A landlord's failure to renew a lease agreement or periodic tenancy upon expiration of such lease agreement or periodic tenancy shall not be deemed a violation of this section.
(Ord. 2023-35, passed 6-12-2023)