Legislative Victories
Rent Control by Local Governments Prohibited
On in 2022, a group of Columbus residents filed a proposed initiative that would create a new city Department
of Fair Housing that would be tasked with licensing landlords and running a residential rent control program.
An amendment was drafted using RC 5321.19, the existing landlord-tenant preemption statute, to make it clear
that rent control and rent stabilization are preempted under current law and that protects existing city
programs to incentivize affordable housing development.
Mandatory Rental Registration:
The City of Columbus has proposed requiring all rental units to register with the City and pay a fee of $25-50 per unit and undergo inspection prior to re-renting the unit.
Retaliatory Evictions:
Sub Metering:
On in 2022, a group of Columbus residents filed a proposed initiative that would create a new city Department
of Fair Housing that would be tasked with licensing landlords and running a residential rent control program.
An amendment was drafted using RC 5321.19, the existing landlord-tenant preemption statute, to make it clear
that rent control and rent stabilization are preempted under current law and that protects existing city
programs to incentivize affordable housing development.
Mandatory Rental Registration:
The City of Columbus has proposed requiring all rental units to register with the City and pay a fee of $25-50 per unit and undergo inspection prior to re-renting the unit.
- The fee and time involved would have been an enormous cost to rental property owners and inconvenienced potential renters.
- CAA was able to prevent this legislation from being introduced.
- CAA members own about 150,000 apartments. A $50 per unit fee would have cost the industry $7.5 million dollars a year.
Retaliatory Evictions:
- The City of Columbus proposed changing the retaliatory eviction ordinance that would allow more renters to claim an eviction was retaliatory.
- The proposed ordinance increased penalties and would have prevented an owner from evicting a tenant for any reason for 6 months after a finding that an owner filed a retaliatory eviction.
- CAA worked with City Council and the City Attorney to re-draft the ordinance so it would not conflict with state law and was fair to both the resident and the owner.
Sub Metering:
- The Ohio General Assembly introduced several bills to regulate sub metering of utilities.
- One version could have prevented sub metering, another would have classified owners that sub meter utilities and subjected owners to costly regulatory requirements.
- One version could have prevented sub metering, another would have classified owners that sub meter utilities and subjected owners to costly regulatory requirements.
- The Ohio Apartment Association and other collaborators were successful in keeping these bills from becoming law.
