CHAPTER 5301: CONVEYANCES; ENCUMBRANCES

(A) A deed, mortgage, land contract as referred to in division (A)(2)(b) of section 317.08 of the Revised Code, or lease of any interest in real property and a memorandum of trust as described in division (A) of section 5301.255 of the Revised Code shall be signed by the grantor, mortgagor, vendor, or lessor in the case of a deed, mortgage, land contract, or lease or shall be signed by the trustee in the case of a memorandum of trust. The signing shall be acknowledged by the grantor, mortgagor, vendor, or lessor, or by the trustee, before a judge or clerk of a court of record in this state, or a county auditor, county engineer, notary public, or mayor, who shall certify the acknowledgement and subscribe the official’s name to the certificate of the acknowledgement.

(B)(1) If a deed, mortgage, land contract as referred to in division (A)(2)(b) of section 317.08 of the Revised Code, lease of any interest in real property, or a memorandum of trust as described in division (A) of section 5301.255 of the Revised Code was executed prior to February 1, 2002, and was not acknowledged in the presence of, or was not attested by, two witnesses as required by this section prior to that date, both of the following apply:

(a) The instrument is deemed properly executed and is presumed to be valid unless the signature of the grantor, mortgagor, vendor, or lessor in the case of a deed, mortgage, land contract, or lease or of the settlor and trustee in the case of a memorandum of trust was obtained by fraud.

(b) The recording of the instrument in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the subject property is situated is constructive notice of the instrument to all persons, including without limitation, a subsequent purchaser in good faith or any other subsequent holder of an interest in the property, regardless of whether the instrument was recorded prior to, on, or after February 1, 2002.

(2) Division (B)(1) of this section does not affect any accrued substantive rights or vested rights that came into existence prior to February 1, 2002.

Effective Date: 07-20-2004; 2007 SB134 01-17-2008

A recorded grant, reservation, or agreement creating an easement or a recorded lease of any interest in real property shall contain a reference by volume and page to the record of the deed or other recorded instrument under which the grantor claims title, but the omission of such reference shall not affect the validity of the same.

Effective Date: 01-23-1963

(A) As used in this section, “agency” means every organized body, office, or agency established by the laws of the state for the exercise of any function of state government.

(B) Any instrument by which the state or an agency of the state acquires an interest in real property, including any deed, transfer, grant, reservation, agreement creating an easement, or lease, shall identify the agency for whose use and benefit the interest in the real property is acquired.

(C)(1) If the instrument conveys less than a fee simple interest in real property and if the agency has authority to hold an interest in property in its own name, the instrument shall state that the interest in the real property is conveyed “to …....... (the name of the agency).” Otherwise, the instrument shall state that the interest in the real property is conveyed “to the State of Ohio for the use and benefit of …....... (name of agency).”

(2) If the instrument conveys a fee simple interest in real property and if the agency has authority to hold a fee simple interest in real property in its own name, the instrument shall state that the interest in the real property is conveyed “to the …....... (name of agency) and its successors and assigns.” Otherwise, the instrument that conveys a fee simple interest in the real property shall state “to the State of Ohio and its successors and assigns for the use and benefit of …....... (name of agency).”

(D) The purpose of specifying the name of the agency in the instrument is to identify the agency that has the use and benefit of the real property. The identification of the agency pursuant to this section does not confer on that agency any additional property rights in regard to the real property.

Effective Date: 10-26-1999

The use of terms of inheritance or succession are not necessary to create a fee simple estate, and every grant, conveyance, or mortgage of lands, tenements, or hereditaments shall convey or mortgage the entire interest which the grantor could lawfully grant, convey, or mortgage, unless it clearly appears by the deed, mortgage, or instrument that the grantor intended to convey or mortgage a less estate.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

“Trustees,” “as trustee,” or “agent,” or words of similar import, following the name of the grantee in any deed of conveyance or mortgage of land executed and recorded, without other language showing a trust or expressly limiting the grantee’s or mortgagee’s powers, or for whose benefit the same is made, or other recorded instrument showing such trust and its terms, do not give notice to or put upon inquiry any person dealing with said land that a trust or agency exists, or that there are beneficiaries of said conveyance or mortgage other than the grantee and those persons disclosed by the record, or that there are any limitations on the power of the grantee to convey or mortgage said land, or to assign or release any mortgage held by such grantee. As to all subsequent bona fide purchasers, mortgagees, lessees, and assignees for value, a conveyance, mortgage, assignment, or release of mortgage by such grantee, whether or not his name is followed by “trustee,” “as trustee,” “agent,” or words of similar import, conveys a title or lien free from the claims of any undisclosed beneficiaries, and free from any obligation on the part of any purchaser, mortgagee, lessee, or assignee to see to the application of any purchase money. This section does not apply to suits brought prior to July 16, 1927, in which any such deeds of conveyance, leases, or mortgages are called in question, or in which the rights of any beneficiaries in the lands described therein are involved. This section does not prevent the original grantor, trustor, undisclosed beneficiary, or any one claiming under them, from bringing suits other than suits affecting land which is the subject of such conveyance or mortgage.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

