Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Ohio

As a general rule, landlords have no duty to protect their tenants from the criminal acts of third persons. Thomas v. Hart Realty, Inc. (1984), 17 Ohio App. 3d 83, 86, 477 N.E.2d 668; Sciascia v. Riverpark Apts. (1981), 3 Ohio App. 3d 164, 166, 444 N.E.2d 40; Johnson v. Monroe Realty Co., 1995 Ohio App. LEXIS 2138 (May 25, 1995), Cuyahoga App. No. 67964, unreported. So if your apartment or car gets broken into three times every month, unfortunately for the tenant, this will not serve as a basis for getting out of the lease.

However, if the landlord put the criminals where they are (by renting to them) and you can show the court that those same persons are causing the problems, you can argue that the landlord's failure to evict these persons (after you have complained about them -- hopefully in writing) has interrupted your quiet enjoyment of the premises.

If you can't mount a solid defense based on the criminal activity you wrote of, you should also know that you may have other affirmative defenses in the action. For instance, the landlord is under a duty to mitigate his damages by renting out your apartment after you left to another tenant, or at least making reasonable efforts to do so. If you lived in a multi unit apartment complex where all of the units are roughly the same, as new tenants come in, the rent one of those new tenants pays should be credited to your obligation first. You can make what is called a "discovery request" under Civil Rule 34 to get all of the new leases signed since you moved out. These will show the amounts that should have been credited toward your rent (unless there were other apartment units that had someone move out before you and the landlord was under a duty to mitigate those damages first).

You might want to call your local bar association and ask for a referral to an attorney who regularly practices in the landlord tenant area. Ask how much an hour of his time would cost in order to review your documents and show you how to file an Answer and get some discovery requests sent out to the other side.

If you make the Plaintiff's attorney understand that you are going to fight this and that you know what you are doing, that attorney may not want the headache and might prefer to settle on terms that you can accept.

Lastly, if you lose and get a large judgment against you, you might want to consult with a bankruptcy lawyer since the judgment for unpaid rent would likely be dischargeable in bankruptcy.