Judges tweak new eviction rules after public comments pour in

Tweaks to the Akron Municipal Court’s 38 local rules “rarely get a peep” from the public, said Judge Jon Oldham, who presided over the court last year when new eviction rules were proposed.

This time, he can’t escape the commentary.

Between phone calls with stakeholders or attending community meetings to present the proposed rules, people “grab onto me” — at the bank, at church — to talk about crafting the proper balance between the rights of landlords and tenants locked in eviction hearings.

“People are paying attention to this,” he said.

Unfortunately, he added, media headlines and social media posts are giving the impression that the proposed rule changes, which bring the court into compliance with existing state law and allow some eviction records to be sealed, would somehow lower Akron’s eviction rate, which is the highest in Ohio according to researchers at Princeton University’s Eviction Lab.

“Everyone is under the impression that we’re doing something that we can’t do,” Oldham said of adjudicating evictions after the fact instead of being in a position to prevent them from happening. “The judges are not reducing the eviction filings by proposing these changes. That’s the job of the Eviction Task Force.”

While the task force builds the infrastructure to educate and intervene for tenants facing imminent eviction, judges are doing what they can to break the eviction cycle.

Originally set to close this Friday, public comment on the new rules has been extended 14 days. After closing Jan. 31, Oldham said the rules will be amended and voted on by the court’s judges.

The first change aligns Rule 29 with state law. Since 2006, state law has required landlords to register their properties with county auditors or fiscal offices.

The rule change enshrines the rental registry procedure for landlords filing evictions. In addition, Oldham anticipates an amendment requiring landlords in Akron to adhere to the city’s separate rental registry program.

As has been practice, landlords must continue to prove ownership when filing an eviction, though that basic legal standard would be codified with the Rule 29 update, which will also be amended to require landlords who do not own the rental property to provide “right of possession”.

The second proposed change adds a 39th rule to the court’s books, providing a pathway for tenants to seal eviction cases that might otherwise automatically disqualify them on future rental applications, even for cases they won or judges threw out of court.

Rule 39 would allow judges to seal a case on the spot if it’s dismissed before a judgment is entered or if the tenant wins. If the landlord prevails, then the tenant can apply to have the case sealed after three years with no other adverse eviction judgments — in any other jurisdiction.

Oldham said it was important to include jurisdictions beyond the communities his court serves — Akron, Bath, Fairlawn, Lakemore, Mogadore, Richfield and Springfield — to stop tenants from accumulating evictions in Barberton or Stow courts then bouncing back to Akron for a clean record every three years.

Oldham is also adopting a proposal by landlord John W. Franks, who the Beacon Journal interviewed in December regarding the rule changes. Before records are sealed, Franks asked that tenants be required to repay any missed rent, property damages or other costs landlords win in court.

“A judge should never seal a record unless everything has been taken care of and the underlying judgment or sentence has been taken care of,” said Oldham. Whatever judges vote on in February will “spell out very clearly” that “any judgment that’s been rendered in favor of a landlord” must be satisfied.

Some landlords criticized a public comment period that closed the day of voting as a sign that the input didn’t matter, that judges had made up their minds.

“The comments are important to us,” Oldham said, noting that voting will occur after the new deadline.

Comments must include a name, email address and mailing address and can be emailed to court@akronohio.gov, faxed to 330-375-2303 or mailed to Montrella S. Jackson, Esq., CCM, Court Administrator, Akron Municipal Court Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center, 217 S. High St., Suite 713, Akron, OH 44308.

Reach Beacon Journal reporter Doug Livingston at dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3792.