Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Ohio

My husband and I signed a lease to move into our new apartment March 1st. We have not paid our first month rent yet or obtained the keys. We are not from here and after signing learned of how bad the area is where we are moving. We have a two year old and do not want to move where it is unsafe. The terms of the agreement are from March 1st 2014 to March 1st 2015. We would like to break the lease, since we will be doing this prior to when the agreement starts would we be legally obligated to follow through with the lease. I know a security deposit will most likely not be returned but Id like to know if that is the most that would happen?


Asked on 2/23/14, 7:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Sauter Cloppert, Latanick, Sauter & Washburn

A lease agreement is a contract, and, because you signed the contract, you're obligated to either fulfill the terms of the contract or you'll be in breach, despite the fact that you haven't taken possession of the apartment yet. However, your landlord may be willing to work with you due to this unique situation, and therefore, you may be able to "get out" of the lease while sacrificing your security deposit. It depends on how willing the landlord is to work with you.

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Answered on 2/24/14, 6:31 am


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