Newark, OH Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensing office
- Office of Code Administration
- License term
- One year from the date of issuance
- License fee
- $50.00 minimum for up to five rooms, plus $5.00 per extra room
- Late or unlicensed fee
- Fees doubled if operating without or on an expired license
- Inspector
- Director of Code Administration or designee
- Hearing deadline
- Petition to Board of Zoning Appeals within fifteen days
- Penalty
- Minor misdemeanor, fine up to $100.00; repeat is fourth degree
Summary
In the City of Newark, Ohio, a rooming house, meaning a residential building offering sleeping accommodations for hire to three or more persons, needs a license from the Office of Code Administration. The license fee pays for inspections. Deficiencies are written up with a reinspection date, and conditions left uncorrected lead to suspension of the license.
(c) If, upon inspection, it is found that a rooming house does not meet the requirements of this chapter, the operator shall be informed, in writing, of the deficiencies, and a date shall be set for compliance and reinspection. If the reinspection reveals that the deficiencies have not been corrected, the license shall be denied and the fee shall not be returned. ... Whenever, upon inspection of any rooming house, the Inspector finds that conditions or practices exist which are in violation of any provision of this chapter or of any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, the Inspector shall give notice to the operator, in writing, of such rooming house that unless such conditions or practices are corrected within a reasonable period of time, which period shall be determined by the Inspector, the operator's rooming house license will be suspended. At the end of such period the Inspector shall reinspect such rooming house, and if he or she finds that such conditions or practices have not been corrected, he or she shall give notice to the operator, in writing, that the latter's license has been suspended.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 1446, the Rooming House Code, is the rental inspection program the Codified Ordinances print in full. Section 1446.03 defines a rooming house as a residential building, other than a hotel, in which sleeping accommodations are offered for hire for three or more persons, and defines the Inspector as the Director of Code Administration or a designee.
Section 1446.04 bars anyone from operating a rooming house without a valid license issued by the Office of Code Administration in the operator's name for that specific rooming house. Every license expires one year after its issue date unless sooner suspended or revoked. Section 1446.05 requires the license to be displayed in a conspicuous place, and it cannot be transferred. Section 1446.06 limits licenses to dwellings that conform to the Zoning Code.
Section 1446.07(a) sets the fee at a minimum of fifty dollars ($50.00) for up to five rental rooms plus five dollars ($5.00) per room above five, and states that the fee is charged to defray the expense of inspecting rooming houses. Under Section 1446.07(b) the fees double if the applicant is already operating without a license or with an expired one.
The inspection steps are in Sections 1446.07(c) and 1446.09. A deficiency finding goes to the operator in writing with a compliance and reinspection date. A failed reinspection means the license is denied and the fee is not returned, and a new application and a fee for each further inspection are required. For a licensed house, the Inspector gives written notice that the license will be suspended unless conditions are corrected within a period the Inspector sets, reinspects at the end of it, and then gives written notice of suspension.
Section 1446.08 gives a denied applicant a hearing before the Board of Zoning Appeals. Section 1446.10 gives the same hearing right after a suspension notice, with a petition due within fifteen days.
The Property Maintenance Code adopted in Section 1448.01 is enforced by the Director of Public Safety and the Property Maintenance Coordinator, but its text is attached to Ordinance 07-3 and is not printed in the Codified Ordinances.
Violations & Fines
Section 1446.99 makes a violation of the chapter a minor misdemeanor with a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00). A repeat offender is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, with a fine of not more than two hundred fifty dollars or up to thirty days in jail, or both. After a suspension notice, Section 1446.10 requires the operator to cease operation immediately; with no petition within fifteen days the license is deemed revoked.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a rooming house in Newark, Ohio?
How much does a Newark rooming house license cost?
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Sources & Official References
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