My wife, then my fiancé, rented an apartment in a very large complex in Cincinnati Ohio while attending college from January to December 2000. The apartment was located over a bar in the complex and kept her awake for many nights, which they said wouldn't bother her when she signed the lease. This combined with her desire to move to Columbus with me and attend Ohio State University caused her to write the property manager a notice of early termination in August of 2000. The property manager told her if she did break the lease she would owe two months rent and lose her deposit. The property manager explained the other alternative was for her to find a sub-lessor. After about a two-month period she found a girl to sublet it for October through December. At that time the property manager did not indicate any procedure for her to follow to do that. My wife made a sublease agreement from a computer lawyer program; the sub-lessor looked it over and signed the agreement.
She talked to office to inform them of the sublease. They informed her that the property manager had already found someone to sublease the apartment. This was the first time my wife had heard about it, or that they were even looking for someone for the apartment. This obviously indicates that the property manager was fully aware of my wife's intentions. The manager's assistant said that she could either use the sub-lessor that they found or use the sub-lessor that my wife had found and they could find another apartment for the other person since the person they found had never actually seen this apartment. They also said that the only consequence with using the sub-lessor that they found was that my wife would not receive her security deposit and would have to break the agreement that she had already made with her sub-lessor. They explained that if her sub-lessor took over the rest of the lease, my wife would be responsible for any Month that was not paid and/or pay for any damage that might occur; however, if the sub-lessor paid for the remaining months and left the place clean, she would receive her security deposit. My wife told the manager's assistant that she did not want to break the agreement she had already made. No one from their office ever told her to have the sub-lessor to go to the office to fill out a sublease agreement with the them. She would have done that if I knew that was the procedure.
Since February of 2001, the owner of the properties has been attempting to get us to pay him $985 on top of the security deposit they never returned to my wife for two months rent they didn't get while the apartment was vacant after she left. They clearly new of my wife's intentions of not returning to the apartment and knew the sub-lessor was only there for the remainder of the lease. I told him we didn't have the money to pay him and believed he was in the wrong and had no intentions of paying him. But our fear of what resources he has and lack of knowledge the law left us to do nothing. I did offer to do some web design for him if he'd drop the matter. He agreed to that but would never put it in writing. Every three months or so he calls and asks us if we're ready to pay him. My guess is that he must know his case on us is shaky or he'd have already sent us to collections or to court. I'd like to know what my recourse is to get rid of this matter for good. What can we do? How much time does he have to come after us?
She talked to office to inform them of the sublease. They informed her that the property manager had already found someone to sublease the apartment. This was the first time my wife had heard about it, or that they were even looking for someone for the apartment. This obviously indicates that the property manager was fully aware of my wife's intentions. The manager's assistant said that she could either use the sub-lessor that they found or use the sub-lessor that my wife had found and they could find another apartment for the other person since the person they found had never actually seen this apartment. They also said that the only consequence with using the sub-lessor that they found was that my wife would not receive her security deposit and would have to break the agreement that she had already made with her sub-lessor. They explained that if her sub-lessor took over the rest of the lease, my wife would be responsible for any Month that was not paid and/or pay for any damage that might occur; however, if the sub-lessor paid for the remaining months and left the place clean, she would receive her security deposit. My wife told the manager's assistant that she did not want to break the agreement she had already made. No one from their office ever told her to have the sub-lessor to go to the office to fill out a sublease agreement with the them. She would have done that if I knew that was the procedure.
Since February of 2001, the owner of the properties has been attempting to get us to pay him $985 on top of the security deposit they never returned to my wife for two months rent they didn't get while the apartment was vacant after she left. They clearly new of my wife's intentions of not returning to the apartment and knew the sub-lessor was only there for the remainder of the lease. I told him we didn't have the money to pay him and believed he was in the wrong and had no intentions of paying him. But our fear of what resources he has and lack of knowledge the law left us to do nothing. I did offer to do some web design for him if he'd drop the matter. He agreed to that but would never put it in writing. Every three months or so he calls and asks us if we're ready to pay him. My guess is that he must know his case on us is shaky or he'd have already sent us to collections or to court. I'd like to know what my recourse is to get rid of this matter for good. What can we do? How much time does he have to come after us?