(A) All manufactured and mobile homes shall be listed on either the real property tax list or the manufactured home tax list of the county in which the home has situs. Each owner shall follow the procedures in this section to identify the home to the county auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has situs so that the auditor may place the home on the appropriate tax list.

(B) When a manufactured or mobile home first acquires situs in this state and is subject to real property taxation pursuant to division (B)(1) or (2) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, the owner shall present to the auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs the certificate of title for the home, together with proof that all taxes due have been paid and proof that a relocation notice was obtained for the home if required under this section. Upon receiving the certificate of title and the required proofs, the auditor shall place the home on the real property tax list and proceed to treat the home as other properties on that list. After the auditor has placed the home on the tax list of real and public utility property, the auditor shall deliver the certificate of title to the clerk of the court of common pleas that issued it pursuant to section 4505.11 of the Revised Code, and the clerk shall inactivate the certificate of title.

(C)

(1) When a manufactured or mobile home subject to a manufactured home tax is relocated to or first acquires situs in any county that has adopted a permanent manufactured home registration system, as provided in division (F) of this section, the owner, within thirty days after the home is relocated or first acquires situs under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, shall register the home with the county auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs. For the first registration in each county of situs, the owner or vendee in possession shall present to the county auditor an Ohio certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title as such are required by law, and proof, as required by the county auditor, that the home, if it has previously been occupied and is being relocated, has been previously registered, that all taxes due and required to be paid under division (H)(1) of this section before a relocation notice may be issued have been paid, and that a relocation notice was obtained for the home if required by division (H) of this section. If the owner or vendee does not possess the Ohio certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title at the time the owner or vendee first registers the home in a county, the county auditor shall register the home without presentation of the document, but the owner or vendee shall present the certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title to the county auditor within fourteen days after the owner or vendee obtains possession of the document.

(2) When a manufactured or mobile home is registered for the first time in a county and when the total tax due has been paid as required by division (F) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code or divisions (E) and (H) of this section, the county treasurer shall note by writing or by a stamp on the certificate of title, certified copy of certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title that the home has been registered and that the taxes due, if any, have been paid for the preceding five years and for the current year. The treasurer shall then issue a certificate evidencing registration and a decal to be displayed on the street side of the home. The certificate is valid in any county in this state during the year for which it is issued.

(3) For each year thereafter, the county treasurer shall issue a tax bill stating the amount of tax due under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, as provided in division (D)(6) of that section. When the total tax due has been paid as required by division (F) of that section, the county treasurer shall issue a certificate evidencing registration that shall be valid in any county in this state during the year for which the certificate is issued.

(4) The permanent decal issued under this division is valid during the period of ownership, except that when a manufactured home is relocated in another county the owner shall apply for a new registration as required by this section and section 4503.06 of the Revised Code.

(D)

(1) All owners of manufactured or mobile homes subject to the manufactured home tax being relocated to or having situs in a county that has not adopted a permanent registration system, as provided in division (F) of this section, shall register the home within thirty days after the home is relocated or first acquires situs under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code and thereafter shall annually register the home with the county auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs.

(2) Upon the annual registration, the county treasurer shall issue a tax bill stating the amount of annual manufactured home tax due under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, as provided in division (D)(6) of that section. When a manufactured or mobile home is registered and when the tax for the current one-half year has been paid as required by division (F) of that section, the county treasurer shall issue a certificate evidencing registration and a decal. The certificate and decal are valid in any county in this state during the year for which they are issued. The decal shall be displayed on the street side of the home.

(3) For the first annual registration in each county of situs, the county auditor shall require the owner or vendee to present an Ohio certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title as such are required by law, and proof, as required by the county auditor, that the manufactured or mobile home has been previously registered, if such registration was required, that all taxes due and required to be paid under division (H)(1) of this section before a relocation notice may be issued have been paid, and that a relocation notice was obtained for the home if required by division (H) of this section. If the owner or vendee does not possess the Ohio certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title at the time the owner or vendee first registers the home in a county, the county auditor shall register the home without presentation of the document, but the owner or vendee shall present the certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title to the county auditor within fourteen days after the owner or vendee obtains possession of the document. When the county treasurer receives the tax payment, the county treasurer shall note by writing or by a stamp on the certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title that the home has been registered for the current year and that the manufactured home taxes due, if any, have been paid for the preceding five years and for the current year.

(4) For subsequent annual registrations, the auditor may require the owner or vendee in possession to present an Ohio certificate of title, certified copy of the certificate of title, or memorandum certificate of title to the county treasurer upon payment of the manufactured home tax that is due.

(E)

(1) Upon the application to transfer ownership of a manufactured or mobile home for which manufactured home taxes are paid pursuant to division (C) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code the clerk of the court of common pleas shall not issue any certificate of title that does not contain or have attached both of the following:

(a) An endorsement of the county treasurer stating that the home has been registered for each year of ownership and that all manufactured home taxes imposed pursuant to section 4503.06 of the Revised Code have been paid or that no tax is due;

(b) An endorsement of the county auditor that the manufactured home transfer tax imposed pursuant to section 322.06 of the Revised Code and any fees imposed under division (G) of section 319.54 of the Revised Code have been paid.

