Signed Lease For “quiet” Office—turns Out It’s Next To Screaming Kids All Day. Landlord Wants 3-month Buyout. What Can I Do?

I’m a massage therapist renting a commercial office space in Oregon under a 3-year lease with a 3-month buyout clause.

The space was described to me as “quiet”- where I even have emails from the owner stating it is, and I was told things like “you may hear the upstairs neighbor from time to time.” I was also told the first couple offices were used for speech therapy, but there was no indication that this involved working with children throughout the day or the level of noise that comes with that.

In reality, the space has constant noise:

- children screaming daily (sometimes for extended periods during sessions)

- frequent interruptions from shared traffic (bathroom every ~5–15 minutes)

- consistent overhead noise (this one I understand and it was a clear issue presented)

This makes it extremely difficult to run a massage practice, which requires a quiet environment…

I’ve tried to make it work (sound machines, adjusting schedule, etc.) but it’s still disruptive and not functional for my business. I’ve also been told by one of the neighboring therapists that the previous tenant had similar complaints about noise. Ive tried sound proofing and trying to negotiate with him where he says, “…I told you it was quiet, not silent…”, which is arguable and I’ve even had parents of the speech therapy kids say it’s definitely not even a quiet office to me in passing.

Now my landlord is pointing to the lease and saying I owe the full 3-month buyout if I leave, and I understand that’s what I signed, but it’s also disregarding the section where I need it suitable for the business on the lease, a massage business. He is also claiming that he told me about the presence of children and the nature of the noise ahead of time, which is not accurate. To me, it’s very obvious that if I had known that there would be constant child-related noise, screaming, toys with bells, or even kids trying to get into my room, I would not have signed the lease. I love kids and don’t blame them or the speech therapists at all, and I can tell they’re frustrated that there at all.

I feel taken advantage of and stupid for being in this position. I don’t want to fight him legally or anything, I just want to negotiate a better exit plan. And if I had known all these things, I wouldn’t be in this position in the first place. I’m not one to complain, I’m very sensitive to this whole and take pride in my business. I’m tired of crying every day about this, and don’t look forward to a job I love and am very passionate about. The stress it’s putting on my mental health is not sustainable.

Do I have any legal ground here to avoid or reduce the buyout? Or am I basically stuck with the lease regardless of the conditions?

Location: Oregon