Ending a Month to Month
ORC 5321.17 — thirty days before the rental date, not thirty days from today
A periodic tenancy is one that renews by itself, and ending one takes notice rather than agreement. The section sets the notice for each side in the same sentence, which is the first thing worth noticing about it: the requirement is symmetrical.
Who handles this in Ohio: legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
| The tenancy | The notice | Who owes it |
|---|---|---|
| The tenancyMonth to month | The noticeAt least thirty days before the periodic rental date | Who owes itEither the landlord or the tenant |
| The tenancyWeek to week | The noticeAt least seven days before the termination date named in the notice | Who owes itEither the landlord or the tenant |
Thirty days before the periodic rental date is not thirty days from today. The month to month notice is measured against the rental date, the day the tenancy renews. Notice given on the tenth, for a rental date on the first, is not thirty days before the first of the following month. It reaches the month after that. Counting thirty days forward from the day the notice is written is the commonest way a person ends up owing another month's rent.
The week to week figure is measured differently again: seven days before the termination date specified in the notice. Both numbers are floors. Nothing prevents more notice, and more notice is what removes the argument about counting.
Terminating a periodic tenancy under this section is a different thing from an eviction. This is the ordinary end of a tenancy on notice. An action to recover possession is a court case with its own notice and its own procedure.
This page does not cover a fixed term lease, which ends on its own terms, or what a lease may validly say about notice beyond the section. It does not cover eviction, the three day notice that precedes one, termination for breach, or the separate provisions the section carries for a tenant who is a victim of domestic violence. Whether a particular notice was effective is a question about dates and delivery, and a licensed Ohio attorney or a legal aid organization is who answers it on a specific tenancy.
Sources for this section (1)
- ORC 5321.17 — Ending a periodic tenancy, and the notice each side owes
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.