Ohio Rev. Code » Chapter 3781
Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 3781.06 (2026)

Public buildings to be safe and sanitary - definitions

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Effective:
January 1, 2025
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly
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(A)(1) Any building that may be used as a place of resort, assembly, education, entertainment, lodging, dwelling, trade, manufacture, repair, storage, traffic, or occupancy by the public, any residential building, and all other buildings or parts and appurtenances of those buildings erected within this state, shall be so constructed, erected, equipped, and maintained that they shall be safe and sanitary for their intended use and occupancy.

(2) Nothing in sections 3781.06 to 3781.18, 3781.40, and 3791.04 of the Revised Code shall be construed to limit the power of the division of industrial compliance of the department of commerce to adopt rules of uniform application governing manufactured home parks pursuant to section 4781.26 of the Revised Code.

(B) Sections 3781.06 to 3781.18, 3781.40, and 3791.04 of the Revised Code do not apply to any of the following:

(1) Buildings or structures that are incident to the use for agricultural purposes of the land on which the buildings or structures are located, provided those buildings or structures are not used in the business of retail trade. For purposes of this division, a building or structure is not considered used in the business of retail trade if fifty per cent or more of the gross income received from sales of products in the building or structure by the owner or operator is from sales of products produced or raised in a normal crop year on farms owned or operated by the seller.

(2) Existing single-family, two-family, and three-family detached dwelling houses for which applications have been submitted to the director of children and youth pursuant to section 5104.03 of the Revised Code for the purposes of operating type A family child care homes as defined in section 5104.01 of the Revised Code;

(3) A mobile computing unit. As used in this division, "mobile computing unit" means an assembly that meets all of the following criteria:

(a) Its purpose is to house and operate computers as defined in section 2913.01 of the Revised Code.

(b) Its exterior is integral to the protection or cooling, or both, of the computers housed within it.

(c) It is not attached to a permanent foundation.

(d) It is not accessible to the public.

(e) It is not designed for regular occupancy, but rather limited access for service and maintenance.

(f) It can be moved or transported as a single integrated unit.

(C) As used in sections 3781.06 to 3781.18 and 3791.04 of the Revised Code:

(1) "Agricultural purposes" include agriculture, farming, dairying, pasturage, apiculture, algaculture meaning the farming of algae, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, ornamental horticulture, olericulture, pomiculture, and animal and poultry husbandry.

(2) "Building" means any structure consisting of foundations, walls, columns, girders, beams, floors, and roof, or a combination of any number of these parts, with or without other parts or appurtenances.

(3) "Industrialized unit" means a building unit or assembly of closed construction fabricated in an off-site facility, that is substantially self-sufficient as a unit or as part of a greater structure, and that requires transportation to the site of intended use. "Industrialized unit" includes units installed on the site as independent units, as part of a group of units, or incorporated with standard construction methods to form a completed structural entity. "Industrialized unit" does not include a manufactured home as defined by division (C)(4) of this section or a mobile home as defined by division (O) of section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.

(4) "Manufactured home" means a building unit or assembly of closed construction that is fabricated in an off-site facility and constructed in conformance with the federal construction and safety standards established by the secretary of housing and urban development pursuant to the "Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 700, 42 U.S.C.A. 5401, 5403, and that has a permanent label or tag affixed to it, as specified in 42 U.S.C.A. 5415, certifying compliance with all applicable federal construction and safety standards.

(5) "Permanent foundation" means permanent masonry, concrete, or a footing or foundation approved by the division of industrial compliance of the department of commerce pursuant to Chapter 4781. of the Revised Code, to which a manufactured or mobile home may be affixed.

(6) "Permanently sited manufactured home" means a manufactured home that meets all of the following criteria:

(a) The structure is affixed to a permanent foundation and is connected to appropriate facilities;

(b) The structure, excluding any addition, has a width of at least twenty-two feet at one point, a length of at least twenty-two feet at one point, and a total living area, excluding garages, porches, or attachments, of at least nine hundred square feet;

(c) The structure has a minimum 3:12 residential roof pitch, conventional residential siding, and a six-inch minimum eave overhang, including appropriate guttering;

(d) The structure was manufactured after January 1, 1995;

(e) The structure is not located in a manufactured home park as defined by section 4781.01 of the Revised Code.

