Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Ohio

I signed a lease for an apartment when my husband and I split up. To make a very long story short him and I talked about getting back together and I asked my landlord if I would be able to get out of the lease if him and I got back together...he emailed me (which I still have) saying he would let me out of the lease for $1000.00. In the meantime our one year old daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor and hydrocephalus...I ended up having to quit my job to care for her as she was in ICU for a very long time and then in and out of the hospital...she ended up having 6 brain surgeries. I informed my landlord of all of this and that resulted in me having to move out. How would I pay rent with no job. Any way after I moved out I heard nothing from him....now I just received a letter saying he is going to take me to court for the balance of the lease. I am wondering if the email I have with him stating he will release the lease for $1000.00 will hold up. Please help we have lots of medical bills as you can imagine and can not really afford this now that we are down to one income for a family of five. Thank you in advance for any advice.


Asked on 4/02/13, 5:39 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Eric Willison Eric Eastman Willison

In Ohio, if the landlord offered a surrender of the lease agreement for $1000 and you accepted that offer and paid the money, then that would be the end of it. But it sounds like you didn't pay the money and didn't give the landlord an answer for quite some time. As such, a court would likely consider this to be a rejection of the landlords offer.

There may still be some defenses to the lease agreement though, and the landlord is under a duty to mitigate his damages (meaning that he must make reasonable efforts to re rent the apartment). You can find out more about your rights as a tenant at www.ohiolandlordtenant.com.

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Answered on 4/04/13, 4:55 am


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