IN THE _______________MUNICIPAL COURT

_______________ COUNTY, OHIO

______________________ Case No.

Plaintiff
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vs. Judge ________________________[6]
:
______________________
Defendant : ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE
DEFENSES

____________________________________________________________________________

Defendant(s) is low-income and unable to afford an attorney, and has not been able to get any
attorney to represent Defendant(s). Defendant(s) is not licensed to practice law, and is not
knowledgeable in the practice of law for purposes of presenting a case in court.

ANSWER

1. Unless Defendant(s) specifically admits the allegations made by Plaintiff in the Complaint,
Defendant(s) denies the allegations in the Complaint.

2. Defendant(s) denies owing Plaintiff either all or part of the amount of money that Plaintiff has
alleged is owed.

3. Defendant(s)’s reasons for denying the amount of money that Plaintiff claims is owed include,
among other reasons, the following:

a. [7] Defendant(s) already paid Plaintiff either all or part of the money that Plaintiff is
now claiming is due and owing. For the amount(s) that Plaintiff now claims is due and
owing, Defendant(s) already paid the amount of $___________.
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 b. [8] There were things that Plaintiff should have done in order either to avoid and/or to
prevent Defendant(s) from owing as much as Plaintiff now claims is due and owing.

c. [9] There were certain problems with the premises. Plaintiff either: (a) already knew
about the problems and did not repair them; or (b) did not repair the problems when
Defendant(s) requested that Plaintiff (or Plaintiff’s manager) repair them. For this reason, the
premises were not worth the amount of rent that Defendant(s) was paying. Because of the
problems, the rent should have been reduced by the amount of $__________ each month for
the following number of months:_____ . Defendant(s) requests a credit for this amount.

d. [10] There were certain problems with the premises. Plaintiff either: (a) already
knew about the problems and did not repair them; or (b) did not repair the problems when
Defendant(s) requested that Plaintiff (or Plaintiff’s manager) repair them. For this reason,
Defendant(s) had to pay money to repair these problems. The amount of money that
Defendant(s) paid to repair the problems was approximately $ ___________. Defendant(s)
requests a credit for this amount.

e. [11] Plaintiff and Defendant(s) had an agreement that either all or a part of the monthly
rent would be considered paid if Defendant(s) did certain work for Plaintiff. Defendant(s) did
the work, but Plaintiff did not credit Defendant’s rent in the amount agreed. For the work
done, Plaintiff still owes Defendant(s) a credit in the amount of $ ________________.

f. [12] Plaintiff seeks late charges but should not have charged late charges because:

i. Plaintiff has never charged late charges before;

ii. Plaintiff agreed that I could pay late;

iii. I did not pay late; and/or

iv. Other: ____________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________.

g. [13] The amount that Plaintiff charged for late charges is excessive. A late charge
should compensate Plaintiff for Plaintiff’s financial loss when rent is paid late (e.g., loss of
interest money). Plaintiff’s late charges exceed any financial loss to Plaintiff due to a late rent
payment.

h. [14] Plaintiff seeks money for damage to the premises. Defendant(s) is not responsible
for either all or part of the damage to the premises since any damage to the premises was
either already there when Defendant(s) moved in, or the damage was normal wear and tear.
Also, Defendant(s), Defendant(s)’s household members, and Defendant’s guests did not
intentionally or negligently cause any damage to the premises.
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 i. [15] Defendant(s) paid a security deposit in the amount of $____________. Plaintiff
has not credited Defendant(s) for that amount (plus an additional 5% interest if Ohio Revised
Code 5321.16(C) also applies to Defendant(s)’s situation).

j. [16] Defendant(s) paid a security deposit in the amount of $_________. Defendant(s)

gave Plaintiff and/or Plaintiff’s manager a mailing address for return of the security deposit.
Plaintiff has not returned either all or a part of the security deposit within 30 days after
Defendant(s) vacated the premises. From this security deposit, Plaintiff has wrongfully
withheld the amount of $______________. Ohio Revised Code 5321.16 (B) states that
Defendant(s) is entitled to twice the amount of the security deposit wrongfully withheld.
Defendant(s) requests a credit of twice the amount stated above.

