OH SB83

Creates the Legal Services Housing Defense Fund in the state treasury to provide civil legal services for low-income Ohioans (households at or below 300% of federal poverty line) facing eviction, administered by the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation with 4.5% reserved for administrative costs

Requires eviction court records to be suppressed and inaccessible to the public until a landlord wins possession; records remain permanently suppressed if the case is dismissed or the tenant wins, and parties can agree to keep records private even after landlord victory

Allows either party in an eviction case to demand nonbinding mediation, which triggers an automatic 50-day stay and must be concluded within that period before proceeding to trial

Requires non-natural person property buyers (LLCs, corporations, trusts) to identify a natural person owner or designate an agent with authority to make binding decisions about the property at the time of conveyance

Mandates building departments complete plan reviews and inspections within 30 days; if they fail to meet this deadline, property owners or contractors may hire certified third-party private inspectors, and the Board of Building Standards must maintain a public list of certified inspectors