To amend sections 3781.10 and 5302.30 of the Revised Code to require fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarms in residential buildings, to direct the Board of Building Standards to adopt rules that establish product and installation standards for fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarms, to require transferors of residential real property to disclose whether fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarms are installed in their property, and to prohibit a transferor of residential real property from entering into a transfer agreement unless fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarms are installed as the bill requires.

Section 1. That sections 3781.10 and 5302.30 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3781.10. (A)(1) The board of building standards shall formulate and adopt rules governing the erection, construction, repair, alteration, and maintenance of all buildings or classes of buildings specified in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code, including land area incidental to those buildings, the construction of industrialized units, the installation of equipment, and the standards or requirements for materials used in connection with those buildings. The board shall incorporate those rules into separate residential and nonresidential building codes. The standards shall relate to the conservation of energy and the safety and sanitation of those buildings. Portable fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarms shall be installed within each residential building. The board shall adopt rules specifying the locations and product and installation standards for portable fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarms installed in accordance with this division.

(2) The rules governing nonresidential buildings are the lawful minimum requirements specified for those buildings and industrialized units, except that no rule other than as provided in division (C) of section 3781.108 of the Revised Code that specifies a higher requirement than is imposed by any section of the Revised Code is enforceable. The rules governing residential buildings are uniform requirements for residential buildings in any area with a building department certified to enforce the state residential building code. In no case shall any local code or regulation differ from the state residential building code unless that code or regulation addresses subject matter not addressed by the state residential building code or is adopted pursuant to section 3781.01 of the Revised Code.

(3) The rules adopted pursuant to this section are complete, lawful alternatives to any requirements specified for buildings or industrialized units in any section of the Revised Code. Except as otherwise provided in division (I) of this section, the board shall, on its own motion or on application made under sections 3781.12 and 3781.13 of the Revised Code, formulate, propose, adopt, modify, amend, or repeal the rules to the extent necessary or desirable to effectuate the purposes of sections 3781.06 to 3781.18 of the Revised Code.

(B) The board shall report to the general assembly proposals for amendments to existing statutes relating to the purposes declared in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code that public health and safety and the development of the arts require and shall recommend any additional legislation to assist in carrying out fully, in statutory form, the purposes declared in that section. The board shall prepare and submit to the general assembly a summary report of the number, nature, and disposition of the petitions filed under sections 3781.13 and 3781.14 of the Revised Code.

(C) On its own motion or on application made under sections 3781.12 and 3781.13 of the Revised Code, and after thorough testing and evaluation, the board shall determine by rule that any particular fixture, device, material, process of manufacture, manufactured unit or component, method of manufacture, system, or method of construction complies with performance standards adopted pursuant to section 3781.11 of the Revised Code. The board shall make its determination with regard to adaptability for safe and sanitary erection, use, or construction, to that described in any section of the Revised Code, wherever the use of a fixture, device, material, method of manufacture, system, or method of construction described in that section of the Revised Code is permitted by law. The board shall amend or annul any rule or issue an authorization for the use of a new material or manufactured unit on any like application. No department, officer, board, or commission of the state other than the board of building standards or the board of building appeals shall permit the use of any fixture, device, material, method of manufacture, newly designed product, system, or method of construction at variance with what is described in any rule the board of building standards adopts or issues or that is authorized by any section of the Revised Code. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring approval, by rule, of plans for an industrialized unit that conforms with the rules the board of building standards adopts pursuant to section 3781.11 of the Revised Code.

(D) The board shall recommend rules, codes, and standards to help carry out the purposes of section 3781.06 of the Revised Code and to help secure uniformity of state administrative rulings and local legislation and administrative action to the bureau of workers' compensation, the director of commerce, any other department, officer, board, or commission of the state, and to legislative authorities and building departments of counties, townships, and municipal corporations, and shall recommend that they audit those recommended rules, codes, and standards by any appropriate action that they are allowed pursuant to law or the constitution.

(E)(1) The board shall certify municipal, township, and county building departments and the personnel of those building departments, and persons and employees of individuals, firms, or corporations as described in division (E)(7) of this section to exercise enforcement authority, to accept and approve plans and specifications, and to make inspections, pursuant to sections 3781.03, 3791.04, and 4104.43 of the Revised Code.

(2) The board shall certify departments, personnel, and persons to enforce the state residential building code, to enforce the nonresidential building code, or to enforce both the residential and the nonresidential building codes. Any department, personnel, or person may enforce only the type of building code for which certified.