k. [17]As a result of my disability and/or the disability of a household member,

Defendant(s) asked Plaintiff to make a reasonable accommodation concerning the time to pay
the rent or other charges, and Plaintiff refused to do so. This led to late charges and/or other
charges and expenses for which Defendant(s) should not be responsible. Defendant(s)
requests a credit for the late charges and/or the other charges and expenses in the amount of:
$_____________ .

l. [18] The additional reasons that Defendant(s) does not owe money to Plaintiff, or
reasons why Plaintiff owes Defendant(s) money, include the following:
__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

4. [19] Defendant has been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Defendant:

a. Lost employment and/or had reduced income;

b. Was infected with COVID-19;

c. Had a household member infected with COVID-19.

DEMAND FOR JUDGMENT

For the above reasons, Defendant(s) requests that: (1) Plaintiff’s Complaint be dismissed, at
Plaintiff’s cost; (2) Judgment in the amount of $ ____________[20] for any credits to which
Defendant(s) is entitled to be applied against any amount owed Plaintiff; and (3) any other relief
which is fair, just and equitable and otherwise authorized by law.

[21] _______________________________ ________________________________

Defendant #1 Signature Defendant #2 Signature (if applicable)

[22] _________________________________
_________________________________
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 _________________________________
_________________________________

_________________________________
_________________________________
Defendant #1 Name, Address & Phone Defendant #2 Name, Address & Phone
PROOF OF SERVICE

On the date of _________________[23] (month/day/year), a copy of this Answer was mailed

by U.S. regular mail, postage prepaid, or was emailed to the Plaintiff at the address or email given by
the Plaintiff in the Complaint. If the Plaintiff has an attorney, it was not mailed/emailed to the

Plaintiff, but was mailed or emailed instead to the Plaintiff’s attorney at the address or email
provided by the attorney.

[24]_______________________________
Defendant #1 Signature

This document was prepared by

Community Legal Aid and
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made available to pro se litigants.

Instructions for a Successful and Complete Answer

Step 1: Fill out the form above. Each blank line has a small number beside it. The directions
below match the numbers in the document.

1. Court Name - Print the name of the court. The court is printed on the Complaint
you received.

2. County - Print the county that the court is located in. The county is printed on the
Complaint you received.

3. Plaintiff - The Plaintiff is the person or business suing you. The Plaintiff’s name is
printed on the Complaint.

4. Defendant - You are the Defendant. Print your name.

5. Case Number - Print the case number. The case number is printed on the
Complaint.

6. Judge - Print the name of the judge assigned to your case. The assigned judge is
located on your Complaint.

7. Box 7 - Put an X in the box if it applies to you. If you mark the box, write the
amount you have paid.

8. Box 8 - Put an X in the box if it applies to you.

9. Box 9 - Put an X in the box if it applies to you. If you mark the box, write how
much you think your rent should be reduced by and how many months the reduction
should apply. The number of months should be the number of months your landlord
has been aware of the problems in your rental unit.

10. Box 10 - Put an X in the box if it applies to you. If it does, write the amount of
money you spent to fix the problems. You should bring receipts to court for these
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 expenses if you still have them.

11. Box 11 - Put an X in the box if it applies to you. If it does, write the amount of
money the Plaintiff owes you. If you and your landlord wrote down your agreement,
you should bring that to court if you still have it.

12. Box 12 - Put an X in any of the boxes that apply to you. You may also write in an
answer if there is another reason not listed. If you have proof of permission to pay
late or dated receipts, bring them with you to court.

