§ 872-1. Definitions.

For the purpose of this chapter the words and phrases defined in the sections hereunder shall have the meaning respectively ascribed to them, unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context.

(a)

"Residential Lease Option Contract" means an executory agreement, without regard to its title or description, or composition with regards to the number of separate documents which make up said agreement which: 1) by its terms is not required to be fully performed by one or more of the parties to the agreement within one year of the date of the agreement; 2) purports to confer on a tenant some right, whether qualified or unqualified, to purchase the landlord's interest in the real property that the tenant occupies or intends to occupy at a future date as specified in the agreement; and 3) the tenant agrees to pay an option fee upon execution of the agreement and rent during the term of the contract; and 4) where the landlord retains legal and equitable title to the property until such time as the tenant successfully completes the purchase of the property.

(b)

Agreements commonly known as lease option agreements or rent to own agreements pertaining to real property that purport to confer on a tenant some right, whether qualified or unqualified, to purchase the landlord's interest in the real property that the tenant occupies or intends to occupy shall not be deemed a "lease option agreement", a "option contract for the purchase of real property" or "lease with option to purchase agreement," but shall be deemed a residential lease option contract. Residential Lease Option Contracts are considered rental agreements under Chapter 5321 of the Ohio Revised Code. However, residential lease option contracts do not include any of the following:

(1)

A lease for agricultural, business or commercial purposes

(2)

A lease made to an organization

(3)

A lease of money, personal property or intangible personal property

(4)

A lease of a motor vehicle as defined in Section 4501.01 of the Ohio Revised Code

(c)

"Property" means residential real property, located within the City of Cincinnati corporate boundaries, improved by virtue of a dwelling having been erected on the real property.

(d)

"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 per Section 5321.01(B) of the Ohio Revised Code.

(e)

"Tenant" means a person entitled under a rental agreement to the use and occupancy of residential premises to the exclusion of others per Section 5321.01(A) of the Ohio Revised Code.

(f)

"Option fee" means any amount that a tenant pays for the right to purchase at a future date, the property that the tenant occupies or intends to occupy.

(g)

"Legal description" means a description of the property by metes and bounds or lot numbers of a recorded plat including a description of any portion of the property subject to an easement or reservation, if any.

(h)

"Option Agreement" means the executory contract defining the terms and conditions under which the tenant may purchase the property, where a separate lease contract and option contract are used, or the portion(s) of the contract defining same, where a single contract is used.

(i)

"Option to Purchase" means the tenant's right, whether qualified or unqualified, to buy the real property under the price and terms outlined in the Residential Lease Option Contract.

(j)

"Purchase Price" means the price at which the landlord agrees to sell, and the tenant agrees to buy, the real property upon successful completion of the Residential Lease Option Contract and exercise of the Option to Purchase.

(k)

"Rent Credit" means a portion of the monthly rent, which is applied toward the Option Price under certain circumstances in some Residential Lease Option Contracts.

(l)

"Lease Agreement" means the contract defining the terms and conditions of the tenant's continued tenancy in the real property, where a separate lease contract and option contract are used, or the portion(s) of the contract defining same, where a single contract is used.

(Ordained by Ord. No. 327-2004, eff. Nov. 5, 2004)