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Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 323.65 (2026)

Expedited foreclosure on unoccupied land definitions

✓ current as of May 2026
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Effective:
September 4, 2014
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 172 - 130th General Assembly
PDF:
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As used in sections 323.65 to 323.79 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Abandoned land" means delinquent lands or delinquent vacant lands, including any improvements on the lands, that are unoccupied and that first appeared on the list compiled under division (C) of section 323.67 of the Revised Code, or the delinquent tax list or delinquent vacant land tax list compiled under section 5721.03 of the Revised Code, at whichever of the following times is applicable:

(1) In the case of lands other than agricultural lands, at any time after the county auditor makes the certification of the delinquent land list under section 5721.011 of the Revised Code;

(2) In the case of agricultural lands, at any time after two years after the county auditor makes the certification of the delinquent land list under section 5721.011 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Agricultural land" means lands on the agricultural land tax list maintained under section 5713.33 of the Revised Code.

(C) "Clerk of court" means the clerk of the court of common pleas of the county in which specified abandoned land is located.

(D) "Delinquent lands" and "delinquent vacant lands" have the same meanings as in section 5721.01 of the Revised Code.

(E) "Impositions" means delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, interest, costs, reasonable attorney's fees of a certificate holder, applicable and permissible costs of the prosecuting attorney of a county, and other permissible charges against abandoned land.

(F)(1) "Unoccupied," with respect to a parcel of land, means any of the following:

(a) No building, structure, land, or other improvement that is subject to taxation and that is located on the parcel is physically inhabited as a dwelling;

(b) No trade or business is actively being conducted on the parcel by the owner, a tenant, or another party occupying the parcel pursuant to a lease or other legal authority, or in a building, structure, or other improvement that is subject to taxation and that is located on the parcel;

(c) The parcel is uninhabited and there are no signs that it is undergoing a change in tenancy and remains legally habitable, or that it is undergoing improvements, as indicated by an application for a building permit or other facts indicating that the parcel is experiencing ongoing improvements.

(2) For purposes of division (F)(1) of this section, it is prima-facie evidence and a rebuttable presumption that may be rebutted to the county board of revision that a parcel of land is unoccupied if, at the time the county auditor makes the certification under section 5721.011 of the Revised Code, the parcel is not agricultural land, and two or more of the following apply:

(a) At the time of the inspection of the parcel by a county, municipal corporation, or township in which the parcel is located, no person, trade, or business inhabits, or is visibly present from an exterior inspection of, the parcel.

(b) No utility connections, including, but not limited to, water, sewer, natural gas, or electric connections, service the parcel, or no such utility connections are actively being billed by any utility provider regarding the parcel.

(c) The parcel or any improvement thereon is boarded up or otherwise sealed because, immediately prior to being boarded up or sealed, it was deemed by a political subdivision pursuant to its municipal, county, state, or federal authority to be open, vacant, or vandalized.

(d) The parcel or any improvement thereon is, upon visible inspection, insecure, vacant, or vandalized.

(G) "Community development organization" means a nonprofit corporation that is formed or organized under Chapter 1702. or 1724. of the Revised Code and to which both of the following apply:

(1) The organization is in good standing under law at the time the county auditor makes the certification under section 5721.011 of the Revised Code and has remained in good standing uninterrupted for at least the two years immediately preceding the time of that certification or, in the case of a county land reutilization corporation, has remained so from the date of organization if less than two years.

(2) As of the time the county auditor makes the certification under section 5721.011 of the Revised Code, the organization has received from the county, municipal corporation, or township in which abandoned land is located official authority or agreement by a duly authorized officer of that county, municipal corporation, or township to accept the owner's fee simple interest in the abandoned land and to the abandoned land being foreclosed, and that official authority or agreement had been delivered to the county treasurer or county board of revision in a form that will reasonably confirm the county's, municipal corporation's, or township's assent to transfer the land to that community development organization under section 323.74 of the Revised Code. No such official authority or agreement by a duly authorized officer of a county, municipal corporation, or township must be received if a county land reutilization corporation is authorized to receive tax-foreclosed property under its articles of incorporation, regulations, or Chapter 1724. of the Revised Code.

(H) "Certificate holder" has the same meaning as in section 5721.30 of the Revised Code.

(I) "Abandoned land list" means the list of abandoned lands compiled under division (A) of section 323.67 of the Revised Code.

(J) "Alternative redemption period," in any action to foreclose the state's lien for unpaid delinquent taxes, assessments, charges, penalties, interest, and costs on a parcel of real property pursuant to section 323.25, sections 323.65 to 323.79, or section 5721.18 of the Revised Code, means twenty-eight days after an adjudication of foreclosure of the parcel is journalized by a court or county board of revision having jurisdiction over the foreclosure proceedings. Upon the expiration of the alternative redemption period, the right and equity of redemption of any owner or party shall terminate without further order of the court or board of revision. As used in any section of the Revised Code and for any proceeding under this chapter or section 5721.18 of the Revised Code, for purposes of determining the alternative redemption period, the period commences on the day immediately following the journalization of the adjudication of foreclosure and ends on and includes the twenty-eighth day thereafter.