13. Box 13 - Put an X in the box if it applies to you.

14. Box 14 - Put an X in the box if it applies to you.

15. Box 15 - Put an X in the box if it applies to you. If you marked this box, write the
Pro Se Answer
amount Eviction
you paid on the security deposit. If you have a receipt for the security deposit,
bring it to court with you.

16. Box 16 - Put an X in the box if it applies to you. In the first blank, write the
amount you paid for the security deposit. In the second blank, write the amount the
landlord should return to you. If the landlord has already returned some of your
deposit or you agree with an amount listed for damage, subtract that amount from the
amount you originally paid.

17. Box 17 - Put an X in the box if it applies to you. If it does, write the amount of late
charges you should not be responsible for.

18. Box 18 - Put an X in the box if there are additional reasons you do not owe the
Plaintiff money. If it applies to you, write those reasons.

19. Box 19 - Put an X in the box if it applies to you. If it does, check the following
boxes that apply to you.

20. Box 20 - Add up the money you have written down that the Plaintiff owes you,
write the total in this space.

21. Box 21 - Print your name. If there is another Defendant, they should print their
name on the Defendant #2 lines.
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 22. Box 22 - Write your full mailing address (include your street address, city, state,
and zip code); if there is a second Defendant, they should write their address on the
Defendant #2 lines.

23. Box 23 - Write the month, day, and year that you completed this form.

24. Sign your name on the line.

Step 2: Make Copies - Make THREE (3) copies of the completed Answer. You will file
the original at court. You will mail a copy to the Plaintiff’s attorney (or the Plaintiff if
they do not have an attorney). You will keep a copy for your records.
Step 3: File at Court - Take all copies and the original Answer to the courthouse. When
you get there, go to the Clerk of Court to file your Answer. The Clerk of Court should
time and date stamp your Answer and file it with the court. The original Answer will
go to the Judge. You need to mail a copy to the Plaintiff’s attorney. You should keep
one copy for your records.
Step 4: Proof of Service - Complete the Proof of Service. Mail one copy with the attached Proof
of Service to the Plaintiff.

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 Tips for Self Representation

Community Legal Aid is a non-profit law firm serving eight counties in Central and Northeast Ohio.
We do not have enough staff to provide a lawyer for everyone who seeks our help. Since we are
unable to represent you, we are providing you with this document so you can represent yourself.
These materials and additional materials are available on our website at
www.communitylegalaid.org.

1. This type of lawsuit is usually about two questions. First, the landlord is asking the court
to evict you from the property. Second, the landlord can also ask for damages (money) for
any damage to the property, unpaid rent, or other financial harm.

2. An Answer (this form) is ONLY required if you are being sued for money (if the Plaintiff
claims you owe money for past/future rent or other damages to the property). It is NOT
required if you are ONLY being sued for eviction.

3. You have 28 days to correctly file your Answer to the Complaint. If you do not do that, the
court will not allow you to present any evidence against the landlord or may agree with the
landlord’s requests and order you to pay whatever the landlord asks for.

4. If you want to sue the Plaintiff, this is called a Counterclaim. You MUST file the ANSWER
and COUNTERCLAIM at the same time. We have not included a Counterclaim form because
they are very specific and may require an additional filing fee. If you want to file a
Counterclaim, you should talk to an attorney or seek other legal assistance.

5. Generally, there is no filing fee for an Answer. If there is a fee and you can not pay, you
should ask the court to allow you to submit a POVERTY AFFIDAVIT. A Poverty Affidavit is
a written statement that you do not have enough money to pay legal fees, like a filing fee.

7. When you mail your copy of the Answer and Proof of Service to the Plaintiff, you can use
regular U.S. Mail. Some court’s allow it to be sent by email. If you know the Plaintiff’s
attorney’s email (or the Plaintiff if they have no attorney) you can send it by the U.S. Mail
AND email.

9. You must show how and when you sent this copy to the Plaintiff. You can ask U.S. mail for a
receipt on the day you send it out or keep the email you sent to the Plaintiff.
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