Holmes County Recorder Anita Hall announced today that legislation to help protect Ohio’s property owners against deceptive marketing practices has unanimously passed both the House and Senate Chambers. Amended House Bill 52, sponsored by Representative Jeff Rezabek, makes several reforms to regulate the solicitation of real property deeds.

Amended House Bill 52 comes in response to deed solicitation scams plaguing many Ohioans, including elderly and first-time homeowners. Companies in and outside Ohio will send official looking notifications to homeowners informing them that they need a copy of their property deed and the company will provide the copy for a charge of $80-$90. Copies of deeds can be obtained from the county Recorder’s office for 25 cents per page.

The provisions under Amended House Bill 52 require that specific disclosures be made to consumers when they are solicited a fee for real property deeds, including the cost to obtain the deed from the county Recorder, the contact information for the county Recorder, and the name and address of the person soliciting the fee. The bill also prohibits charging a fee of more than four times the cost to obtain a copy of a deed from the county Recorder. A violation of these requirements falls under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act and may result in a fine.

The bill will now be sent to the Governor for his signature.

For more information, contact Holmes County Recorder Anita Hall at 330-674-5916.