(3) The board shall not require a building department, its personnel, or any persons that it employs to be certified for residential building code enforcement if that building department does not enforce the state residential building code. The board shall specify, in rules adopted pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the requirements for certification for residential and nonresidential building code enforcement, which shall be consistent with this division. The requirements for residential and nonresidential certification may differ. Except as otherwise provided in this division, the requirements shall include, but are not limited to, the satisfactory completion of an initial examination and, to remain certified, the completion of a specified number of hours of continuing building code education within each three-year period following the date of certification which shall be not less than thirty hours. The rules shall provide that continuing education credits and certification issued by the council of American building officials, national model code organizations, and agencies or entities the board recognizes are acceptable for purposes of this division. The rules shall specify requirements that are compatible, to the extent possible, with requirements the council of American building officials and national model code organizations establish.

(4) The board shall establish and collect a certification and renewal fee for building department personnel, and persons and employees of persons, firms, or corporations as described in this section, who are certified pursuant to this division.

(5) Any individual certified pursuant to this division shall complete the number of hours of continuing building code education that the board requires or, for failure to do so, forfeit certification.

(6) This division does not require or authorize the board to certify personnel of municipal, township, and county building departments, and persons and employees of persons, firms, or corporations as described in this section, whose responsibilities do not include the exercise of enforcement authority, the approval of plans and specifications, or making inspections under the state residential and nonresidential building codes.

(7) Enforcement authority for approval of plans and specifications and enforcement authority for inspections may be exercised, and plans and specifications may be approved and inspections may be made on behalf of a municipal corporation, township, or county, by any of the following who the board of building standards certifies:

(a) Officers or employees of the municipal corporation, township, or county;

(b) Persons, or employees of persons, firms, or corporations, pursuant to a contract to furnish architectural, engineering, or other services to the municipal corporation, township, or county;

(c) Officers or employees of, and persons under contract with, a municipal corporation, township, county, health district, or other political subdivision, pursuant to a contract to furnish architectural, engineering, or other services.

(8) Municipal, township, and county building departments have jurisdiction within the meaning of sections 3781.03, 3791.04, and 4104.43 of the Revised Code, only with respect to the types of buildings and subject matters for which they are certified under this section.

(9) Certification shall be granted upon application by the municipal corporation, the board of township trustees, or the board of county commissioners and approval of that application by the board of building standards. The application shall set forth:

(a) Whether the certification is requested for residential or nonresidential buildings, or both;

(b) The number and qualifications of the staff composing the building department;

(c) The names, addresses, and qualifications of persons, firms, or corporations contracting to furnish work or services pursuant to division (E)(7)(b) of this section;

(d) The names of any other municipal corporation, township, county, health district, or political subdivision under contract to furnish work or services pursuant to division (E)(7) of this section;

(e) The proposed budget for the operation of the building department.

(10) The board of building standards shall adopt rules governing all of the following:

(a) The certification of building department personnel and persons and employees of persons, firms, or corporations exercising authority pursuant to division (E)(7) of this section. The rules shall disqualify any employee of the department or person who contracts for services with the department from performing services for the department when that employee or person would have to pass upon, inspect, or otherwise exercise authority over any labor, material, or equipment the employee or person furnishes for the construction, alteration, or maintenance of a building or the preparation of working drawings or specifications for work within the jurisdictional area of the department. The department shall provide other similarly qualified personnel to enforce the residential and nonresidential building codes as they pertain to that work.

(b) The minimum services to be provided by a certified building department.

(11) The board of building standards may revoke or suspend certification to enforce the residential and nonresidential building codes, on petition to the board by any person affected by that enforcement or approval of plans, or by the board on its own motion. Hearings shall be held and appeals permitted on any proceedings for certification or revocation or suspension of certification in the same manner as provided in section 3781.101 of the Revised Code for other proceedings of the board of building standards.

(12) Upon certification, and until that authority is revoked, any county or township building department shall enforce the residential and nonresidential building codes for which it is certified without regard to limitation upon the authority of boards of county commissioners under Chapter 307. of the Revised Code or boards of township trustees under Chapter 505. of the Revised Code.

(F) In addition to hearings sections 3781.06 to 3781.18 and 3791.04 of the Revised Code require, the board of building standards shall make investigations and tests, and require from other state departments, officers, boards, and commissions information the board considers necessary or desirable to assist it in the discharge of any duty or the exercise of any power mentioned in this section or in sections 3781.06 to 3781.18, 3791.04, and 4104.43 of the Revised Code.

