Tenant Is Liable for Assignee's Unpaid Rent

A tenant assigned its lease to a restaurant with the owner's consent. After renewing the lease twice, the restaurant eventually filed for bankruptcy and stopped paying rent. So the owner sued the tenant for the rent due.

An Ohio appeals court ruled that the tenant was liable for the restaurant's unpaid rent. The court said that a lease assignment relieves the tenant of its interest in the lease, but not of certain obligations, such as the obligation to pay rent. The court noted that both the owner's consent to the assignment and the lease said the tenant would remain obligated under the terms of the lease, notwithstanding any assignment [Manlaw Investment Co. v. Mariott Corp.].