News

The Akron Municipal Court has worked diligently to address housing related issues in 2019 alongside community stakeholders. 

Earlier this year, the Akron Municipal Court created a partnership with the University of Akron School of Law, Community Legal Aid and Fair Housing Contact Service, Inc. to hold tenant education sessions in the courthouse.

Topics for the 2019 In-service Training for the Court’s Judges and Magistrates, which took place in May, included evictions. An Akron Municipal Court Magistrate presented at a free event in October sponsored by the Fair Housing Contract Service, Inc. entitled “Reframing the Housing Crisis: Evictions” and several Akron Municipal Court employees are members of the City of Akron’s Eviction Task Force. During the Eviction Task Force meetings, attendees discuss housing issues, overall goals and next steps while building worthwhile partnerships that will, over time, lower Akron’s eviction rate.

The Akron Municipal Court received grant dollars earlier this year from the Ohio State Bar Foundation to create a custom electronic information kiosk to be placed in the courthouse. The kiosk’s custom software has a goal to help civil self-represented litigants, specifically those on-site for an eviction hearing, gain useful information and equal access to justice.

Earlier this week, the Akron Municipal Court issued a Public Notice regarding the following two rules:

-Rule No. 29 Forcible Entry and Detainer – Complaint (Amended)
-Rule No. 39 Motion To Seal Eviction Record (New)

Complete information related to this Public Notice and details regarding the proposed rule changes can be found at: https://www.akronmunicipalcourt.org/news/public-notice-proposed-amendments-to-akron-municipal-court-local-rules-29-and-39-for-evictions/.

“Through our partnerships with agencies and the electronic information kiosk we are working to develop, I am confident we will address this issue to the best of our ability while increasing access to justice for all court users,” said Akron Municipal Court Administrative/Presiding Judge Jon Oldham.

Eviction hearings are held on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings in the Small Claims Division (Suite 715) of the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center. Second cause hearings, when necessary, are typically heard after a tenant leaves the rental property.

Additional resources for those involved with Landlord-Tenant cases can be found on the Akron Municipal Court website at: https://www.akronmunicipalcourt.org/case-types/landlord-tenants/.