A deed, mortgage, or lease of any interest of a married person in real property shall be signed, acknowledged, and certified as provided in section 5301.01 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

Effective Date: 05-31-1988

All deeds, mortgages, powers of attorney, and other instruments of writing for the conveyance or encumbrance of lands, tenements, or hereditaments situated within this state, executed and acknowledged, or proved, in any other state, territory, or country in conformity with the laws of such state, territory, or country, or in conformity with the laws of this state, are as valid as if executed within this state, in conformity with sections 1337.01 to 1337.03, inclusive, and 5301.01 to 5301.04, inclusive, of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When any instrument conveying real estate, or any interest therein, is of record for more than twenty-one years in the office of the county recorder of the county within this state in which such real estate is situated, and the record shows that there is a defect in such instrument, such instrument and the record thereof shall be cured of such defect and be effective in all respects as if such instrument had been legally made, executed, and acknowledged, if such defect is due to any one or more of the following:

(A) Such instrument was not properly witnessed.

(B) Such instrument contained no certificate of acknowledgment.

(C) The certificate of acknowledgment was defective in any respect.

Any person claiming adversely to such instrument, if not already barred by limitation or otherwise, may, at any time within twenty-one years after the time of recording such instrument, bring proceedings to contest the effect of such instrument.

This section does not affect any suit brought prior to November 9, 1959 in which the validity of the acknowledgment of any such instrument is drawn in question.

Effective Date: 01-10-1961

No instrument conveying real estate, or any interest therein, and of record in the office of the county recorder of the county within this state in which such real estate is situated shall be deemed defective nor shall the validity of such conveyance be affected because:

(A) The dower interest of the spouse of any grantor was not specifically released but such spouse executed said instrument in the manner provided in section 5301.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) The officer taking the acknowledgment of such instrument having an official seal did not affix such seal to the certificate of acknowledgment.

(C) The certificate of acknowledgment is not on the same sheet of paper as the instrument.

(D) The executor, administrator, guardian, assignee, or trustee making such instrument signed or acknowledged the same individually instead of in his representative or official capacity.

Effective Date: 11-09-1959

(A) No covenant, condition, or restriction set forth in a deed, and no rule, regulation, bylaw, or other governing document or agreement of a homeowners, neighborhood, civic, or other association, shall prohibit or be construed to prohibit the placement on any property of a flagpole that is to be used for the purpose of displaying, or shall prohibit or be construed to prohibit the display on any property of, the flag of the United States if the flag is displayed in accordance with any of the following:

(1) The patriotic customs set forth in 4 U.S.C.A. 5-10, as amended, governing the display and use of the flag of the United States;

(2) The consent of the property’s owner or of any person having lawful control of the property;

(3) The recommended flagpole standards set forth in “Our Flag,” published pursuant to S.C.R. 61 of the 105th Congress, 1st Session (1998);

(4) Any federal law, proclamation of the president of the United States or the governor, section of the Revised Code, or local ordinance or resolution.

(B) A covenant, condition, restriction, rule, regulation, bylaw, governing document, or agreement or a construction of any of these items that violates division (A) of this section is against public policy and unenforceable in any court of this state to the extent it violates that division.

Effective Date: 04-07-2003

Sections 5301.01 to 5301.45 of the Revised Code do not affect the validity of any lease of lands appropriated by congress for the support of schools or for ministerial purposes for any term not exceeding ten years or of any other lands for any term not exceeding three years or require that lease to be acknowledged or recorded.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

All leases, licenses, and assignments thereof, or of any interest therein, given or made concerning lands or tenements in this state, by which any right is granted to operate or to sink or drill wells thereon for natural gas and petroleum or either, or pertaining thereto, shall be filed for record and recorded in such lease record without delay, and shall not be removed until recorded. No such lease or assignment thereof shall be accepted for record after September 24, 1963 unless it contains the mailing address of both the lessor and lessee or assignee. If the county in which the land subject to any such lease is located maintains permanent parcel numbers or sectional indexes pursuant to section 317.20 of the Revised Code, no such lease shall be accepted for record after December 31, 1984, unless it contains the applicable permanent parcel number and the information required by section 317.20 of the Revised Code to index such lease in the sectional indexes; and, in the event any such lease recorded after December 31, 1984, is subsequently assigned in whole or in part, and the county in which the land subject thereto is located maintains records by microfilm or other microphotographic process, the assignment shall contain the same descriptive information required to be included in the original lease by this sentence, but the omission of the information required by this section does not affect the validity of any lease. Whenever any such lease is forfeited for failure of the lessee, his successors or assigns to abide by specifically described covenants provided for in the lease, or because the term of the lease has expired, the lessee, his successors or assigns, shall have such lease released of record in the county where such land is situated without cost to the owner thereof.

