Problems in Ohio! Please help

[jetohio]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

I am buying a house and we close next Friday.

We have been renting this house since Oct 1, 2000. My husband's company pays for rent and they have for 7 years on time.

On Aug 30, 2007 my mortgage broker said I need to get rent verification from landlord. So that is the day we told her we were trying to buy a house. She wanted to know if we wanted to buy this one....NO thanks. She wanted my broker's number to call him and find out what he needed. She ended up calling him and telling him all kinds of crap...like she told him "You do know they have bad credit" Of course, he's a broker and has all my information right there. He asked her how she knew that. He ended up hanging up the phone b/c she was so irate.

Fast forward to later that day...she came over. Never mentioned about the move. She just said the complete oppisote of what the broker said. haha....I don't guess she realized he already knows everything about my life with all our finincal statements he has.

Today is now Sept 20. I am betting I am gonna have a hard time breaking my lease with these people. I'm not sure of my rights....but me and hubby planned on paying for October's rent.
This is part of my lease I am wondering about:
This agreement was entered on 1 day of Oct blab blab....owners name and address.
The Owner will rent to the tenant beginning Oct 1, 2000 ending sept 20, 2001. Tenant promises to pay owner total rental of $7800.00 payable in monthly installments of $650

Bunch of other stuff then this: Lease automatically renews under same conditions if tenant or landlord has not notified either party in writing 30 days in advance of termination of former lease. A 1 year lease will always be in effect. No month to month rental agreement will apply at anytime.

Plus this was in the contract: If rents of said house has not been paid by the 7th of the month, the owner may take immediate possession and lock out the tenant there from and if owner desires, take possession of the belonging containd until delinquient rents have been paid.

Plus 3 other pages of nonsense.

If I am closing on the 28th, I won't have time to give a 30 days notice. Would they be able to keep my possessions even with paying October's rent? I am also responsible for all lawn care, mowing, shurbs, and other BS. It also says I am responsible for any acts of natural that destroy windows.

These are 2 older people. I am just wondering what chance I have of getting out of this without paying for a whole year.

Thanks

 

[moburkes]

You signed an illegal lease. Give 30 days notice today, and move. Don't expect to get your security deposit back, but you will prevail if the LL sues you in court.

 

[jetohio]

Thanks for the reply. Could you tell me why it is illegal so I will know.

I always thought the lease sounded a little odd. They have some pretty strange request in this lease to me. My sister in law read it and was worried that they could actually do something to us.

On one part of the lease it says that I pay all court cost and attorney fees....stating the rights under Ohio law.

It also says that as a matter of environmental protection, Tenat shall maintain the lawn and yard of the premises and keep the lawn cut, not to exceed 3 inches in legth. Shurbbery shall be trimmed and maintained. All flower beds shall be maintained and the dirt turned once a year. I will be considered in default of lease and have 5 days to fix the problem. If they have to come on the lawn to fix the flower beds I will be charged for it.

I will also be considered in default if I have boats, trailors, semi's, or recreational (4 wheerlers) on property.

I agree to move in condition and will pay special cleaning and if necessary, painting charges.

I am responsible for all glass, screen, and storm doors

I am also responsible for sewage backup and overflow of water.

 

[moburkes]

If rents of said house has not been paid by the 7th of the month, the owner may take immediate possession and lock out the tenant there from and if owner desires, take possession of the belonging containd until delinquient rents have been paid.

100% illegal.

 

[jetohio]

Thanks moburkes!

 

[CA LL]

Folks even if a lease has an obvious illegal clause..all they need is the standard clause that virtually every written agreement has that if any one clause in the agreement is found to be invalid/illegal, the REST of the agreement will remain in force in full and enforceable.

SO YOU CAN BE HELD TO THE TERMS OF THE FIXED TERM LEASE and based on YOUR state laws owe rent for the entire time the unit is vacant until re-rented OR the end of your current one year term. There is NO exception for buying a house.

 

[OHlandlord]

Give your 30 day written notice that you will be out by the end of October. Pay the rent for that month and you will have the entire month to clean, weed, or whatever else you need to do before you return your keys. You may be breaking your lease since it has an auto renew clause and won't get your security deposit back, but the LL must apply it to damages and/or rent owed until he re-rents it. He must send you an itemized statement saying what deductions he took from it within 30 days. In OH, most judges will only award a couple months of rent until the LL can re-rent the unit. They expect the LL to be able to re-rent it by then if he is making a reasonable effort.

The section about the lease ending 10 days early is so the LL can fix and clean the unit to have it ready for the next tenant on the first. Don't worry about it. If you pay for the whole month of October, you don't need to be out or return your keys until the end of the month, even if you are not living in the unit.

The clause about lock-outs is illegal and is only a scare tactic. He has to evict you if rent is not paid by delivering a 3 day notice, then filing with the court and waiting for the hearing and the set out. No one can lock you out. As CA LL said, they just throw out the illegal parts of a lease.

The clause about paying for their attorney fees is also illegal and only a scare tactic. OH law prohibits this clause from being enforced. The judge makes that decision, not the lease clause. If they evict someone, they can ask for these fees to be part of the judgement.