(G) The board shall adopt rules and establish reasonable fees for the review of all applications submitted where the applicant applies for authority to use a new material, assembly, or product of a manufacturing process. The fee shall bear some reasonable relationship to the cost of the review or testing of the materials, assembly, or products and for the notification of approval or disapproval as provided in section 3781.12 of the Revised Code.

(H) The residential construction advisory committee shall provide the board with a proposal for a state residential building code that the committee recommends pursuant to division (D)(1) of section 4740.14 of the Revised Code. Upon receiving a recommendation from the committee that is acceptable to the board, the board shall adopt rules establishing that code as the state residential building code.

(I)(1) The committee may provide the board with proposed rules to update or amend the state residential building code that the committee recommends pursuant to division (E) of section 4740.14 of the Revised Code.

(2) If the board receives a proposed rule to update or amend the state residential building code as provided in division (I)(1) of this section, the board either may accept or reject the proposed rule for incorporation into the residential building code. If the board does not act to either accept or reject the proposed rule within ninety days after receiving the proposed rule from the committee as described in division (I)(1) of this section, the proposed rule shall become part of the residential building code.

(J) The board shall cooperate with the director of job and family services when the director promulgates rules pursuant to section 5104.05 of the Revised Code regarding safety and sanitation in type A family day-care homes.

(K) The board shall adopt rules to implement the requirements of section 3781.108 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5302.30.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Good faith" means honesty in fact in a transaction involving the transfer of residential real property.

(2) "Land installment contract" has the same meaning as in section 5313.01 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Political subdivision" and "state" have the same meanings as in section 2744.01 of the Revised Code.

(4) "Residential real property" means real property that is improved by a building or other structure that has one to four dwelling units.

(B)(1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, this section applies to any transfer of residential real property that occurs on or after July 1, 1993, by sale, land installment contract, lease with option to purchase, exchange, or lease for a term of ninety-nine years and renewable forever. For purposes of this section, a transfer occurs when the initial contract for transfer is executed, regardless of when legal title is transferred, and references in this section to transfer offers and transfer agreements refer to offers and agreements in respect of the initial contract for transfer.

(2) This section does not apply to any transfer of residential real property that is any of the following:

(a) A transfer pursuant to court order, including, but not limited to, a transfer ordered by a probate court during the administration of a decedent's estate, a transfer pursuant to a writ of execution, a transfer by a trustee in bankruptcy, a transfer as a result of the exercise of the power of eminent domain, and a transfer that results from a decree for specific performance of a contract or other agreement between persons;

(b) A transfer to a mortgagee by a mortgagor by deed in lieu of foreclosure or in satisfaction of the mortgage debt;

(c) A transfer to a beneficiary of a deed of trust by a trustor in default;

(d) A transfer by a foreclosure sale that follows a default in the satisfaction of an obligation secured by a mortgage;

(e) A transfer by a sale under a power of sale following a default in the satisfaction of an obligation that is secured by a deed of trust or another instrument containing a power of sale;

(f) A transfer by a mortgagee, or a beneficiary under a deed of trust, who has acquired the residential real property at a sale conducted pursuant to a power of sale under a mortgage or a deed of trust or who has acquired the residential real property by a deed in lieu of foreclosure;

(g) A transfer by a fiduciary in the course of the administration of a decedent's estate, a guardianship, a conservatorship, or a trust;

(h) A transfer from one co-owner to one or more other co-owners;

(i) A transfer made to the transferor's spouse or to one or more persons in the lineal line of consanguinity of one or more of the transferors;

(j) A transfer between spouses or former spouses as a result of a decree of divorce, dissolution of marriage, annulment, or legal separation or as a result of a property settlement agreement incidental to a decree of divorce, dissolution of marriage, annulment, or legal separation;

(k) A transfer to or from the state, a political subdivision of the state, or another governmental entity;

(l) A transfer that involves newly constructed residential real property that previously has not been inhabited;

(m) A transfer to a transferee who has occupied the property as a personal residence for one or more years immediately prior to the transfer;

(n) A transfer from a transferor who both has not occupied the property as a personal residence within one year immediately prior to the transfer and has acquired the property through inheritance or devise.

(C) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section and subject to divisions (E) and (F) of this section, every person who intends to transfer any residential real property on or after July 1, 1993, by sale, land installment contract, lease with option to purchase, exchange, or lease for a term of ninety-nine years and renewable forever shall complete all applicable items in a property disclosure form prescribed under division (D) of this section and shall deliver in accordance with division (I) of this section a signed and dated copy of the completed form to each prospective transferee or prospective transferee's agent as soon as is practicable.

