Real Estate Litigation in Ohio: An Introduction

In 2025, Ohio’s real estate market continued to experience rising housing costs as both construction and financing costs remained elevated, with little sign of meaningful relief. The office market remains problematic as employers adjust to the hybrid work environment and gravitate towards newer suburban developments that offer more amenities and flexible floor plans. The marketability of older office buildings in downtown core areas has struggled, leading to an increase in residential conversion projects.

In contrast to the soft office market, Ohio continued to be a strong performer for data centres and their related infrastructure. According to Data Center Map, as of February 2026, Ohio was home to 195 data centres – the sixth highest number of any state. However, future data centre growth may be tempered as public resistance increases over concerns about rising energy costs and water demand. For example, Jerome Township near Columbus placed a nine-month moratorium on data centre construction in September. Whether the moratorium stays in effect for those nine months remains to be seen.

Throughout Ohio, visible progress on major construction projects continues to drive economic activity.

• The Cleveland Clinic continues to make progress on its 1 million square foot Neurological Institute at its main campus, which is expected to open in 2027 at a total cost of USD1.1 billion.
• Down the road in Columbus, the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center expects to open its new 1.9 million square foot hospital in February 2026.
• With a total project cost of USD1.9 billion, the University Hospital represents the largest single facility construction project undertaken by Ohio State.
• In Cincinnati along the Ohio River, visible construction is expected to increase on the Brent Spence Bridge, a USD3.6 billion project intended to improve traffic flow along the 1-71/75 interstate corridor between Kentucky and Ohio.
• The highly touted USD28 billion Intel project in central Ohio has experienced delays as Intel has faced various setbacks and leadership turnover. Nonetheless, progress continues, with an expected 2031 opening – a six-year departure from the originally announced 2025 completion.

Against that backdrop, there follows a summary of current trends and challenges expected to shape Ohio’s real estate market and its legal demands.

Increasing focus on property tax relief

In 2025, frustration with Ohio’s convoluted property tax system reached fever pitch as property owners complained about skyrocketing tax bills due to the sudden increase in property values after the pandemic. In Ohio, property taxes pay for mostly local public services, and school districts rely heavily on property tax revenue. According to the Tax Foundation, Ohio had the eighth highest property tax burden in the country based on owner-occupied housing values.

In response to growing constituent frustration, in December 2025 Ohio’s General Assembly approved and Governor DeWine signed into law a series of bills intended to provide relief. The package of bills has been touted to provide billions in property tax relief and attempts to place more guardrails on the automatic property tax increases that have been a source of significant frustration.

• H.B. 124 gives county auditors greater oversight when determining property tax sales information used for property valuations. This is accomplished by requiring the Department of Taxation to consider only a representative sample of arm’s length property sales submitted by county auditors when conducting sales assessment ratio studies that are used to determine proposed property values. The intent is to prevent artificially high valuations that would lead to inflated tax bills.
• H.B. 129 addresses fixed-sum levies and now generally includes them in the calculation of a school district’s millage floor.
• H.B. 186 limits the growth of 20-mill floor school districts’ revenue to inflation. In the past, property owners in school districts at the 20-mill floor would see their property tax bill rise as property values increased – often higher than inflation after the pandemic. Property owners in rural counties are most likely to see the effects of this change since those school districts are more likely to be at the 20-mill floor. H.B. 186 also restructures tax credits for the benefit of owner-occupied properties. Over a four-year period, H.B. 186 phases out the 10% “non-business credit” for all properties except agricultural land while simultaneously increasing the “owner-occupancy credit”. The intent is to increase the total credit for owner-occupied property, from 12.5% to 15.38% in 2029, and to eliminate the credit for residential property that is leased to renters or otherwise not used as the owner’s primary residence.
• H.B. 309 gives county budget commissions greater authority to review and potentially reduce tax levies. By doing so, H.B. 309 provides an additional check on local government spending by allowing county officials to modify levies and trim unnecessarily high millage rates, shielding Ohioans from excessive tax bills. Budget commissions typically consist of the county auditor, treasurer and prosecutor. Before county budget commissions can reduce a levy to avoid unnecessary or excessive collections, they must provide an opportunity for the taxing authority to present information it considers relevant to whether and to what extent the levy should be reduced.
• H.B. 335 addresses “inside millage”, which refers to property taxes that local governments and school districts can levy without voter approval. Property taxes typically must be approved by voters, with certain exceptions. One exception allows taxing authorities to collect unvoted property taxes that do not exceed 1% (10 mills) of a property’s true value. Typically referred to as inside millage, these taxes may be levied for various purposes, including operating expenses, debt and certain special purposes. Inside millage applies against a property’s taxable value. As a result, spikes in tax bills have occurred as property values rapidly rise. H.B. 335 creates a mechanism, administered by county budget commissions, to reduce inside millage based on an inflation index. By doing so, H.B. 335 seeks to limit automatic tax spikes when property values surge.

Potential elimination of property taxes

Despite lawmakers’ attempts to provide property tax relief, many in Ohio remain frustrated, especially after watching lawmakers give a USD600 million grant from the state’s unclaimed fund to help the Cleveland Browns construct a new USD2.4 billion domed stadium in Brook Park. Because of that frustration, a campaign is underway to have voters decide whether Ohio’s Constitution should be amended to abolish property taxes.

