Elyria, OH Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

Chapter 1398 of the Elyria Codified Ordinances, enacted by Ordinance 2014-82 on August 4, 2014, created a rental registry. Section 1398.01 bars anyone from leasing or allowing occupancy of residential rental property for which no registration statement has been filed with the Building Department. The statement goes on a Building Department form and must give the owner's name, address and phone number, plus an officer of a corporate owner; a designated local property manager or contact agent if the owner lives or does business outside a 20-mile radius from the municipal corporation limits; the street address and Lorain County Permanent Parcel Number; the number of units; the maximum number of occupants permitted in each dwelling unit; and the person authorized to order repairs when that person is not the owner or manager.

Section 1398.02 began the registry on January 1, 2015 and requires registration every two years on or before the first day of January. The two-year fee is $25.00 for one to four units, $50.00 for 5-49 units, and $100.00 for 50 and above. Each additional unit added to a registration costs a ten dollar ($10.00) interim registration fee, which is the only charge for that unit until its renewal date.

Section 1398.03 requires every new owner, including a land installment contract vendee, to furnish the Section 1398.01 information to the Building Department before taking possession. Except for the interim fee, no registration fee is charged to the new owner that year if the previous owner paid all fees and complied with the chapter and any City notices about health, zoning, fire or safety code violations. Hotels and motels, housing owned by a religious institution and occupied by a member of its community or congregation, and housing units in a licensed hospital, hospice, community care facility, intermediate care facility or nursing home are exempt. Forms are on the City's website, and the City uses the data to tell owners about police, fire and building code violations and to contact owners who have not registered.