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

Youngstown Codified Ordinances Section 546.11(c) requires any person, corporation, business entity or owner seeking to rent or let a rental unit to first obtain a valid rental license for that unit, exempting only owners of public housing or units already subject to annual federal inspections. Section 546.11(d) sets the application steps: complete a Rental License Application Form and pay a nonrefundable fee of $40.00 for a single rental unit, or $40.00 for the first unit plus $25.00 for each additional unit on properties with multiple units.

Filing the application and fee triggers a provisional rental license under Section 546.11(e), valid for up to one year unless revoked or replaced, which permits occupancy while the unit awaits its inspection. Section 546.11(g) makes it unlawful to rent or let a unit without first obtaining a valid rental or provisional rental license, and treats occupancy by someone other than the titled owner, combined with the owner recording a different home address with the Mahoning County Auditor, as prima facie evidence the property is a rental subject to this licensing scheme.

Section 546.11(h) imposes a penalty of $100.00 for each week an unlicensed rental unit continues to be rented or let, in addition to the criminal penalties under Section 546.98. This licensing structure sits alongside the separate Vacant Property Registry in Section 546.13, which requires a $100.00 annual registration fee for vacant residential structures and $250.00 for vacant commercial or industrial structures, a distinct obligation that applies only once a unit becomes vacant rather than rented.