An Ohio point-of-sale inspection can cite what the association owns
An Ohio point-of-sale inspection can cite what the association owns
2026-09-15 · Ohio · Compliance
Ohio's inner-ring suburbs require something most of the country does not: a municipal inspection before a home changes hands. In a condominium, the violations that inspection produces frequently belong to the association, while the certificate and the escrow attach to the individual unit owner.1
Shaker Heights is the clearest published example, and it prices condominiums separately. From the city's Building and Housing Department point-of-sale materials:
“An owner of any residential real estate must obtain a Certificate of Inspection or Certificate of Compliance prior to entering into any agreement to sell or transfer an interest in their property. This requirement does not apply to vacant lots.”
Note the trigger: before entering into the agreement, not before closing. The fee schedule is “$150 for a Condominium unit; $200 for a Single-family dwelling; $300 for a Two-family dwelling; $200 for 1st Apartment unit, $50 for each additional unit,” and a certificate “is valid for the purpose of transfer for 24 months from the original inspection date.”
The escrow is the enforcement mechanism
Uncured violations do not stop the sale. They move money:
“If all violations are not corrected prior to transfer of title, the buyer shall establish an escrow account with the City and funds, in an amount not less than $100.00 and equal to 150% of the estimated cost of repairs, shall be deposited therein to pay for the cost to correct all remaining violations.”
The check is due “[w]ithin three (3) days after transfer of title,” the estimate must come from “a contractor registered with the City,” and “[t]he Seller must correct violations if property fails to transfer within 90 days after the Certificate is issued.”
Which Ohio municipalities do this
A regional compilation maintained by the Akron Cleveland Association of REALTORS, revised April 18, 2025, records point-of-sale requirements in: Bedford Heights (exterior only), Brook Park (exterior only), Cleveland Heights (interior and exterior), Cuyahoga Heights (interior and exterior), Euclid (“exterior only unless interior is requested by property owner”), Garfield Heights (“exterior only. Interior is opt-in”), Hunting Valley, Lakewood, Mayfield Heights, Middleburg Heights (“for homes with septic tanks”), Moreland Hills, Newburgh Heights, North Randall, Orange Village (“interior for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. No exterior”), Shaker Heights, University Heights, Warrensville Heights, Northfield Village and Twinsburg.
Bay Village, Beachwood, Bedford and Westlake are recorded as having none. The compilation carries its own caution — “This is meant to be a helpful resource only. Contact the municipalities with questions and for the most recent information.”
Most cited items are building elements the association maintains. Our Ohio condo safety inspections page covers who is responsible for what.
Three problems that reach a condominium board
The seller cannot cure what the association owns. In an interior-and-exterior city, the inspector writes up roof condition, siding, gutters, common walkways, exterior doors and stair rails. Under a typical Ohio declaration every one of those is a common element the association maintains. The certificate names the unit owner. The escrow holds the buyer's money at 150 percent of an estimate. And the only party who can actually do the work is a board that was never served with anything. Our Ohio estoppel and resale page covers the association's side of the transfer.
The trigger is earlier than boards plan for. Shaker Heights requires the certificate before the purchase agreement is signed, which means the inspection has to be ordered before the unit is under contract. Boards accustomed to fielding resale-document requests after a deal is struck will get access requests and questions weeks earlier, from owners who are still deciding whether to list.
A single deferred repair can block several closings. Because a certificate is valid for 24 months, a violation written against a common element can be cited against successive sales in the same building until the association fixes it. One postponed roof section becomes a standing encumbrance on every seller in the building — and the owners whose sales are held up will, correctly, regard it as the board's doing.
What to put in place
Ask your municipality for the common-element violation history. In a point-of-sale city the building already has a file. A board that reads it learns what the next three sellers will be told, before they are told it.
Budget the exterior items the inspectors actually write. In practice these cluster: gutters and downspouts, deteriorated wood trim, handrails, walkway trip hazards, garage door condition and exterior paint. They are small, cheap and visible, and they are precisely what deferred maintenance defers.
Write a policy for escrow letters. Sellers and their agents will ask the board to confirm in writing that a cited item is scheduled for repair, so the escrow can be released or reduced. That is a reasonable request and a real commitment. Decide who may sign one and on what evidence, before an agent asks for it during a closing week.
The variation is the trap
Ohio has no statewide point-of-sale requirement, and the municipalities that impose one do not do it the same way. Some inspect only the exterior; Orange Village inspects the interior solely for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors; Middleburg Heights triggers only on septic. Lakewood offers an escrow alternative that most cities do not — after a Certificate of Code Compliance inspection “the buyer has the option to assume any or all violations by meeting with an assigned inspector and signing an acknowledgement form. No money is required for escrow” — and it prices condominiums separately for housing licensing at “$45.00 per unit” for non-owner-occupied units.
A board managing buildings in more than one municipality is managing more than one regime. There is no Ohio answer to this question; there is only a city answer.
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