(2) If all the taxes have not been paid, the clerk shall notify the vendee to contact the county treasurer of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs at the time of the proposed transfer. The county treasurer shall then collect all the taxes that are due for the year of the transfer and all previous years not exceeding a total of five years. The county treasurer shall distribute that part of the collection owed to the county treasurer of other counties if the home had its situs in another county during a particular year when the unpaid tax became due and payable. The burden to prove the situs of the home in the years that the taxes were not paid is on the transferor of the home. Upon payment of the taxes, the county auditor shall remove all remaining taxes from the manufactured home tax list and the delinquent manufactured home tax list, and the county treasurer shall release all liens for such taxes. The clerk of courts shall issue a certificate of title, free and clear of all liens for manufactured home taxes, to the transferee of the home.

(3) Once the transfer is complete and the certificate of title has been issued, the transferee shall register the manufactured or mobile home pursuant to division (C) or (D) of this section with the county auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home remains after the transfer or, if the home is relocated to another county, with the county auditor of the county to which the home is relocated. The transferee need not pay the annual tax for the year of acquisition if the original owner has already paid the annual tax for that year.

(F) The county auditor may adopt a permanent registration system and issue a permanent decal with the first registration as prescribed by the tax commissioner.

(G) When any manufactured or mobile home required to be registered by this section is not registered, the county auditor shall impose a penalty of one hundred dollars upon the owner and deposit the amount to the credit of the county real estate assessment fund to be used to pay the costs of administering this section and section 4503.06 of the Revised Code. If unpaid, the penalty shall constitute a lien on the home and shall be added by the county auditor to the manufactured home tax list for collection.

(H)

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this division, before moving a manufactured or mobile home on public roads from one address within this state to another address within or outside this state, the owner of the home shall obtain a relocation notice, as provided by this section, from the auditor of the county in which the home is located if the home is currently subject to taxation pursuant to section 4503.06 of the Revised Code. The auditor shall charge five dollars for the notice, and deposit the amount to the credit of the county real estate assessment fund to be used to pay the costs of administering this section and section 4503.06 of the Revised Code. The auditor shall not issue a relocation notice unless all taxes owed on the home under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code that were first charged to the home during the period of ownership of the owner seeking the relocation notice have been paid. If the home is being moved by a new owner of the home or by a party taking repossession of the home, the auditor shall not issue a relocation notice unless all of the taxes due for the preceding five years and for the current year have been paid. A relocation notice issued by a county auditor is valid until the last day of December of the year in which it was issued.

If the home is being moved by a sheriff, police officer, constable, bailiff, or manufactured home park operator, as defined in section 4781.01 of the Revised Code, or any agent of any of these persons, for purposes of removal from a manufactured home park and storage, sale, or destruction under section 1923.14 of the Revised Code, the auditor shall issue a relocation notice without requiring payment of any taxes owed on the home under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code.

(2) If a manufactured or mobile home is not yet subject to taxation under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, the owner of the home shall obtain a relocation notice from the dealer of the home. Within thirty days after the manufactured or mobile home is purchased, the dealer of the home shall provide the auditor of the county in which the home is to be located written notice of the name of the purchaser of the home, the registration number or vehicle identification number of the home, and the address or location to which the home is to be moved. The county auditor shall provide to each manufactured and mobile home dealer, without charge, a supply of relocation notices to be distributed to purchasers pursuant to this section.

(3) The notice shall be in the form of a one-foot square yellow sign with the words "manufactured home relocation notice" printed prominently on it. The name of the owner of the home, the home's registration number or vehicle identification number, the county and the address or location to which the home is being moved, and the county in which the notice is issued shall also be entered on the notice.

(4) The relocation notice must be attached to the rear of the home when the home is being moved on a public road. Except as provided in divisions (H)(1) and (5) of this section, no person shall drive a motor vehicle moving a manufactured or mobile home on a public road from one address to another address within this state unless a relocation notice is attached to the rear of the home.

(5) If the county auditor determines that a manufactured or mobile home has been moved without a relocation notice as required under this division, the auditor shall impose a penalty of one hundred dollars upon the owner of the home and upon the person who moved the home and deposit the amount to the credit of the county real estate assessment fund to pay the costs of administering this section and section 4503.06 of the Revised Code. If the home was relocated from one county in this state to another county in this state and the county auditor of the county to which the home was relocated imposes the penalty, that county auditor, upon collection of the penalty, shall cause an amount equal to the penalty to be transmitted from the county real estate assessment fund to the county auditor of the county from which the home was relocated, who shall deposit the amount to the credit of the county real estate assessment fund. If the penalty on the owner is unpaid, the penalty shall constitute a lien on the home and the auditor shall add the penalty to the manufactured home tax list for collection. If the county auditor determines that a dealer that has sold a manufactured or mobile home has failed to timely provide the information required under this division, the auditor shall impose a penalty upon the dealer in the amount of one hundred dollars. The penalty shall be credited to the county real estate assessment fund and used to pay the costs of administering this section and section 4503.06 of the Revised Code.

(I) Whoever violates division (H)(4) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.127, HB 487, §101.01, eff. 9/10/2012.

Effective Date: 01-01-2004 .