Cleveland is enforcing the Certificate of Disclosure on every sale or transfer of real property. Ordinance #1039.203, enacted 02/05/2024. The fee is $60.00 per structure on the lot, and the certificate must be processed by the City before the property transfers and before any funds are disbursed.
Three people sign it at the closing table
The seller, the title or escrow agent, and the buyer. That last signature is the one sellers overlook.
What the form actually asks
- Part C – who the property manager / Local Agent in Charge is, with their Ohio tax ID and contact information.
- Part E, items 2 and 3 – is there a current Certificate of Rental Registration on file with Building & Housing, and what is the Rental Registration ID number.
- Part E, item 7 – is there a current Lead Safe Certificate on file with Building & Housing.
- Part G – the buyer signs that they received the violation and condemnation history, and that they understand the obligation to register the property.
Why a buyer walks
If the deal closes without the Rental Registration, the Lead Safe Certificate and the Local Agent in Charge in place, the buyer has signed Part G acknowledging the registration obligations are now theirs – which means the buyer absorbs the fines. Violations run not less than $50.00 and not more than $500.00 for a first offense, and $100.00 to $1,000.00 or up to six months for a second or subsequent offense. Each day is a separate offense.
Buyers’ attorneys are catching this. What follows is a price re-trade, an escrow holdback, or a buyer who walks away.
See it for yourself
Here is the City’s form with the sections that matter marked up:
Open the marked-up Certificate of Disclosure (PDF)
None of it is hard to fix. None of it is fast either.
If you are listing a Cleveland rental in the next 90 days, get ahead of it now. PbFree Ohio handles all three:
- Lead Safe Certificate – Cleveland’s largest LSC provider, 9,000+ units certified
- Rental Registration
- Local Agent in Charge – CLELocalAgent.com
Send us the address and we will tell you exactly where it stands. No charge.
Zak Burkons
PbFree Ohio
216-452-0881
burkons@pbfreeohio.com