Ohio House Passes Legislation to Protect Ohioans Against Rising Property Taxes
The Ohio House of Representatives yesterday passed House Bill (HB) 187, the Ohio Homeowners Relief Act, which would lessen the increase in property taxes resulting from rapidly rising property values in Ohio.
HB 187, which was supported by Ohio REALTORS®, would provide much-needed protections to property owners by modifying the procedures used by the Tax Commissioner to determine property valuations. This legislation was introduced in response to many housing markets throughout the state experiencing significant property valuation increases, with some rising over 40%. HB 187 would require the use of sales data from the three prior years, rather than a sampling of valuations in the most recent year.
Rachel Lewitt, chair of Ohio REALTORS Legislative Steering Committee, testified in support of the legislation in June. In her testimony, Lewitt said the following:
“These expected property value increases, coupled with low housing inventory will only add further strain to Ohio’s housing market. It threatens to displace long-term homeowners and will increase the financial barriers for first-time homebuyers. Higher property taxes not only increase the cost of homeownership but will also impact the rental market as housing providers will have to adjust to a potential double-digit increase in property taxes.”
HB 187 now heads to the Ohio Senate for further consideration, where Ohio REALTORS® has already testified on a similar measure (Senate Bill 153).