No such lease or license is valid until it is filed for record, except as between the parties thereto, unless the person claiming thereunder is in actual and open possession.

Effective Date: 09-20-1984

The plaintiff in an action to cancel a lease or license mentioned in section 5301.09 of the Revised Code, or in any way involving it, in order to finally adjudicate and determine all questions involving such lease or license in such action, need only make those persons defendants, so far as such lease or license is involved, who claim thereunder and are in actual and open possession, and those who then appear of record, or by the files in such office, to own or have an interest in such lease or license. If there is no claimant in actual and open possession, and no persons whose interest appears of record or file, then so far as such lease or license is involved, it will only be necessary to make the original lessee or licensee defendant in order to finally adjudicate and determine all questions concerning such lease or license.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The lessee of a building which, without fault or neglect on his part, is destroyed or so injured as to be unfit for occupancy, is not liable to pay rent to the lessor or owner thereof, after such destruction or injury, unless otherwise expressly provided by written agreement or covenant. The lessee thereupon must surrender possession of such premises.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When real estate is sold at tax sale, and the purchaser has received a deed therefor, and it has been placed upon the tax duplicate in his name, or those claiming under him, who openly and notoriously claim the title and ownership to such property, and pay the taxes thereon, as against any title acquired by deed executed after such tax sale, such facts are prima-facie evidence of the possession of such real estate by such purchaser, or those holding under him, from the date of such sale until it is set aside or redeemed. The knowledge, by a person acquiring title by deed executed after such tax sale, of the payment of taxes, and the claim of title and ownership shall, as to him, be conclusive proof of possession.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

All conveyances of real estate, or any interest therein, sold on behalf of the state, with the exception of those agreements made pursuant to divisions (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) of section 123.53 of the Revised Code, shall be drafted by the auditor of state, executed in the name of the state, signed by the governor, countersigned by the secretary of state, and sealed with the great seal of the state. The auditor of state thereupon must record such conveyance in books to be kept by him for that purpose, deliver them to the persons entitled thereto, and keep a record of such delivery, showing to whom delivered and the date thereof.

Effective Date: 11-15-1981

When a title deed, recorded by the auditor of state as required by section 5301.13 of the Revised Code, or recorded in the office of the secretary of state, the record of which is required to be kept in the office of the auditor of state, has been lost or destroyed by accident, without having been recorded in the county recorder’s office, on demand and tender of the fees therefor, the auditor of state must furnish to any person a copy of such deed certified under his official seal, which copy shall be received everywhere in this state as prima-facie evidence of the existence of the deed, and in all respects shall have the effect of certified copies from the records of deeds recorded in the county where such lands are situated.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When a deed executed for land purchase from the state is lost or destroyed, or when a person who has an interest in such land, by the use of diligence cannot find it, and no record exists from which a certified copy can be made to supply the evidence of such deed, or when a certificate of the purchase of land sold at a land office of this state, or any other contract, bond, or memorandum evidencing a purchase of land has been lost or destroyed, or when from any cause the owner of such land, by the use of diligence, cannot find such certificate, contract, bond, or memorandum, the governor, when satisfied that the original purchase money for such land has been fully paid, shall execute a deed therefor in the name of the original purchaser which must recite the facts authorizing its making. Such deed shall be recorded in the office of the auditor of state who shall transmit it to the present claimant.

Such deed has the same effect as the original deed, had it been preserved and recorded, or as a deed would have had, made to the original purchaser upon the date of the full payment of the purchase money.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When the purchaser of land from the state dies before a deed is made, and the lands pass to another by descent or devise, and the title still remains in him, or when the person to whom the lands have so passed has conveyed them or his interest therein to another person, by deed of general warranty or quitclaim, upon the proof of such facts being made to him and the attorney general, the governor shall execute the deed directly to the person entitled to the lands, although such person derives his title through one or more successive conveyances from the person to whom the lands passed by descent or devise.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When, from satisfactory evidence, it appears to the governor and attorney general that an error has occurred in a deed executed and delivered in the name of the state, or in the certificate of any public officer, upon which, if correct, a conveyance would be required from the state, the governor shall correct such error by the execution of a correct title deed, according to the intent and object of the original purchase or conveyance, to the party entitled to it, his heirs, or legal assigns, and take from such party a release to the state of the property erroneously conveyed.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

All deeds executed under sections 5301.15, 5301.16, and 5301.17 of the Revised Code must recite the facts, as ascertained by the governor and attorney general, upon the proof of which they are executed, and shall be recorded in the office of the auditor of state.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When lands or tenements are mortgaged to the state to secure the payment of money due the state, and the money so secured, together with the legal interest due thereon, is paid to the treasurer of state, or other person authorized to receive it, the governor shall sign and deliver to the mortgagor, his heirs, or assigns, a deed of release of the real estate so mortgaged.