(7) "Safe," with respect to a building, means it is free from danger or hazard to the life, safety, health, or welfare of persons occupying or frequenting it, or of the public and from danger of settlement, movement, disintegration, or collapse, whether such danger arises from the methods or materials of its construction or from equipment installed therein, for the purpose of lighting, heating, the transmission or utilization of electric current, or from its location or otherwise.

(8) "Sanitary," with respect to a building, means it is free from danger or hazard to the health of persons occupying or frequenting it or to that of the public, if such danger arises from the method or materials of its construction or from any equipment installed therein, for the purpose of lighting, heating, ventilating, or plumbing.

(9) "Residential building" means a one-family, two-family, or three-family dwelling house, and any accessory structure incidental to that dwelling house. "Residential building" includes a one-family, two-family, or three-family dwelling house that is used as a model to promote the sale of a similar dwelling house. "Residential building" does not include an industrialized unit as defined by division (C)(3) of this section, a manufactured home as defined by division (C)(4) of this section, or a mobile home as defined by division (O) of section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.

(10) "Nonresidential building" means any building that is not a residential building or a manufactured or mobile home.

(11) "Accessory structure" means a structure that is attached to a residential building and serves the principal use of the residential building. "Accessory structure" includes, but is not limited to, a garage, porch, or screened-in patio.