(D)(1) Prior to July 1, 1993, the The director of commerce, by rule adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall prescribe the disclosure form to be completed by transferors. The form prescribed by the director shall be designed to permit the transferor to disclose material matters relating to the physical condition of the property to be transferred, including, but not limited to, the source of water supply to the property; the nature of the sewer system serving the property; the condition of the structure of the property, including the roof, foundation, walls, and floors; the presence of hazardous materials or substances, including lead-based paint, asbestos, urea-formaldehyde foam insulation, and radon gas; whether the property contains fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarms that comply with the standards the director prescribes pursuant to division (M)(2) of this section; and any material defects in the property that are within the actual knowledge of the transferor.

The form also shall set forth a statement of the purpose of the form, including statements substantially similar to the following: that the form constitutes a statement of the conditions of the property and of information concerning the property actually known by the transferor; that, unless the transferee is otherwise advised in writing, the transferor, other than having lived at or owning the property, possesses no greater knowledge than that which could be obtained by a careful inspection of the property by a potential transferee; that the statement is not a warranty of any kind by the transferor or by any agent or subagent representing the transferor in this transaction; that the statement is not a substitute for any inspections; that the transferee is encouraged to obtain the transferee's own professional inspection; that the representations are made by the transferor and are not the representations of the transferor's agent or subagent; and that the form and the representations contained therein are provided by the transferor exclusively to potential transferees in a transfer made by the transferor, and are not made to transferees in any subsequent transfers.

The form shall include instructions to the transferor for completing the form, space in which the transferor or transferors shall sign and date the form, and space in which the transferee or transferees shall sign and date the form acknowledging receipt of a copy of the form and stating that the transferee or transferees understand the purpose of the form as stated thereon.

(2) Not later than January 1, 2006, the director shall revise the The disclosure form to shall include a statement that information on the operation and maintenance of the type of sewage treatment system serving the property is available from the department of health or the board of health of the health district in which the property is located.

As used in this section, "sewage treatment system" has the same meaning as in section 3718.01 of the Revised Code.

(E)(1) Each disclosure of an item of information that is required to be made in the property disclosure form prescribed under division (D) of this section in connection with particular residential real property and each act that may be performed in making any disclosure of an item of information shall be made or performed in good faith.

(2) If an item of information is unknown to the transferor of residential real property at the time the item is required to be disclosed in the property disclosure form and if the approximation is not used for the purpose of circumventing or otherwise evading divisions (C) and (D) of this section, the transferor may make a good faith approximation of the item of information.

(F)(1) A transferor of residential real property is not liable in damages in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly arises from any error in, inaccuracy of, or omission of any item of information required to be disclosed in the property disclosure form if the error, inaccuracy, or omission was not within the transferor's actual knowledge.

(2) If any item of information that is disclosed in the property disclosure form is rendered inaccurate after the delivery of the form to the transferee of residential real property or the transferee's agent as a result of any act, occurrence, or agreement, the subsequent inaccuracy does not cause, and shall not be construed as causing, the transferor of the residential real property to be in noncompliance with the requirements of divisions (C) and (D) of this section.

(G) Any disclosure of an item of information in the property disclosure form prescribed under division (D) of this section may be amended in writing by the transferor of residential real property at any time following the delivery of the form in accordance with divisions (C) and (I) of this section. The amendment shall be subject to this section.

(H) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, every prospective transferee of residential real property who receives in accordance with division (C) of this section a signed and dated copy of a completed property disclosure form as prescribed under division (D) of this section shall acknowledge receipt of the form by doing both of the following:

(1) Signing and dating a copy of the form;

(2) Delivering a signed and dated copy of the form to the transferor or the transferor's agent or subagent.

(I) The transferor's delivery under division (C) of this section of a property disclosure form as prescribed under division (D) of this section and the prospective transferee's delivery under division (H) of this section of an acknowledgment of receipt of that form shall be made by personal delivery to the other party or the other party's agent or subagent, by ordinary mail or certified mail, return receipt requested, or by facsimile transmission. For the purposes of the delivery requirements of this section, the delivery of a property disclosure form to a prospective co-transferee of residential real property or a prospective co-transferee's agent shall be considered delivery to the other prospective transferees unless otherwise provided by contract.