Effective Date: 10-10-1963

When a conveyance of lands or tenements made to the state contains a condition that the real estate so conveyed shall revert to the grantor on the payment of a certain sum of money, or on the performance of other conditions, and the money, with legal interest thereon, from the time it was due or payable, is paid to the treasurer of state, or other person authorized to receive it, or the other conditions stated in such deed are performed according to the stipulations contained therein, on receiving a certificate from the proper officer of such payment or other performance, the governor shall execute and deliver to the grantor, his heirs, or assigns, a deed of release for the property so conveyed.

When there has been a foreclosure of the equity of redemption for the nonperformance of the conditions stated in any such deed of conveyance, this section and section 5301.19 of the Revised Code are inoperative as to such case.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When the owners of adjoining tracts of land, or of lots in a municipal corporation, agree upon the site of a corner or line common to such tracts or lots, in a written instrument containing a pertinent description thereof, either with or without a plat, executed, acknowledged, and recorded as are deeds, such corner or line thenceforth shall be established as between the parties to such agreement, and all persons subsequently deriving title from them.

Such agreement must be recorded by the county recorder, in the book in his office in which surveys are recorded. The original agreement, after being so recorded, or a certified copy thereof from the record, is competent evidence in any court in this state against a party thereto, or persons in privity with him.

When a tract of land is owned by the state, the officer or board having administrative control thereof, with the approval of the attorney general, may execute said written instrument and following recording in the county where the land is situated, said instrument shall be filed with the auditor of state with the evidence of title to the land affected.

Effective Date: 10-19-1959

As used in this section, “incompetent person” means a person who is so mentally impaired as a result of a mental or physical illness or disability, or mental retardation, or as a result of chronic substance abuse, that the person is incapable of taking proper care of the person’s self or property or fails to provide for the person’s family or other persons for whom the person is charged by law to provide.

No agreement described in section 5301.21 of the Revised Code shall be executed by a minor or incompetent person, but it may be executed and delivered for record, on such a person’s behalf, by the person’s guardian. When executed, acknowledged, delivered for record, and recorded, such agreement shall be as effectual against such minor or incompetent person, as if the person had been under no disability, and had performed such acts personally. An owner, not under any of such disabilities, may perform all such acts by an attorney in fact. The power of such attorney must be in writing and first recorded in the county recorder’s office.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953; 2007 HB53 08-07-2007

(A) All properly executed mortgages shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the mortgaged premises are situated and shall take effect at the time they are delivered to the recorder for record. If two or more mortgages pertaining to the same premises are presented for record on the same day, they shall take effect in the order of their presentation. The first mortgage presented shall be the first recorded, and the first mortgage recorded shall have preference.

(B) A mortgage that is presented for record shall contain the then current mailing address of the mortgagee. The omission of this address or the inclusion of an incorrect address shall not affect the validity of the instrument or render it ineffective for purposes of constructive notice.

Effective Date: 01-01-1994

(A) All amendments or supplements of mortgages, or modifications or extensions of mortgages or of the debt secured by mortgages, that have been executed in the manner provided in section 5301.01 of the Revised Code shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the mortgaged premises are situated and shall take effect at the time they are delivered to the recorder for record. Sections 317.08, 5301.23, and 5301.231 of the Revised Code do not affect the enforceability, validity, or legal effect of instruments recorded in those mortgage records prior to October 10, 1963.

(B) An amendment or supplement of a mortgage, or a modification or extension of a mortgage or of the debt secured by a mortgage, that is presented for record shall contain the then current mailing address of the mortgagee. The omission of this address or the inclusion of an incorrect address shall not affect the validity of the instrument or render it ineffective for purposes of constructive notice.

Effective Date: 01-01-1994

(A) Whether or not it secures any other debt or obligation, a mortgage may secure unpaid balances of loan advances made after the mortgage is delivered to the recorder for record, to the extent that the total unpaid loan indebtedness, exclusive of interest thereon, does not exceed the maximum amount of loan indebtedness which the mortgage states may be outstanding at any time. With respect to such unpaid balances, division (B) of this section is applicable if the mortgage states, in substance or effect, that the parties thereto intend that the mortgage shall secure the same, the maximum amount of unpaid loan indebtedness, exclusive of interest thereon, which may be outstanding at any time, and contains at the beginning thereof the words “Open-end mortgage.”

(B) A mortgage complying with division (A) of this section and securing unpaid balances of loan advances referred to in such division is a lien on the premises described therein from the time such mortgage is delivered to the recorder for record for the full amount of the total unpaid loan indebtedness, including the unpaid balances of such advances that are made under such mortgage, plus interest thereon, regardless of the time when such advances are made. If such an advance is made after the holder of the mortgage receives written notice of a lien or encumbrance on the mortgaged premises which is subordinate to the lien of the mortgage, and if such holder is not obligated to make such advance at the time such notice is received, then the lien of the mortgage for the unpaid balance of the advance so made is subordinate to such lien or encumbrance. If an advance is made after the holder of the mortgage receives written notice of work or labor performed or to be performed or machinery, material, or fuel furnished or to be furnished for the construction, alteration, repair, improvement, enhancement, or embellishment of any part of the mortgaged premises and if such holder is not obligated to make such advance at the time such notice is received, then the lien of the mortgage for the unpaid balance of the advance so made is subordinate to a valid mechanic’s lien for the work or labor actually performed or machinery, material, or fuel actually furnished as specified in such notice.