Last updated January 1, 2025 at 7:16 AM

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 22 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1957–2024 · leading case: McCabe/Marra Co. v. City of Dover, 652 N.E.2d 236 (Ohio Ct. App. 8th Dist. 1995).
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McCabe/Marra Co. v. City of Dover, 652 N.E.2d 236 (Ohio Ct. App. 8th Dist. 1995). · cites it 4× “04 provides, in pertinent part: “Before entering into a contract for or beginning the construction, erection, or manufacture of any building to which section 3781.06 of the Revised Code is applicable, including all industrialized units, the owner thereof shall, in addition to…”
Am. States Ins. v. Hannan Constr. Co., 283 F. Supp. 988 (N.D. Ohio 1966). · cites it 12× “, in disregard and in violation of Section 3781.06, Revised Code, and of the fire protection provisions of the Ohio Building Code promulgated by the Board of Building Standards of the Ohio Department of Industrial Relations pursuant to law.”
Butler v. Cleveland Clinic, 2018-Ohio-93. · cites it 3× “Review of Summary Judgment {¶7} Within her assigned error, Butler argues that the trial court erred in awarding Cleveland Clinic summary judgment because the condition that caused her injury was not open and obvious, and the area was poorly lit and not “free from danger” as…”
City of Eastlake v. Ohio Bd. of Bldg. Standards, 422 N.E.2d 598 (Ohio 1981). · cites it 2× “04 as follows: “Before entering into contract for or beginning the construction, erection, or manufacture of any building to which section 3781.06 of the Revised Code is applicable, including all industrialized units, the owner shall, in addition to any other submission of plans…”
Farrell v. Deuble, 888 N.E.2d 514 (Ohio Ct. App. 9th Dist. 2008). · cites it 2× “{¶ 26} Of the three capitalized terms, only “manufactured home” is defined by R.C. 3781.06. “Mobile home” is defined in R.”
Powlette v. Dayton Bd. of Bldg. Appeals, 2020-Ohio-5357, 162 N.E.3d 964. · cites it 9× “Accordingly, the board's October 31, 2003 order and the remediation order incorporated therein are modified to the extent that appellants cannot be compelled to adhere to R.C. 3781.06 to 3781.20 or 3791.04 and regulations promulgated under R.”
Zimmerman v. St. Peter's Catholic Church, 622 N.E.2d 1184 (Ohio Ct. App. 2d Dist. 1993). · cites it 2× “10(A) states in part: “The board of building standards shall: “(A) 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. * * * The standards…”
Stotts v. Pierson, 976 F. Supp. 2d 948 (S.D. Ohio 2013). · cites it 2× “That Ohio Revised Code provision provides that, subject to certain exceptions, “[bjefore beginning the construction, erection, or manufacture of any building to which section 3781.06 of the Revised Code applies,” a property owner must submit to the relevant municipal, township…”
Pinkney v. Ohio Env't Prot. Agency, 375 F. Supp. 305 (N.D. Ohio 1974). · cites it 2× “Ohio Rev.Code § 3781.06. In this case, there is no allegation that the planned construction is either unsafe or unsanitary as those terms are defined in the statute.”
Gainer v. Cavanaugh, 2021-Ohio-2173. · cites it 12× “{¶1} Appellants, Michael Gainer, Brenda Gainer and Storybrook Barn, LLC, appeal the decision of the Stark County Common Pleas Court upholding the determination of the Stark County Board of Building Appeals and the Ohio Board of Building Appeals that the use of the appellants'…”
Branham, Admr. v. Fordyce, 145 N.E.2d 471 (Ohio Ct. App. 1957). · cites it 3× “Plaintiff relies upon Section 3781.06, Revised Code, which, in February 1955, when the facts in this case arose, read in part as follows: “All public buildings which may be used as a place of resort, assembly, education, entertainment, lodging, trade, manufacture, repair,…”
Andover Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. O'Brien, 823 N.E.2d 524 (Ohio Ct. App. 11th Dist. 2004). · cites it 2× “‘Real property’ does not include a manufactured home as defined in division (C)(4) of section 3781.06 of the Revised Code or a mobile home, travel trailer, or park trailer, each as defined in section 4501.”
Show all 22 citing cases →
Ohio Rev. Code § 3781.06(A): 1 case
Cooke v. Couture Tattoos, L.L.C., 2024-Ohio-2590.
Ohio Rev. Code § 3781.06(A)(1): 2 cases
Powlette v. Dayton Bd. of Bldg. Appeals, 2020-Ohio-5357, 162 N.E.3d 964. “Accordingly, the board's October 31, 2003 order and the remediation order incorporated therein are modified to the extent that appellants cannot be compelled to adhere to R.C. 3781.06 to 3781.20 or 3791.04 and regulations promulgated under R.”
Cooke v. Couture Tattoos, L.L.C., 2024-Ohio-2590.
Ohio Rev. Code § 3781.06(B): 3 cases
Powlette v. Dayton Bd. of Bldg. Appeals, 2020-Ohio-5357, 162 N.E.3d 964. “Accordingly, the board's October 31, 2003 order and the remediation order incorporated therein are modified to the extent that appellants cannot be compelled to adhere to R.C. 3781.06 to 3781.20 or 3791.04 and regulations promulgated under R.”
Gainer v. Cavanaugh, 2020-Ohio-175.
Gainer v. Cavanaugh, 2021-Ohio-2173. “{¶1} Appellants, Michael Gainer, Brenda Gainer and Storybrook Barn, LLC, appeal the decision of the Stark County Common Pleas Court upholding the determination of the Stark County Board of Building Appeals and the Ohio Board of Building Appeals that the use of the appellants'…”
Ohio Rev. Code § 3781.06(B)(1): 2 cases
Powlette v. Dayton Bd. of Bldg. Appeals, 2020-Ohio-5357, 162 N.E.3d 964. “Accordingly, the board's October 31, 2003 order and the remediation order incorporated therein are modified to the extent that appellants cannot be compelled to adhere to R.C. 3781.06 to 3781.20 or 3791.04 and regulations promulgated under R.”
Gainer v. Cavanaugh, 2021-Ohio-2173. “{¶1} Appellants, Michael Gainer, Brenda Gainer and Storybrook Barn, LLC, appeal the decision of the Stark County Common Pleas Court upholding the determination of the Stark County Board of Building Appeals and the Ohio Board of Building Appeals that the use of the appellants'…”
Ohio Rev. Code § 3781.06(C)(4): 3 cases
Farrell v. Deuble, 888 N.E.2d 514 (Ohio Ct. App. 9th Dist. 2008). “{¶ 26} Of the three capitalized terms, only “manufactured home” is defined by R.C. 3781.06. “Mobile home” is defined in R.”
Evans v. Green Tree Servicing, LLC (In re Evans), 370 B.R. 138 (Bankr. S.D. Ohio 2007).
Hawkins v. Ohio Dept. Nat. Resources, 2023-Ohio-3493.
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