OREIA Legislative Report, August 2016
| By:
Fellow GDREIA Members
OREIA Legislative Report, August 2016
The Ohio House and Senate are on Summer break and not expected back for substantial business until after the November election. That season is often referred to as the Lame Duck Session. During that period, activity on the pending bills and new introductions will be at a pace that can be challenging to even the most seasoned of observers and legislators. All bills to be discussed must be finished by the end of the legislative session on December 31 or they expire. Legislators retiring elected office are particularly interested in pushing their bills to be passed. Other legislators will use a process known as a Christmas Tree bill to introduce (or hang) amendments to popular existing bills hoping to increase the odds of passage. That technique makes for a lightning-fast pace that sometimes makes changes by the hour.
West Carrollton in Montgomery County is pursuing an ordinance that would require interior inspections of all residential rental properties. It was my privilege to join several members of our Greater Dayton REIA in speaking against the proposal in the initial public hearing and in many calls and contacts with city officials.The law would require a $30 per year fee along with a separate Landlord Registration database. We were happy to be joined by our friends at the Greater Dayton Apartment Association in explaining the negative effect and privacy concerns of our residents and investors. The next public hearing before West Carrollton City Council is August 23 at 6:30 pm.The City of Toledo is pushing hard to put an ordinance in place that would require lead paint inspections on all 1-4 unit rental properties. OREIA's Dan Acton has made many phone calls to city officials and had a couple media interviews. Toledo REIA is taking the lead and has attended multiple meetings with officials and other groups.The initial required lead based lead test is $500 - PER UNIT!) Of course there is also a "conditional" license and associated yearly fee for the landlords impacted. Toledo stated they will offer grants for owners with positive tests, but some quick math indicated that it would require over $900 MILLION to mitigate only the 1-4 family properties. No governmental authority has an extra one billion dollars in the bank account. The next obvious question: if lead rises to the level of danger they say, why are the pre-1979 5+ family not included? Toledo's arbitrary approach is puzzling at best.
Another oddity, government owned and subsidized properties are exempted. It should be noted that several Toledo officials have been punished for the poor oversight of a previous and the existing lead abatement program. The federal government has already transferred the existing grant program from the City of Toledo to a regional entity due to shenanigans. Toledo is expected to vote on the ordinance Tuesday, August 16 at 6:30 pm.