Barndominiums in Ohio

Outside city limits: It depends on where the land is. If a certified county, township or municipal residential building department covers the property, you submit plans to it and get approval before starting (it has 30 days to respond), and it inspects the work. Approval lapses if work does not start within 12 months or stops for more than 6 months. If no certified residential department covers the property, the owner is not required to submit residential plans. Separate approvals still apply for the septic system (local health district) and for zoning (county or township).

Ohio has a statewide Residential Code of Ohio for one-, two- and three-family homes, adopted by the state Board of Building Standards. It is enforced locally only where a county, township or city building department has been certified by the Board to enforce the residential code; where there is none, the state superintendent of industrial compliance is the named enforcer and homeowners are not required to submit residential plans. In practice, whether a rural, unincorporated-township home gets a building permit and inspections depends on whether the county or township runs a certified residential building department. Local governments cannot change the residential code, but they may add rules on subjects it does not cover if the Board finds no conflict. The code applies to a dwelling even on farmland; the exemption for farm buildings covers buildings used for agriculture.

• The state building code covers any residential building, defined as a one-, two- or three-family dwelling and its incidental accessory structures. Buildings incident to the agricultural use of the land are exempt as long as they are not used for retail trade (a building counts as non-retail if at least half its product-sales income comes from products grown or raised on farms the seller owns or operates). source
• Plans must be approved by the certified municipal, township or county building department with jurisdiction before construction. Approval expires if work does not begin within 12 months or is suspended over 6 months. Departments must act within 30 days. Residential plans need no architect or engineer seal. If no certified residential building department has jurisdiction, the owner is not required to make the submission. Violations carry a fine of up to $500. source
• Residential rules are uniform in any area with a building department certified to enforce the state residential code. Local codes generally cannot differ from it. County, township and municipal departments are certified by the Board for new construction only, or for new construction plus repair and alteration, and certified staff need an exam and 30 hours of continuing education every 3 years. source
• The state superintendent of industrial compliance enforces building construction rules; local building officials share that role only where their department is certified by the Board of Building Standards. source
• County commissioners, township trustees and municipal councils may adopt additional residential regulations only if they do not conflict with the state residential code. The Board reviews conflict claims within 60 days. source
• Certified departments collect a state share of 1% of residential plan-review and inspection fees. Certified county, municipal and township departments are treated as certified for one- to three-family homes built from industrialized (factory-built) units. source
• The Residential Code of Ohio administrative rule (Administration, Chapter 4101:8-1) has a current version effective July 1, 2019. source

The Ohio Department of Health sets statewide rules for household sewage treatment systems, and the local board of health (county or city health district) issues permits and inspects. No system may be installed, altered or operated without a board of health permit. Before an installation permit, a site review is required, including a soil evaluation by a qualified evaluator (such as a certified soil scientist or the district's registered sanitarian) and a system design; an approved site review stays valid for 5 years if conditions do not change. Installers, service providers and septage haulers must be registered with the local health district. For new lots the health district reviews each lot's soils and requires room for both a primary system and a replacement area. Health districts may adopt stricter rules with state approval, and fees are set by each district.

• Local boards of health approve or disapprove installing, operating and altering sewage systems not connected to a sanitary sewer, issue the permits, and inspect within 12 months of installation. A board may adopt rules stricter than the state's after documenting the economic impact, giving the state 90 days' notice and winning the director's approval. source
• A system may not be installed, altered or operated without an approved board of health permit. Minimum setbacks: 10 feet from property lines, buildings, roads and driveways, easements and intermittent streams; the soil absorption area 50 feet from lakes, rivers, wetlands and perennial streams; and every component 50 feet from water supply sources and vertical geothermal loops. source
• Soil evaluations must be done by an independent certified soil scientist or classifier, an associate working under one, an equivalent registered soil professional, or the health district's registered sanitarian. The evaluator visits the site, documents soil using borings or excavations up to 60 inches deep, and records limiting conditions with a scaled site drawing. source
• Installers, service providers and septage haulers must register annually with the local board of health, with proof of training, $500,000 general liability insurance and a surety bond. source

Ohio's residential energy code is the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code with Ohio amendments, effective July 1, 2019 and mandatory statewide. Compliance can be shown with the free REScheck tool.

• Residential: 2018 IECC with state amendments, effective 07/01/2019, mandatory statewide. source

Ohio's design values for snow load, wind speed, frost depth and seismic category are set in the Residential Code of Ohio and applied through the local building department; ask the local building department or your designer for the values that apply to your parcel.

Property tax

Ohio's Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) program taxes qualifying farmland on its farming value instead of market value. Land qualifies if it is at least 10 acres devoted exclusively to agriculture for the three prior years, or under 10 acres with average yearly gross farm income of at least $2,500. If converted out of agricultural use, the owner owes a recoupment charge equal to the tax savings on the converted land for the three preceding tax years, which becomes a lien on that land; the county auditor splits a parcel into economic units and charges only the converted part. Separately, the homestead exemption lowers the taxable value of an owner-occupied home (plus up to one acre) for eligible seniors, disabled owners and some veterans' surviving spouses: the reduction is $25,000 of true value (adjusted annually for inflation) for those with income up to $30,000 (adjusted annually); disabled veterans receive a reduction based on $50,000.

• CAUV qualification: at least 10 acres devoted exclusively to agricultural use during the three calendar years before the application year; tracts under 10 acres can qualify with average yearly gross income of at least $2,500 from agricultural activity. Agritourism on qualifying land does not disqualify it. source
• Converting CAUV land to another use triggers a charge equal to the tax savings on the converted land for the three tax years before conversion. It becomes a state lien on the converted land. source
• Homestead eligibility: owners who reached age 64 before January 1 of the application year, permanently and totally disabled owners, totally disabled veterans, and certain surviving spouses, living in a home they own in Ohio plus up to one acre. Income is judged on modified adjusted gross income of owner and spouse for the prior year. source
• Homestead reduction: $25,000 of true value for eligible elderly, disabled and certain surviving spouses with total income of $30,000 or less (both adjusted annually for inflation); $50,000 base for disabled veterans. This version takes effect September 23, 2026. source

Insurance

Ohio has a FAIR Plan, run by an association of all insurers authorized to write homeowners or basic property insurance in the state. It offers coverage to owners whose property is insurable under reasonable standards but who cannot get it in the normal market; rates are approved by the superintendent of insurance.

• The Ohio FAIR Plan Underwriting Association is made up of all insurers writing basic property or homeowners insurance in Ohio. It provides coverage for insurable property that cannot be placed through normal channels, and the association may not consider the condition of neighboring properties the applicant does not control. A binder takes effect no earlier than the day after the association receives the application. source