(K) "County land reutilization corporation" means a corporation organized under Chapter 1724. of the Revised Code.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 24 cases (11 in the last 5 years), 2013–2026 · leading case: Yemma v. Reed, 2017 Ohio 1015 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Yemma v. Reed, 2017 Ohio 1015 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 4× “The property was said to be abandoned land under R.C. 323.65, nonproductive land under R.C.”
State ex rel. Feltner v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Revision (Slip Opinion), 2020 Ohio 3080 (Ohio 2020). · cites it 2× “{¶ 18} The lead opinion avoids the constitutional issues presented by Feltner by concluding simply that the BOR did not patently and unambiguously lack jurisdiction to enter a judgment of foreclosure on the real property owned by Feltner because the statutory scheme, which…”
Beaver Street Investments, LLC v. Summit Cnty., Ohio, 65 F.4th 822 (6th Cir. 2023). “Ohio Rev. Code § 323.65. Second, it did not become “clear the [County] would seize [the plaintiff’s property] by transferring title,” Harrison, 997 F.”
Lucas Cty. Treasurer v. Mt. Airy Invests. Ltd., 2019 Ohio 3932 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). “88 in delinquent taxes, fees, and costs, and that the property was “abandoned land and/or vacant land as defined in R.C. 323.65.” Over six months later, on June 21, 2018, Mt.”
Alt v. Pazmino-Stanfield, 2018 Ohio 2346 (Ohio Ct. App. 2018). “25, sections 323.65 to 323.79, or section 5721.”
Treasurer of Cuyahoga Cty. v. Robshir Props., L.L.C., 2019 Ohio 535 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). “25, sections 323.65 to 323.79, or section 5721.”
State ex rel. US Bank Trust, Natl. Assn. v. Trumbull Cty., Bd. of Commrs., 2022 Ohio 1817 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 3× “sets forth the procedure for seeking foreclosure on 4 Case No.”
Harrison v. Montgomery Cnty. Ohio (S.D. Ohio 2020). · cites it 20× “Ohio Rev. Code § 323.65, et seq., was first adopted by the General Assembly in 2006 in order to expedite the tax foreclosure process for “abandoned” lands.”
State ex rel. Tax Lien Law Grp., L.L.P. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Treasurer, 2014 Ohio 215 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 2× “37 of the Revised Code, and before the filing of the entry of confirmation of sale of a certificate parcel, or the expiration of the alternative redemption period defined in section 323.65 of the Revised Code under foreclosure proceedings filed by the county prosecuting…”
State ex rel. US Bank Trust, Natl. Assn. v. Cuyahoga Cty., 2023 Ohio 1063 (Ohio 2023). · cites it 4× “Domito involved a property owner’s attempt to enjoin a municipality from collecting a special assessment against his land on the ground that the assessment constituted an unconstitutional taking. Id. at 229 .”
Edwards v. Galluzzo, 2024 Ohio 2005 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024). “25, sections 323.65 to 323.79, or section 5721.”
State ex rel. U.S. Bank Trust, NA v. Summit Cty., 2021 Ohio 3189 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021). “R.C. 323.65(J). The owner may pay the outstanding amount due within 28 days to redeem the property.”
Show all 24 citing cases →
— Ohio Rev. Code § 323.65(A) — 5 cases
Yemma v. Reed, 2017 Ohio 1015 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). “The property was said to be abandoned land under R.C. 323.65, nonproductive land under R.C.”
State ex rel. US Bank Trust, Natl. Assn. v. Trumbull Cty., Bd. of Commrs., 2022 Ohio 1817 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022). “sets forth the procedure for seeking foreclosure on 4 Case No.”
Harrison v. Montgomery Cnty. Ohio (S.D. Ohio 2020). “Ohio Rev. Code § 323.65, et seq., was first adopted by the General Assembly in 2006 in order to expedite the tax foreclosure process for “abandoned” lands.”
State ex rel. US Bank Trust, Natl. Assn. v. Cuyahoga Cty., 2023 Ohio 1063 (Ohio 2023). “Domito involved a property owner’s attempt to enjoin a municipality from collecting a special assessment against his land on the ground that the assessment constituted an unconstitutional taking. Id. at 229 .”
Tarrify Props., LLC v. Cuyahoga Cnty., Ohio (N.D. Ohio 2020).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 323.65(F)(1)(a) — 1 case
Yemma v. Reed, 2017 Ohio 1015 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). “The property was said to be abandoned land under R.C. 323.65, nonproductive land under R.C.”
— Ohio Rev. Code § 323.65(J) — 5 cases
State ex rel. Feltner v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Revision (Slip Opinion), 2020 Ohio 3080 (Ohio 2020). “{¶ 18} The lead opinion avoids the constitutional issues presented by Feltner by concluding simply that the BOR did not patently and unambiguously lack jurisdiction to enter a judgment of foreclosure on the real property owned by Feltner because the statutory scheme, which…”
State ex rel. US Bank Trust, Natl. Assn. v. Cuyahoga Cty., 2023 Ohio 1063 (Ohio 2023). “Domito involved a property owner’s attempt to enjoin a municipality from collecting a special assessment against his land on the ground that the assessment constituted an unconstitutional taking. Id. at 229 .”
State ex rel. U.S. Bank Trust, NA v. Summit Cty., 2021 Ohio 3189 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021). “R.C. 323.65(J). The owner may pay the outstanding amount due within 28 days to redeem the property.”
Harrison v. Montgomery Cnty. Ohio (S.D. Ohio 2020). “Ohio Rev. Code § 323.65, et seq., was first adopted by the General Assembly in 2006 in order to expedite the tax foreclosure process for “abandoned” lands.”
Tarrify Props., LLC v. Cuyahoga Cnty., Ohio (N.D. Ohio 2020).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 323.65(K) — 1 case
Yemma v. Reed, 2017 Ohio 1015 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). “The property was said to be abandoned land under R.C. 323.65, nonproductive land under R.C.”
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