The owners of all rental units in the City of Steubenville shall be required to register these properties with the Code Official. For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) "Code official" means the official who is charged with the administration and enforcement of the Property Maintenance Code or his designee.
(b) “Dwelling unit" as defined in Ohio R.C. 5321.01(F), means a structure or the part of a structure that is used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one person who maintains a household or by two or more persons who maintain a common household.
(c) “Owner" or "Property owner" means that person or persons, partnership, corporation or other entity listed on the deed as the owner in the deed records of Jefferson County, Ohio.
(d) "Rental agreement" as defined in Ohio R.C. 5321.01(D), means any agreement or lease, written or oral, which establishes or modifies the terms, conditions, rules, or any other provisions concerning the use and occupancy of residential premises by one of the parties.
(e) "Rental unit" means "Residential premises" as defined in this section.
(f) "Residential premises" as defined in Ohio R.C. 5321.01(C), 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. "Residential premises" includes a dwelling unit that is owned and operated by a college or university. "Residential premises" does not include any of the following:
(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 Chapter 3721 of the Revised Code;
(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 sections 3733.41 to 3733.49 of the Revised Code;
(8) Occupancy by an owner of a condominium unit;
(9) Occupancy in a facility licensed as an SRO facility pursuant to chapter 3731 of the Revised Code, if the facility is owned or operated by an organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the 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 offences, 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) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 100 Stat. 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.
(g) "Tenant" as defined in Ohio R.C. 5321.01(A), means a person entitled under a rental agreement to the use and occupancy of residential premises to the exclusion of others. (Ord. 2007-98. Passed 12-18-07.)