If I get a job offer requiring me to move, is there any law allowing me out of my lease?

No. In Ohio, there is no protection for a tenant who relocates because of employment concerns. There may be a clause in your lease allowing you to terminate if your job relocates. This is because some landlords turn to local employers as a good source of tenants. These employers may require a termination upon relocation clause to be in a landlord's lease if they wish to advertise for tenants through the corporation.

But without such a clause, you are stuck with the terms of the lease. This means that you will have to pay for all of your obligations under the lease until it ends or the landlord gets somebody else in the apartment to mitigate damages. You may try to negotiate with the landlord. If there are six months left on the lease, you may offer the landlord three month's rent as a buyout of the remainder of the lease. The landlord may accept this surrender of the apartment thinking that he can get a new tenant on his own within that time and come out ahead. If you choose to do something like this, you will need to get it in writing. The following wording would likely work well:

[landlord's name], the landlord of the property known as [address], agrees to accept the surrender of the apartment and waives all lease terms with [tenant's name], the tenant, in exchange for the payment by the tenant to the landlord of [amount]. The security deposit of the tenant shall be returned (minus any damages beyond reasonable wear and tear) to [address] by [date].

The above text can be handwritten, but each side should walk away with a signed copy. The dates of the signatures should be put along side the signatures.

You might want to discuss the situation with the employer wishing to transfer you, as many employers are sympathetic to this type of situation and will provide financial assistance to lessen these problems for the transitioning employee.

For more information on getting out of a lease, consult our lease kit.

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