For the proposed amendment to be placed on the 3 November 2026 ballot, advocates will need to obtain at least 415,000 signatures from voters in 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. For each of those 44 counties, the number of signatures must amount to at least 5% of the vote cast in the most recent gubernatorial election. Those signatures must be submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State no later than 1 July 2026, so it remains to be seen if the campaign can meet those requirements.

The potential elimination of property taxes in Ohio has caused various politicians to speak out about the consequences. For example, Governor DeWine has warned that the statewide elimination of property tax would be devastating to local governments and school districts. Eliminating Ohio’s property tax would create a USD21.4 billion revenue hole that would need to be addressed through other sources and cost reductions. Possible funding sources would include increasing Ohio’s sales tax from the current 5.75% to between 15% and 18%, according to the Ohio Office of Budget and Management. Another option would be to increase income tax from the current 2.75% flat rate for 2026 to between 11% and 15%, according to the Ohio Office of Budget and Management.

In November, Ohio voters will also elect a new governor and neither of the expected Republican and Democratic candidates has previously held elected office. Despite their lack of prior public office experience, upon taking office the next governor may be required to confront significant disruption caused by the elimination of property tax revenue.

Housing development projects encounter mixed responses from local governments

Developers – especially in central Ohio – continue to face increasing scrutiny from communities when proposing new housing developments. Residents often voice concerns over increased traffic and overcrowded schools. In certain instances, resistance to these developments has forced developers to initiate litigation when rezoning requests are denied. The outcomes of these challenges vary, as many are fact-specific, creating more uncertainty for developers. Most recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled in favour of the City of Worthington’s (a suburb of Columbus) denial of a rezoning application by a developer seeking to construct a mixed-use development with 600 housing units; see Lifestyle Cmtys., Ltd. v City of Worthington, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 1995. Even if a legal challenge by a developer is successful, the legal process is expensive and time-consuming, which further erodes a project’s financial viability.

Instead of resisting new housing developments through the zoning approval process, the City of Columbus is seeking to overhaul its zoning code to increase the housing supply through its Zone-In plan. In 2024, the City established new mixed-use zoning districts focused along primary corridors to create more housing. To encourage development along these corridors, zoning changes were made to allow increases to size and height, while also reducing parking requirements. Now, the City is seeking to implement more changes to further modernise its 70-year-old zoning code, which could potentially affect 40% of the City.

However, these efforts will need to be co-ordinated with the various area commissions that oversee discrete parts of the City and that have often created their own plans for development unique to specific neighbourhoods. Some of those area commissions have expressed concerns about the City’s efforts, so it remains to be seen what tangible changes the City will be able to implement in this next round of zoning updates.

E-Verify is coming for those providing commercial construction labour

The E-Verify Workforce Integrity Act was recently signed by Governor DeWine and will become effective on 19 March 2026. The intent of the Act is to confirm the legal working status of the labour pool on non-residential construction projects, including those administered by private developers. The Act applies to contractors, subcontractors and labour brokers on non-residential construction projects, and requires verification of employment eligibility through the E-Verify programme administered by the Federal Government.

As part of the Act, employers must confirm the identity and legal working status of each employee. The Act also requires that an employer cannot continue to employ an individual after receiving notice of a final non-confirmation for that individual from the E-Verify programme. Employers must keep a record confirming an employee’s identity and legal working status through the E-Verify system for three years from the date of hire or one year after the employee’s employment is terminated.

The Attorney General has the authority to enforce the Act, with fines starting at USD250 depending on the type of violation, which can increase to USD10,000 if there is a pattern of repeated violations over the preceding three years. Also, if the Attorney General determines there have been two or more wilful violations, the Attorney General is to issue a notice of violation that disqualifies the contractor, subcontractor or labour broker from participating in any future state contract for a period not to exceed two years. The Act allows for employers to request a hearing before the Director of Commerce if they disagree with the Attorney General’s findings. In addition, the Act exempts violations that result from an “isolated technical error” or a malfunction of the E-Verify programme.

Changes to Ohio’s real estate licensing and mandatory written disclosure requirements for wholesalers

In January 2025, Ohio enacted reforms to real estate licensing requirements through H.B. 238. The changes eliminate certain educational barriers, with the intention of streamlining the pathway to licensure for both real estate salespersons and brokers. Notably, the reforms eliminate the previous requirement of two years of post-secondary education for brokers. Under the new law, candidates can satisfy the requirements by completing a specialised certificate programme or by demonstrating documented real estate experience.

In November 2025, Ohio enacted legislation regulating the practice of wholesaling through Senate Bill 155. Before wholesalers enter into a contract that transfers interest in residential real property, the law requires them to make certain disclosures to the property owner. These include notifying the property owner that the wholesaler is not representing them in the transaction and that the owner is entitled to seek advice from an attorney or a real estate professional. A property owner who has not signed the disclosure may cancel the contract at any time before closing.

Conclusion

Ohio’s real estate market will continue to face similar challenges as other states, notably cost pressures in the form of elevated construction and financing costs. On the commercial side, elevated construction costs should be expected as large projects continue to create sufficient demand, fuelled primarily by Ohio’s major hospital systems and data centres. With the elevated demand for qualified field labour, more joint ventures and teaming agreements among subcontractors should be expected, to address the limited labour supply. As for material and equipment, predicting pricing and availability will continue to be a challenge for a variety of reasons, including market consolidation and the uncertainty created by tariffs. The outcome of the November 2026 election and whether Ohio abolishes its property tax system is expected to weigh heavily on those considering future real estate developments in Ohio.