Landlords must now register with county auditor

Here's something The Editor hadn't heard about until she read Friday's Toledo Blade.

The Blade reports that a new law requires the owners of rental properties to register their contact information with their respective county auditors.

According to the article, the law went into effect a month ago, although neither Lucas nor Fulton county auditors are yet prepared with the proper forms for registration.

From the article:

It isn't always easy for police, fire, and housing code enforcement officials to quickly find the owner of a rental unit in a crisis.

That is because property records sometimes list only the name of an obscure corporate owner without solid contact information.

But a new Ohio law aims to correct the problem.

It requires owners of rental housing - even one living unit - to register with the auditor of the county in which the dwelling is located. They must furnish the name of a company official along with an address and telephone number for the owner.

They are required to list and provide information about each property owned in the county. And out-of-state owners must identify a contact person who lives in Ohio.

The complete article, written by Gary T. Pakulski, is linked above.