(C) The mortgagor may limit the loan indebtedness secured by the mortgage to that in existence at the time of the delivery of a written notice to that effect to the recorder for record, if such notice is executed by the mortgagor in the manner provided in section 5301.01 of the Revised Code, states the volume and initial page of the record or the recorder’s file number of the mortgage, and a copy thereof is served upon the holder of the mortgage prior to the delivery of such notice to the recorder for record. Any such notice shall be recorded and indexed by the recorder as an amendment of the mortgage. Such right of the mortgagor to limit loan indebtedness secured by the mortgage is not applicable to interest subsequently accruing on loan indebtedness, loan advances the holder of the mortgage is obligated to make, or loan advances made after the delivery of any such notice to the recorder for record in order to pay for the cost of completing any construction, alteration, repair, improvement, enhancement, or embellishment of any part of the mortgaged premises the financing of which, in whole or in part, the mortgage was given to secure.

(D) The written notices provided for in division (B) of this section shall be signed by the holder of the lien or encumbrance or the person who has performed or intends to perform work or labor or who has furnished or intends to furnish machinery, material, or fuel, or by his agent or attorney, and shall set forth a description of the real property to which the notice relates, the date, parties to, the volume and initial page of the record or the recorder’s file number of the mortgage over which priority is claimed for the lien or encumbrance, and the amount and nature of the claim to which the lien or encumbrance relates or the nature of the work or labor performed or to be performed or machinery, material, or fuel furnished or to be furnished and the amount claimed or to be claimed therefor. The written notices provided for in divisions (B) and (C) of this section shall be deemed to have been received by or served upon the holder of the mortgage when delivered to such holder personally or by registered or certified mail at the address of such holder appearing in the mortgage or an assignment thereof or, if no address is so given, at the principal place of business or residence of such holder or the statutory agent of such holder within this state or, if such holder has no principal place of business or residence or a statutory agent within this state, when posted in some conspicuous place on the mortgaged premises.

(E) As used in this section:

(1) “Mortgage” includes a mortgage, deed of trust, or other instrument in the nature of a mortgage.

(2) “Mortgagor” includes the mortgagor’s successors in interest as disclosed by the records of the recorder or recorders of the county or counties in which the mortgaged premises are situated.

(3) “Holder of the mortgage” means the holder of the mortgage as disclosed by the records of the recorder or recorders of the county or counties in which the mortgaged premises are situated.

(4) A holder of a mortgage is “obligated” to make an advance if such holder or the person to whom the repayment of such advance is owed has a contractual commitment to do so, even though the making of such advance may be conditioned upon the occurrence or existence, or the failure to occur or exist, of any event or fact.

(5) “Statutory agent” means the statutory agent of a corporation as disclosed by the records of the secretary of state and provided for in sections 1701.07, 1702.06, and 1703.041 of the Revised Code.

(6) “Loan indebtedness” does not include unpaid balances of advances made for the payment of taxes, assessments, insurance premiums, and costs incurred for the protection of the mortgaged premises.

(F) This section is not exclusive, does not apply to any mortgage filed or recorded in conformity with section 1701.66 of the Revised Code, and does not prohibit the use of other types of mortgages permitted by law.

Effective Date: 07-14-1987

In addition to any other debt or obligation, a mortgage may secure unpaid balances of advances made, with respect to the mortgaged premises, for the payment of taxes, assessments, insurance premiums, or costs incurred for the protection of the mortgaged premises, if such mortgage states that it shall secure such unpaid balances. A mortgage complying with this section is a lien on the premises described therein from the time such mortgage is delivered to the recorder for record for the full amount of the unpaid balances of such advances that are made under such mortgage, plus interest thereon, regardless of the time when such advances are made.

Effective Date: 03-18-1969

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

The lien or priority of any existing valid mortgage or lien shall not be affected by reason of the fact that this state or any political subdivision thereof acquires the property on which said lien exists, unless said property is acquired by regular judicial proceedings. The state, or any board or commission of the state, may be made a party in any court of common pleas or probate court, to any foreclosure proceedings, or other proceedings to sell real estate and marshal liens, to secure an adjudication concerning any claim, mortgage, or other lien which the state has or claims on the premises involved.

Service of summons shall be made by the clerk of the court who shall, by registered mail, send service of summons and a copy of the petition to the attorney general. The answer day and other proceedings thereafter shall be the same as though a personal service had been made as of the date the return receipt is signed, and thereafter the procedure shall be the same as though a private corporation had been sued under the laws of this state.

