All residential premises within the City of Portsmouth owned for rental purposes or occupied by a party (tenant) other than the owner (landlord) for a period of more than six (6) months during any single calendar year, shall require a rental dwelling permit from the Portsmouth City Board of Health, Environmental Health Division in accordance with Ohio R.C. 5321.01:
(a) "Tenant" means a person entitled under a rental agreement to the use and occupancy of residential premises to the exclusion of others.
(b) "Landlord" means the owner, lessor, or sublessor of residential premises, the agent of the owner, lessor, or sublessor, or any person authorized by the owner, lessor, or sublessor to manage the premises or to receive rent from a tenant under a rental agreement.
(c) "Residential premises" means a dwelling unit for residential use and occupancy and the structure of which it is a part, the facilities and appurtenances in it, and the grounds, areas, and facilities for the use of tenants generally or the use of which is promised the tenant. By local definition, "Residential premises" does not include a dwelling unit that is owned or operated by a college or university. "Residential premises" does not include any of the following as well:
(1) Prisons, jails, workhouses, and other places of incarceration or correction, including, but not limited to, halfway houses or residential arrangements that are used or occupied as a requirement of a community control sanction, a post-release control sanction, or parole;
(2) Hospitals and similar institutions with the primary purpose of providing medical services, and homes licensed pursuant to Ohio R.C. Chapter 3721;
(3) Tourist homes, hotels, motels, recreational vehicle parks, recreation camps, combined park-camps, temporary park-camps, and other similar facilities where circumstances indicate a transient occupancy;
(4) Elementary and secondary boarding schools, where the cost of room and board is included as part of the cost of tuition;
(5) Orphanages and similar institutions;
(6) Farm residences furnished in connection with the rental of land of a minimum of two acres for production of agricultural products by one or more of the occupants;
(7) Dwelling units subject to Agricultural Labor Camp Ohio R.C. 3733.41 to 3733.49;
(8) Occupancy by an owner of a condominium unit;
(9) Occupancy in a facility licensed as an SRO facility pursuant to Ohio R.C. Chapter 3731, if the facility is owned or operated by an organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) ofthe "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085,26 U.S.C.A. 501, as amended, or by an entity or group of entities in which such an organization has a controlling interest, and if either of the following applies:
A. The occupancy is for a period of less than sixty days.
B. The occupancy is for participation in a program operated by the facility, or by a public entity or private charitable organization pursuant to a contract with the facility, to provide either of the following:
1. Services licensed, certified, registered, or approved by a governmental agency or private accrediting organization for the rehabilitation of mentally ill persons, developmentally disabled persons, adults or juveniles convicted of criminal offenses, or persons suffering from substance abuse;
2. Shelter for juvenile runaways, victims of domestic violence, or homeless persons.
(10) Emergency shelters operated by organizations exempt from federal income taxation under section 501(c)(3) ofthe "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 501, as amended, for persons whose circumstances indicate a transient occupancy, including homeless people, victims of domestic violence, and juvenile runaways.
(11) Government agency operated unit(s) that are inspected by a Portsmouth City Health Department approved agency.
(Ord. 2012-20. Passed 5-24-12.)