Often the lease will provide the answer to this question, but in Ohio, absent a provision in the lease, R.C 5301.11 provides the default rule:
The lessee of a building which, without fault or neglect on his part, is destroyed or so injured as to be unfit for occupancy, is not liable to pay rent to the lessor or owner thereof, after such destruction or injury, unless otherwise expressly provided by written agreement or covenant. The lessee thereupon must surrender possession of such premises.
The first sentence of the statute provides that if the fire was not the fault of the lessee (tenant), the tenant is freed of her obligation to pay rent. However, the second sentence provides one condition, in order to be freed of her obligation to pay rent, the tenant must surrender possession of the premises.
Case law in Ohio on this point goes back to 1890, “[b]ut, to secure the benefit of the statute, the tenant must surrender or yield up all that remains of the premises embraced in the lease, without any purpose or intention of resuming possession thereof. The legislature has absolved the tenant from an onerous obligation, but the burden is removed only upon his compliance with the statutory condition.” Gay v. Davey, 47 Ohio St. 396, 402, 25 N.E. 425 (1890).
This makes perfect sense. The tenant is given the power to decide how to proceed, either maintain the lease while the necessary repairs are made and returning to the home, or unilaterally decide to terminate the lease – with the requirement that the tenant fully surrender possession of the premises (i.e. remove her belongings and with the understanding that she will not have a right to return after the repairs are made).
But the law does not allow the tenant to have it both ways. She cannot for example, stop paying rent but leave her personal property at the home, expecting to “restart” the lease once the repairs are made.
As noted above, R.C. 5311.01 is the default rule for both residential and commercial lease in Ohio, but the lease may provide a different provision. As always, read the lease.
Finney Law Firm can assist in drafting and enforcing your residential and commercial leases. Click here to contact us online or call (513) 943-6655 to speak with attorney Christopher P. Finney.