No subsequent statute shall modify or change this section unless such statute specifically provides that it is modifying or changing this section.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A) All deeds, land contracts referred to in division(A)(2)(b) of section 317.08 of the Revised Code, and instruments of writing properly executed for the conveyance or encumbrance of lands, tenements, or hereditaments, other than as provided in division (C) of this section and section 5301.23 of the Revised Code, shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the premises are situated . Until so recorded or filed for record, they are fraudulent insofar as they relate to a subsequent bona fide purchaser having, at the time of purchase, no knowledge of the existence of that former deed, land contract, or instrument.

(B) Whenever a survey is made of lands that are being conveyed, the county auditor shall require that the name of the person who made the survey appear in the deed. The name shall either be printed, typewritten, stamped, or signed in a legible manner. An instrument is in compliance with this division if it contains a statement in the following form:

“A survey of this property was made by …............”

This division does not apply to any court decree, order, judgment, or writ, to any instrument executed or acknowledged outside of this state, or to any instrument executed within this state prior to September 20, 1965.

(C) All tax certificates sold pursuant to section 5721.32 or 5721.33 of the Revised Code, or memoranda thereof, may be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the premises are situated, as provided in division (B) of section 5721.35 of the Revised Code; provided, however, that the first and superior lien of the state and its taxing districts conveyed to the holder of the tax certificate, as provided in division (A) of section 5721.35 of the Revised Code, shall in no way be diminished or adversely affected if the tax certificate evidencing the conveyance of such first and superior lien, or memorandum thereof, is not recorded as provided in this section.

Effective Date: 07-20-2004

In lieu of the recording of a lease, there may be recorded a memorandum of that lease, executed and acknowledged in accordance with section 5301.01 of the Revised Code. The memorandum of lease shall contain the names of the lessor and the lessee and their addresses as set forth in the lease, a reference to the lease with its date of execution, a description of the leased premises with such certainty as to identify the property, including the reference provided for in section 5301.011 of the Revised Code, the term of the lease, together with any rights of renewal or extension of the lease, and the date of commencement of the term or the manner of determining the commencement of the term as set forth in the lease.

A memorandum of lease that is entitled to be so recorded also may set forth any other provisions contained in the lease, or the substance of those provisions, and shall be constructive notice of only that information contained in the memorandum.

Sections 317.08, 5301.251 , and 5301.33 of the Revised Code shall not be construed to affect the enforceability, validity, or legal effect of instruments recorded in those lease records prior to August 9, 1963.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

(A) An affidavit stating facts relating to the matters set forth under division (B) of this section that may affect the title to real estate in this state, made by any person having knowledge of the facts or competent to testify concerning them in open court, may be recorded in the office of the county recorder in the county in which the real estate is situated. When so recorded, such affidavit, or a certified copy, shall be evidence of the facts stated, insofar as such facts affect title to real estate.

(B) The affidavits provided for under this section may relate to the following matters:

(1) Age, sex, birth, death, capacity, relationship, family history, heirship, names, identity of parties, marriage, residence, or service in the armed forces;

(2) Possession;

(3) The happening of any condition or event that may create or terminate an estate or interest;

(4) The existence and location of monuments and physical boundaries, such as fences, streams, roads, and rights of way;

(5) In an affidavit of a registered surveyor, facts reconciling conflicts and ambiguities in descriptions of land in recorded instruments.

(C) The county recorder for the county where such affidavit is offered for record shall receive and cause the affidavit to be recorded as deeds are recorded, and collect the same fees for recording such affidavit as for recording deeds.

(D) Every affidavit provided for under this section shall include a description of the land, title to which may be affected by facts stated in such affidavit, and a reference to an instrument of record containing such description, and shall state the name of the person appearing by the record to be the owner of such land at the time of the recording of the affidavit. The recorder shall index the affidavit in the name of such record owner.

(E) Any person who knowingly makes any false statement in any affidavit provided for in this section is guilty of falsification under division (A)(6) of section 2921.13 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 03-18-1997

(A) The owner of any property who has received written notice that the property is in violation of any building or housing code shall give the purchaser or grantee of the property written notice of the code violations prior to entering into an agreement for the transfer of title to the property, or if the owner does not enter into a written agreement for the transfer, prior to the filing for record of a deed to the property. Any notice or order of a court or of a housing or building authority of the state or a political subdivision that relates to a violation of the building or housing code of the state or any political subdivision and that appears on the public records of the issuing authority is notice to all subsequent purchasers, transferees, or any other persons who acquire any interest in the real property in which the violation exists and may be enforced against their interest in the real property without further notice or order to them.

(B) The transfer of title to, or any interest in, real property in which a housing or building code violation exists shall not be grounds for dismissal of charges in any court against a previous owner of the real property for failure to comply with a notice for correction of a housing or building code violation.

