Unacceptable Unit in Ohio
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Ohio
We looked at a property near our college campus and signed a lease in January of 2008. The landlord swore that all issues with the house would be taken care of before we moved in - some were, and some other issues arose that should have been clearly noticeable to the landlord. His excuse is that the boys that rented the unit before us "trashed it," punched holes in the walls and ceiling and knocked soot everywhere. However, I don't see why we should have to deal with these big issues, and I'm wondering if I have any legal rights here. We have called him a dozen times today and he has not answered, or responded to our messages. How much do I have to deal with/how long do I have to wait before I can legally break the lease and still get my rent/deposit back?
Below is my list of current issues (both big and small) after our first day of living here:
1. There is an intolerable amount of dirt and/or soot lining the floors of this house and it is damaging our personal property. We have cleaned the floor seven times today and the soot is not coming up!
2. The stove is utterly useless. It is hooked up to the gas and working on that aspect, but there are no plugs anywhere near the stove/oven to make the electric pilot light work.
3. We were explicitly told by the man who showed us the apartment in January that the unit would include air conditioners. Specifically, the air conditioners that were sitting in the back entry way when we looked at the unit. None were present.
4. The left side window in the front most bedroom has a broken frame. In the right side window, there is a hive of wasps, to which I am allergic.
5. There is no light switch cover to the basement light, and you can see it spark when you flip the switch. This is unreasonably dangerous for tenants with small children.
6. The shower drain stopper is stuck and will not hold any water in the bathtub. My four year old and nine month old are unable to bathe as they are too small to shower.
7. There is a giant trash heap in our front yard beside the steps. We have no means to move this pile of sand, dirt, beer bottles, and whatever else may lie inside - nor should we have to clean this up as it is beyond what is reasonably acceptable. There is also a large piece of drywall on the front porch.
8. In the bottom right hand corner of the back door there is a 1 ½ diameter hole.
9. The key to the garage door (regular door, not electronic door) does not work.
10. The mail box slot in the door has no covering, which not only allows our heating and cooling to escape, but will inevitably allow bugs in as well.