The lawn maintenance clause is legal here. They can dictate what yard work has to be done by you. Continue to mow and maintain the unit until the end of October.

When you are done with the unit, go through the unit and take photos inside and out before you return the keys. You need to document everything's condition, just in case.

 

[jetohio]

Thanks for the replies. Now I understand a little better.

I wasn't trying to get out of NOT paying them some rent, I just didn't want to be sued for 7800.

My LL found out we were trying to buy a house on Aug 30 and planned on moving. Would that be consider a 30 day notice? No, it wasn't in writting.

I have gotten along with my LL's for the last 7 years. No problems. They fix stuff (most of the time) and we take care of little stuff for them. My husband rebuilt their shed outside and it took over $1000 to put it in good order. Our LL bought over some tile and I completely redone the whole kitchen myself with the tile. I have took down her fugly wallpaper in 3 rooms and repainted a nice, netural color. We have replaced 2 toilet bowls. We fixed the leaky plumbing under sinks with new pipes.

There is also a brand new alarm system in this house that is completely wired room to room. ADT said to leave all units here when we leave. We even put in a real nice kitchen facuet.

Now I am scared those things will come back to bite us. I wouldn't be scared but for the fact she called our mortgage broker and tried to get it where we couldn't get our loan. That makes me realize she is pretty pissed about us leaving.

By the way, we just paid October's rent. So basically, we just renewed our lease for another year. I sign for the new house on the 28th and I plan on being out of here by October 1. (the new house is only 2 miles up the road)

 

[johnd]

Folks even if a lease has an obvious illegal clause..all they need is the standard clause that virtually every written agreement has that if any one clause in the agreement is found to be invalid/illegal, the REST of the agreement will remain in force in full and enforceable.

SO YOU CAN BE HELD TO THE TERMS OF THE FIXED TERM LEASE and based on YOUR state laws owe rent for the entire time the unit is vacant until re-rented OR the end of your current one year term. There is NO exception for buying a house.

Not at all true in WI, nor (I believe) in OH. Illegal lease clauses in WI cannot simply be severed. In fact, penalties are quite severe for illegal clauses...including all reasonable attorney fees.

 

[ecmst12]

Haven't you figured out that WI LL laws are VERY different from most states???

http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/

5321.14. Unconscionable agreement

(A)If the court as a matter of law finds a rental agreement, or any clause thereof, to have been unconscionable at the time it was made, it may refuse to enforce the rental agreement or it may enforce the remainder of the rental agreement without the unconscionable clause, or it may so limit the application of any unconscionable clause as to avoid any unconscionable result.

I did also see this:

5321.13 Rental agreement terms barred.
(C) No agreement to pay the landlord's or tenant's attorney's fees shall be recognized in any rental agreement for residential premises or in any other agreement between a landlord and tenant.

After living there for so long, they shouldn't be able to charge you for painting costs, since under "normal wear and tear" they would be expected to need to repaint the house after 7 years.

 

[johnd]

Haven't you figured out that WI LL laws are VERY different from most states???

http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/

Yes. Do you understand what the statute you quoted means?

If the Court rules a provision unconscionable, "It" may sever it at "It's" discretion. This statute in no way allows a LL to sever a clause (which is what the op was led to believe).

Why is plain language so easily misinterpreted by so many?

 

[ecmst12]

No of course not. The clause means that if a portion of the lease is illegal, then EITHER the entire lease could be deemed unenforceable, OR just the problem sections will be deemed unenforceable with the remainder of the agreement remaining intact. I would expect that it's not very common for the courts to void an entire lease because of ONE illegal section, if the rest is ok. The LL does NOT need to include any special phrasing in order for this to be true, but it's true nonetheless. I would only expect the courts to hold the entire lease void if there were MANY problems with the wording, not just one or 2 bad sections.

It means if the LL tries to take OP to court for an illegal provision in the lease, he will not win, but the entire lease will PROBABLY not be considered void. OP CAN still be held to the auto-renewal for a one year term.

 

[johnd]

In my experience, if a LL has illegal provisions in the lease, the court will either nullify the contract or sever the illegal provision(s) if it is to the leasee's advantage as a penalty to the LL for not following the law.

 

[johnd]

No of course not.

?

I would expect that it's not very common for the courts to void an entire lease because of ONE illegal section, if the rest is ok.

Perhaps not common...but it is well within the provence of the court to nullify a lease if there are illegalities in it.

The LL does NOT need to include any special phrasing in order for this to be true, but it's true nonetheless.

What's true nontheless?

I would only expect the courts to hold the entire lease void if there were MANY problems with the wording, not just one or 2 bad sections.

Well, that is simply not what the legislature has provided for in many states...one illegal proviso can nullify the entire lease in WI (as well as in some other states).

It means if the LL tries to take OP to court for an illegal provision in the lease, he will not win, but the entire lease will PROBABLY not be considered void. OP CAN still be held to the auto-renewal for a one year term.

You simply do not understand what you quoted. That is not how the statute reads. It reads:

"it may refuse to enforce the rental agreement" for ONE ILLEGAL ("unconscionable") clause.

 

[ecmst12]

The statute ALSO said that it MAY just void the one clause.