Effective Date: 08-16-1978

(A) For the purposes of this section, “nonresident alien” means any individual who is not a citizen of, and is not domiciled in, the United States.

(B) Every nonresident alien who acquires any interest either in his own name or in the name of another, in real property located in this state that is in excess of three acres or that has a market value greater than one hundred thousand dollars or any interest in and to minerals, and any mining or other rights appurtenant thereto or in connection therewith that has a market value in excess of fifty thousand dollars shall, within thirty days of the acquisition of the interest in the property, together with a filing fee of five dollars, submit to the secretary of state on forms prescribed by him all of the following information:

(1) Name, address, and telephone number;

(2) Country of citizenship;

(3) Location and amount of acreage of real property;

(4) Intended use of real property at the time of filing.

(C) Every corporation or other business entity that is created or organized under the laws of any state or a foreign nation or that has its principal place of business in a foreign nation, in which a nonresident alien acquires at least ten per cent of the shares of stock or other interests or in which any number of nonresident aliens acquire at least forty per cent of the shares of stock or other interests, and which acquires any interest either in its own name or in the name of another, in real property located in this state that is in excess of three acres or that has a market value greater than one hundred thousand dollars or any interest in and to minerals, and any mining or other rights appurtenant thereto or exercisable in connection therewith that has a market value in excess of fifty thousand dollars shall, within thirty days of acquisition of the interest in the property, together with a filing fee of twenty-five dollars, submit to the secretary of state on forms prescribed by him all of the following information:

(1) Name, address of principal place of business, and address of principal Ohio office;

(2) Name, address, telephone number, and country of citizenship of each nonresident alien who owns at least ten per cent of the shares of stock or other interests, if any;

(3) The percentage, within five percentage points, of shares of stock or other interests controlled by the nonresident aliens of each country represented by them if such interests exceed five per cent;

(4) Location and amount of acreage of real property;

(5) Principal business of corporation or entity;

(6) Intended use of real property at the time of filing;

(7) Chairman of the governing board, if any; chief executive, if any, and partners, if any;

(8) Corporation’s or entity’s agent in this state;

(9) Place of incorporation, if a corporation;

(10) Number of persons who own shares of stock or other interests.

(D) If the ownership or control of a corporation or other business entity that is required in division (C) of this section to file with the secretary of state changes in such a way that the information contained on the filing form is no longer accurate, the corporation or other business entity shall notify the secretary of state in writing of such change within thirty days of the occurrence of the change.

If the ownership or control of a corporation or other business entity that owns real property in an amount larger than three acres or that has a market value greater than one hundred thousand dollars or that owns any interest in and to minerals, and any mining or other rights appurtenant thereto or exercisable in connection therewith that has a market value in excess of fifty thousand dollars changes in such a way that a nonresident alien acquires at least ten per cent of the shares of stock or other interests or any number of nonresident aliens acquire at least forty per cent of the shares of stock or other interests, the corporation or other business entity shall file with the secretary of state as required in division (C) of this section within thirty days of the occurrence of the change.

If a nonresident alien who is required to file with the secretary of state in division (B) of this section becomes a resident alien or a citizen of the United States, he shall notify the secretary of state in writing of the change in his status within thirty days of the change.

If a nonresident alien or a corporation or other business entity that is required to file with the secretary of state pursuant to this section sells the real property or mineral or mining rights that were reported to the secretary of state, the nonresident alien or corporation or other business entity shall notify the secretary of state in writing of the sale within thirty days of the sale.

(E) The secretary of state shall:

(1) Prescribe all forms and make all rules that are necessary for the implementation of this section;

(2) Maintain accurate records of the information that he receives pursuant to this section and make such information available to the public;

(3) Annually report this information, itemized by county, to the general assembly.

(F) No nonresident alien or corporation or other business entity that is required to file with the secretary of state pursuant to this section shall fail to comply with this section. Either the county prosecutor of the county in which the real property or the mineral or mining rights are located or the attorney general may bring action against any alleged offender. The secretary of state may request a county prosecutor or the attorney general to bring such an action.

(G) The filing of the information required by this section shall not be construed to perfect any interests permitted to be perfected under Title XIII [13] of the Revised Code by filing with the secretary of state.

Effective Date: 03-19-1979

(A) A memorandum of trust that satisfies both of the following may be presented for recordation in the office of the county recorder of any county in which real property that is subject to the trust is located:

(1) The memorandum shall be executed by the trustee of the trust and acknowledged by the trustee of the trust in accordance with section 5301.01 of the Revised Code.

(2) The memorandum shall state all of the following:

(a) The name and address of the trustee of the trust;

(b) The date of execution of the trust;

(c) The powers specified in the trust relative to the acquisition, sale, or encumbering of real property by the trustee or the conveyance of real property by the trustee, and any restrictions upon those powers.

