I'm 17 and I'm tired of living under my dad's roof. I want to get a job and he won't let me unless I make honor roll and he won't let me get my temps. I'm also a junior and I'll be turning 18 in my senior year. Is there anything I could do until then? And what are my legal rights as a 17 year old in Ohio?

My wife and I are trying to move into our first home. Finally in a position to do so, after many years of saving, waiting, etc... We have been in the same apartment with a fantastic property management company. While they have been great over the years, keeping up with any maintenance needed, and always ready and willing to answer questions, we received a bit of disturbing news about a week ago.

I called the office to let them know that my wife and I were looking to move into a first home... mainly to inquire about how other tenants have worked with the agency regarding the lease termination in the past. One difficult thing about buying a home (especially short sales) is that it could take weeks/months to hear back from the bank. It is now May and I wanted to get a jump on this.

According to our lease, we have an automatic renewal every August 1st unless written notice with intentions to terminate are given 30 days prior...The lady on the phone would not budge, she very clearly stated that if we go over the deadline, we are on the hook for another year.

So, being the savvy individual I think myself to be... I googled for help.

haught-v-geissinger-51163890, (Ohio 2009) (I'd post as a link but the forum rules won't let me until I hit 10 posts)

This linked example (pretty much exactly my case -- but I have 0 legal knowledge) made its way all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court. In it, there are even references to an earlier case (in 2000) where a ruling was made against the very company in question in my situation.
I reviewed my lease and found no notary (plus my wife very distinctly remember not being in the presence of a 3rd party or notary when we signed), which is what these cases seem to come down to.

So my question is -even after having lost a case themselves- does my landlord have any leg to stand on, telling me that I will be on the hook for another year if I cross July 31st without written notice of terminating the lease?