contract-law rental-property landlord ohio
Tenant rights when unhappy with new owner of property - Ohio
<p>In late July 2015, Individual A entered into a lease with Managing Company X. This was a one year lease, scheduled to end in July 2016. In April 2016, a representative of X approached A about signing a new lease to go in to effect for when the current one was up. The representative and A agreed on a 6 month lease that would end in January.</p>

<p>Between April and June, Managing Company X sold the property which contained over 150 units, to Managing Company Y.</p>

<p>Since then, the individual has been unhappy with the services provided by the new landlord entity. Hot water was gone from their individual unit for 7 days, and there is a mold problem that has been known for 10 days, with no move made by anyone from Y to fix the issue.</p>

<p>Tenant A has given written and digital notice that they are counting to the thirty day cap for landlords to make repairs, as Ohio law states, before escalating the issue. </p>

<p>Assuming that the mold issue is resolved before the thirty day cap, <strong>does tenant A have any other legal reason to terminate the lease since they are unhappy with the new landlord, and their current lease was signed under the idea that Managing Company X would still be the owner of the property?</strong></p>

<p>Clarification as questioned by Nate: There is no mention of ownership changes in the lease, and (if relevant) the lease specifies leasing "from Managing Company X, the property ___".</p>

<p>Subquestion: There are laws that protect the tenant from having their lease terminated by the new landlord, but is there similar logic or law that restricts the tenant from breaking the lease?</p>

<p>The terms of the lease are subject to Ohio's law. The only option for a tenant terminating a rental agreement is <a href="http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/5321" rel="nofollow">ORC 5321.07(B)(3)</a>, in response to failure to fulfill obligations under 5321.04. Those obligations relate to safety and health, keeping things in good working order, not abusing access and privacy rights. There is no obligation to make the tenant happy.</p>

<p>As a general rule, when you sell real estate, rental agreements transfer from seller to buyer. If they did not, tenants could be evicted as trespassers or rents could be raised massively within the period of the lease. The tenant's obligation remains the same, and it has simply been transferred to another person.</p>
