Elyria, OH Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Section 1305.01 adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, 2018 edition, as the Property Maintenance Code of the City, and Section 1305.03 amends it for Elyria. The Code Official is the Chief Building Official or any duly authorized representative. Authorized representatives are all inspectors employed by the Building Department, all sanitarians employed by the Health Department, all certified Fire Safety Inspectors employed by the Division of Fire, and the Assistant Safety-Service Director; the Health Commissioner and the Fire Marshal also hold enforcement authority. Where the Property Maintenance Code conflicts with another City ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation, the stricter standard controls.

The landlord duties carry numbers. An owner or operator who rents, leases or lets a dwelling unit, rooming unit, dormitory or guestroom must supply heat from September 1 to May 31 sufficient to maintain at least 68°F (20°C) in all habitable rooms, bathrooms, and toilet rooms. Where the average monthly temperature is above 30°F (-1°C), a minimum of 65°F (18°C) applies. Cooking appliances cannot be used to meet the heating requirement. Every kitchen sink, lavatory, laundry facility, bathtub and shower must be supplied with hot or tempered and cold running water (Section 505.1 as amended). Dwelling units must be served by a three-wire, 120/240 volt, single-phase electrical service rated at not less than 60 amperes (Section 604.2). Insect screens are required from April 1 to October 31 (Section 304.14), and Section 302.4 inserts 12 inches as the weed figure.

Safety items are also local. Smoke alarms are required in Groups R-2, R-3, R-4 and in dwellings not regulated in Group R occupancies, outside each separate sleeping area, in each room used for sleeping, and in each story of a dwelling unit including basements and cellars, but not crawl spaces and uninhabitable attics (Section 704.2). Means of egress doors must open from the egress side without keys, special knowledge or effort (Section 702.3). When necessary for public safety, the Code Official temporarily closes unsafe structures and, with the Safety-Service Director's approval, adjacent sidewalks, streets and public ways (Section 109.3).