Columbus's rental registry opens October 1, and it reaches leased condo units
Columbus's rental registry opens October 1, and it reaches leased condo units
2026-09-15 · Ohio · Compliance
Columbus City Council passed Ordinance 0923-2026 on April 23, 2026, creating a citywide Registry of Residential Rental Properties. The initial registration window opens on October 1, 2026 and closes December 31, 2026 — about two weeks from now.1
Section 2 of the ordinance sets the timetable in terms: “The Registry of Residential Rental Properties will be established starting with the 2027 calendar year with initial registration required beginning October 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026.”
Two companion measures passed the same day: Ordinance 1098-2026 creating the programme subfund, and Ordinance 1101-2026 appropriating $399,000 to build the registry into the city's existing property platform.
What must be registered
The definition of a registrable property is written around units, not buildings:
“'Residential Rental Property' means a single building or a Residential Rental Complex, or portions thereof containing one or more dwelling(s) or dwelling units that are leased, or otherwise rented, to tenants. Included in this definition are any common areas, exterior portions of the property, and areas with common building systems.”
The registration duty at § 4515.04(A) falls on “[t]he Owner or Local Operator of a Residential Rental Property,” annually, and the exemption list is short and closed: vacant properties already on the Vacant Building Registry, properties subject to the hotel/motel/short-term rental permit requirements of Chapter 598, dormitories, and facilities licensed under Chapter 4561.
There is no exemption for condominium units, for owner-occupied buildings, or for small owners. The only small-owner relief, at § 4515.05(B)(b), is narrower than it looks: “An Owner of less than ten total dwelling units will not be required to identify a Local Operator,” on a signed certification. That is relief from naming an operator. The registration obligation itself still applies.
The fee, per the ordinance's own background explanation, is “$15.00 per unit with a maximum of $1,500.00 per complex.” Failure to comply with a notice of violation draws a civil penalty of “two dollars ($2.00) per dwelling unit per day” under § 4515.995(A), collectible in the Environmental Division of the Franklin County Municipal Court.
Boards asked to produce lease counts and owner details should know what their own records rules require. See our Ohio records inspection page.
Where this lands on a condominium association
The registration obligations sit on individual unit owners, not on the association — but the inspections reach association property. In a 100-unit Columbus condominium with 22 leased units, there are 22 separate registration duties held by 22 separate owners. The association registers nothing.
Then read the definition again. A registered residential rental property includes “any common areas, exterior portions of the property, and areas with common building systems.” The preventative-education inspection under § 4515.07 and the conditional-status inspections under § 4515.09 are directed at common areas and critical building systems. That is association-controlled property, inspected on the strength of an individual owner's filing.
The practical outcome is a violation notice about a roof, a stair tower, a boiler or a facade, issued against a unit owner who has no authority to open it and no power to repair it. The owner will forward it to the board, and the clock on the notice will already be running. Our Ohio governing statute page covers how R.C. ch. 5311 allocates that maintenance responsibility between unit and common element.
The consent provision that reaches boards
Section 4515.13(B) provides that “[c]onsent for any inspection of a dwelling or dwelling unit required by this section may be provided by a tenant with a valid lease agreement for possession of the dwelling or dwelling unit in addition to the Owner or Local Operator.”
A tenant can let an inspector in. The association is not in that sentence.
The local operator rule, and whether it catches your manager
“'Local Operator' means an individual: (1) who has charge, care, or control of a building, or part thereof, in which dwellings or dwelling units are let, and (2) whose primary residence is located within 100 miles of the City of Columbus. A property manager with a valid Ohio Real Estate License, who otherwise meets this definition, may be considered a Local Operator, regardless of primary residence location.”
The ordinance also defines “Owner” to include a person with charge, care or control of the premises as agent or trustee. Whether a community association management company is swept into either definition by virtue of managing the building the units sit in is a question worth putting to counsel before October, not after a notice arrives.
Four things to do before October 1
Tell your leasing owners the window exists. Most will not know. A single notice from the board in September is cheap; twenty-two owners discovering a $2-per-unit-per-day penalty in January is not.
Know your own lease count. Associations with a leasing cap already track this. Associations without one frequently do not know how many units are rented, which is also the number that drives FHA eligibility and lender project review.
Decide who answers an inspection request aimed at common elements. Name a single point of contact now and tell the owners who it is, so that a notice served on an owner reaches the board in days rather than weeks.
Verify the codified placement before you cite it. The enacting title says Chapter 4515, but at least one code mirror currently shows Title 45, Chapter 4515 as “Unsafe Buildings.” One of the two is stale. Cite the ordinance number when writing to owners, not the chapter.
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