Bill > SB83

This bill makes comprehensive changes to Ohio law related to evictions, housing defense, property transfers, and building code enforcement. The bill creates a new Legal Services Housing Defense Fund to provide civil legal services for low-income Ohioans facing housing challenges, with funds distributed through the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation. For eviction proceedings, the bill introduces several key changes: it requires summonses to include more detailed information about tenant rights, mandates that court records be initially suppressed to protect tenant privacy, and establishes a new optional mediation process that can delay eviction proceedings by up to fifty days. The bill also modifies real property transfer requirements by mandating that non-individual property grantees identify a specific natural person who owns or controls the property. Additionally, the legislation reforms building code enforcement by establishing procedures for third-party building inspections when government building departments cannot complete reviews within thirty days and requiring the Board of Building Standards to make certification processes for building inspectors more accessible. The bill aims to provide more protections for tenants, streamline property transfer processes, and improve the efficiency of building code enforcement, with a particular focus on making legal and administrative procedures more transparent and user-friendly.

Justice

https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/sb83