Ohio common law gives abutting property owners no general duty to remove natural snow accumulation, though municipalities may impose statutory sidewalk-clearing duties locally.
Under longstanding Ohio Supreme Court precedent (Lopatkovich v. Tiffin and Brinkman v. Ross), property owners owe no common-law duty to remove natural accumulations of snow and ice from public sidewalks abutting their property. ORC 723.01 places primary responsibility for keeping public ways open and in repair on municipalities themselves. However, ORC 723.011 allows municipalities to enact ordinances requiring abutting owners to clear snow and to assess costs against the property if they fail. Liability for slip-and-fall is generally barred by the open-and-obvious doctrine when ice is naturally accumulated, unless an unnatural accumulation occurs.
Violating a local snow-clearing ordinance enacted under ORC 723.011 typically results in city assessments billed to the property owner; civil tort liability is limited by open-and-obvious doctrine.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Huber Heights, OH
Huber Heights regulates RV, trailer, and boat parking through Codified Ordinance Section 1193.02 (Off-Street Parking of Trailers, Recreational Vehicles, Boat...
Montgomery County, OH
Ohio addresses hoarding through its animal-cruelty and neglect statutes (ORC Chapter 959), enforced locally by the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center, ...
Montgomery County, OH
Montgomery County has no general wildlife-feeding ban, but Ohio Division of Wildlife rules govern deer baiting and feeding, and it is unlawful to feed deer o...
Montgomery County, OH
Backyard composting is allowed in Montgomery County OH and yard waste is banned from landfills statewide under ORC 3734. There is no countywide composting pe...
Montgomery County, OH
Montgomery County OH has no countywide artificial-turf rule. Whether synthetic grass is allowed in front yards, and any drainage or permit conditions, is set...
Montgomery County, OH
Montgomery County OH has no countywide native-plant mandate. Five Rivers MetroParks promotes native species and prohibits removing park plants. On private la...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Montgomery County.
See how Huber Heights's snow & sidewalk clearing rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.