(J) The specification of items of information that must be disclosed in the property disclosure form as prescribed under division (D)(1) of this section does not limit or abridge, and shall not be construed as limiting or abridging, any obligation to disclose an item of information that is created by any other provision of the Revised Code or the common law of this state or that may exist in order to preclude fraud, either by misrepresentation, concealment, or nondisclosure in a transaction involving the transfer of residential real property. The disclosure requirements of this section do not bar, and shall not be construed as barring, the application of any legal or equitable defense that a transferor of residential real property may assert in a civil action commenced against the transferor by a prospective or actual transferee of that property.

(K)(1) Except as provided in division (K)(2) of this section, but subject to divisions (J) and (L) of this section, a transfer of residential real property that is subject to this section shall not be invalidated because of the failure of the transferor to provide to the transferee in accordance with division (C) of this section a completed property disclosure form as prescribed under division (D) of this section.

(2) Subject to division (K)(3)(c) of this section, if a transferee of residential real property that is subject to this section receives a property disclosure form or an amendment of that form as described in division (G) of this section after the transferee has entered into a transfer agreement with respect to the property, the transferee, after receipt of the form or amendment, may rescind the transfer agreement in a written, signed, and dated document that is delivered to the transferor or the transferor's agent or subagent in accordance with divisions (K)(3)(a) and (b) of this section, without incurring any legal liability to the transferor because of the rescission, including, but not limited to, a civil action for specific performance of the transfer agreement. Upon the rescission of the transfer agreement, the transferee is entitled to the return of, and the transferor shall return, any deposits made by the transferee in connection with the proposed transfer of the residential real property.

(3)(a) Subject to division (K)(3)(b) of this section, a rescission of a transfer agreement under division (K)(2) of this section only may occur if the transferee's written, signed, and dated document of rescission is delivered to the transferor or the transferor's agent or subagent within three business days following the date on which the transferee or the transferee's agent receives the property disclosure form prescribed under division (D) of this section or the amendment of that form as described in division (G) of this section.

(b) A transferee may not rescind a transfer agreement under division (K)(2) of this section unless the transferee rescinds the transfer agreement by the earlier of the date that is thirty days after the date upon which the transferor accepted the transferee's transfer offer or the date of the closing of the transfer of the residential real property.

(c) A transferee of residential real property may waive the right of rescission of a transfer agreement described in division (K)(2) of this section.

(d) A rescission of a transfer agreement is not permissible under division (K)(2) of this section if a transferee of residential real property that is subject to this section receives a property disclosure form as prescribed under division (D) of this section or an amendment of that form as described in division (G) of this section prior to the transferee's submission to the transferor or the transferor's agent or subagent of a transfer offer and the transferee's entry into a transfer agreement with respect to the property.

(4) If a transferee of residential real property subject to this section does not receive a property disclosure form from the transferor after the transferee has submitted to the transferor or the transferor's agent or subagent a transfer offer and has entered into a transfer agreement with respect to the property, the transferee may rescind the transfer agreement in a written, signed, and dated document that is delivered to the transferor or the transferor's agent or subagent in accordance with division (K)(4) of this section without incurring any legal liability to the transferor because of the rescission, including, but not limited to, a civil action for specific performance of the transfer agreement. Upon the rescission of the transfer agreement, the transferee is entitled to the return of, and the transferor shall return, any deposits made by the transferee in connection with the proposed transfer of the residential real property. A transferee may not rescind a transfer agreement under division (K)(4) of this section unless the transferee rescinds the transfer agreement by the earlier of the date that is thirty days after the date upon which the transferor accepted the transferee's transfer offer or the date of the closing of the transfer of the residential real property.

(L) The right of rescission of a transfer agreement described in division (K)(2) of this section or the absence of that right does not affect, and shall not be construed as affecting, any other legal causes of action or other remedies that a transferee or prospective transferee of residential real property may possess against the transferor of that property.

(M)(1) No transferor shall enter into an agreement to transfer residential real property unless that property has installed and operative fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarms that comply with the standards the director of commerce establishes pursuant to division (M)(2) of this section. A transferee may rescind a transfer agreement pursuant to the procedures described in division (K)(3)(a) of this section if the transferee receives a form that indicates that the property does not contain functioning fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarms required under this division.

(2) The director shall prescribe product and installation standards for fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarms that are consistent with the standards the board of building standards adopts by rule pursuant to division (A)(1) of section 3781.10 of the Revised Code.

Section 2. That existing sections 3781.10 and 5302.30 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. One hundred eighty days after the board of building standards adopts the rules establishing the requirements for fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarms pursuant to division (A)(1) of section 3781.10 of the Revised Code, as amended by this act, all residential buildings shall have installed and in operation fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarms that satisfy the standards the board establishes. As used in this section, "residential building" has the same meaning as in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code.