Local ordinances, Ohio legislation and court decisions that affect rental property owners, tracked as they happen. 10 editions , most recently August 21, 2026.
Most of what changes at city and county level never makes the news. The first time many owners hear about a new requirement is when they are already out of compliance with it.
Starting October 1, 2026, the cost of professional photos for a new listing shifts from RL Property Management’s books to the property owner’s, a change worth explaining rather than burying in a cost schedule update. TL;DR Starting October 1, 2026, RL Property Management passes the cost of professio
Read the article →Powell just closed the book on an eighteen-month zoning rewrite, Whitehall is weighing two ordinances that could touch construction and tenant activity, and a Franklin zoning board meets tonight. Here is what Central Ohio landlords need to track this week. TL;DR Powell City Council approved an updat
Read the article →Twelve municipal updates crossed our desk this week. Three are worth your full attention: Franklin is weighing short-term rental rules that could set a template for neighboring suburbs, Grove City just passed a wet basement ordinance amendment with immediate compliance implications, and Worthington
Read the article →Five municipalities with active policy movement, thirteen more in the quick-hits section, and one statewide ballot fight that just shifted timelines. Here is what Central Ohio landlords need to track this week. TL;DR Powell is taking up a comprehensive zoning code rewrite at its June 10 Council meet
Read the article →Whitehall City Council just put a voter-approved property tax levy into effect on an emergency basis, skipping the usual 30-day wait. That is the headline for landlords this week, and it lands in the same window that every Franklin County property owner is about to get new proposed values in the mai
Read the article →This is the weekly Central Ohio landlord policy update. Five featured items get the full treatment below, followed by a quick-hits section covering the rest of the municipal activity worth tracking this week. The cost of staying ahead of a new ordinance is almost always lower than the cost of reacti
Read the article →This is the weekly Central Ohio landlord policy update. Five featured items get the full treatment below, followed by a quick-hits section covering the rest of the municipal activity worth tracking this week. Most of this activity happens in rooms landlords do not have time to sit in, and it is wort
Read the article →This was a heavy week for landlords with property anywhere from Plain City out to Lancaster. Five suburbs moved consequential housing-related items, and another eight took action worth knowing about. The headline: Plain City is preparing to shift from complaint-driven property maintenance to active
Read the article →This is the weekly Central Ohio landlord policy update. Five featured items get the full treatment below, followed by a quick-hits section covering the rest of the municipal activity worth tracking this week. Most of this activity happens in rooms landlords do not have time to sit in, and it is wort
Read the article →If you manage rental properties across multiple Central Ohio municipalities, you already know that no single city council sets the rules for your entire portfolio. Franklin has its own fee schedule. Hilliard has its own zoning process. Gahanna, Whitehall, Westerville… each one operates on its own le
Read the article →A running series tracking what changes for rental property owners in Columbus and Central Ohio: local ordinances, Ohio legislation, and court decisions. 10 editions are published so far, the most recent on August 21, 2026.
Because most of what changes at the city and county level never makes the news, and the first time many owners hear about a new requirement is when they are out of compliance with it. Source of income protection in Columbus is the clearest recent example.
No. It is a summary of what changed, with links to the source. Anything that affects your property should go to your own counsel before you act on it.
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Last verified September 2026. Reviewed by Peter Lohmann, Principal Broker and CEO.
Compliance is part of what the management fee covers. We watch the ordinances so you do not have to.