(B) A memorandum of trust that satisfies divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section also may set forth the substance or actual text of provisions of the trust that are not described in those divisions.

(C) A memorandum of trust that satisfies divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section shall constitute notice only of the information contained in it.

(D) Upon the presentation for recordation of a memorandum of trust that satisfies divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section and the payment of the requisite fee prescribed in section 317.32 of the Revised Code, a county recorder shall record the memorandum of trust as follows:

(1) Unless division (D)(2) of this section applies, in the record of deeds described in division (A)(1) of section 317.08 of the Revised Code, if the memorandum of trust describes specific real property, or in the record of powers of attorney described in division (A)(3) of that section, if the memorandum of trust does not describe specific real property;

(2) If the county recorder records instruments in accordance with division (C) of section 317.08 of the Revised Code, in the official records described in that division.

Effective Date: 07-20-2004; 2007 SB134 01-17-2008

As between the vendor and vendee of land the vendor shall have a lien for so much of the purchase money as remains unpaid. Such lien shall not be effective as against a purchaser, mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other encumbrancer, unless there is a recital or a reservation of the lien in the deed, or in some instrument of record executed with the same formalities as are required for the execution of deeds and mortgages of land. The vendor waives his lien by taking a mortgage for any unpaid purchase money on the land conveyed or any part thereof, and the filing for record of such a mortgage with the county recorder of the county in which said land is located shall be constructive notice of the waiver of the vendor’s lien.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When any lands are left encumbered, by a deed, will, or other instrument of record, with the payment of money, or the performance of any acts by the grantee or devisee, such grantee or devisee or his heirs or assigns, upon the payment of the money or the performance of the acts, may present the receipt of such payment, or the proof of the performance of such acts, to the probate court of the county in which such lands are situated. The court must enter such payments and the proof of the performance of such acts on its journal, record the receipts and the proof of the performance of such acts on the margin of the will record in which such encumbrances are created, and order that this be done in like manner on the margin of the deed record by the county recorder. Such lands will then be relieved from the encumbrances except for fraud.

No such record of receipts or orders may be made by the probate judge nor shall he enter proof of the performance of such acts until notice thereof has been given as is required by sections 2109.32 and 2109.33 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When the mortgagee of property within this state, or the party to whom the mortgage has been assigned, either by a separate instrument, or in writing on that mortgage, or on the margin of the record of the mortgage, which assignment, if in writing on the mortgage or on the margin of the record of the mortgage, need not be acknowledged, receives payment of any part of the money due the holder of the mortgage, and secured by the mortgage, and enters satisfaction or a receipt for the payment, either on the mortgage or its record, that satisfaction or receipt, when entered on the record, or copied on the record from the original mortgage by the county recorder, will release the mortgage to the extent of the receipt. In all cases when a mortgage has been assigned in writing on that mortgage, the recorder shall copy the assignment from the original mortgage upon the margin of the record of the mortgage before the satisfaction or receipt is entered upon the record of the mortgage.

In a county in which the county recorder has determined to use the microfilm process as provided by section 9.01 of the Revised Code, the recorder may require that all satisfactions of mortgages be made by separate instrument. The original instrument bearing the proper endorsement may be used as such separate instrument. That separate instrument shall be recorded in the book provided by section 5301.34 of the Revised Code for the satisfactions of mortgages. The recorder shall charge the fee for the recording as provided by section 317.32 of the Revised Code for recording mortgages.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

When any release, cancellation, or satisfaction of a mortgage of real estate has been of record for more than twenty-one years in the office of the county recorder of the county in which such real estate is situated, and the record thereof shows that there is a defect in such release, cancellation, or satisfaction, such release, cancellation, or satisfaction, and the record thereof shall be cured of such defect, if such defect is due to any of the following:

(A) It purports to be signed by an agent or attorney of the mortgagee or a trustee, and no power of attorney or other evidence of authority so to release, cancel, or satisfy such mortgage is of record.

(B) It was signed by less than all of two or more executors, administrators, guardians, assignees in insolvency, or trustees.

(C) The record of such release, cancellation, or satisfaction is not attested by the recorder.

(D) The release, cancellation, or satisfaction by a corporation is executed by officers thereof without signing the name of the corporation thereto.

Effective Date: 11-09-1959

No real estate mortgage release, cancellation, or satisfaction of record in the office of the county recorder of the county within this state in which such real estate is situated shall be deemed defective because:

(A) The executor, administrator, guardian, assignee, or trustee signed it individually instead of in his representative or official capacity.

(B) The release, cancellation, or satisfaction is by separate instrument, and the certificate of acknowledgment is not on the same sheet of paper as the release, cancellation, or satisfaction.

(C) A satisfaction was not recorded within ninety days as required by division (B) of section 5301.36 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-20-1984

The record of any mortgage which remains unsatisfied or unreleased of record for more than twenty-one years after the date of the mortgage or twenty-one years after the stated maturity date of the principal sum, if a stated date of maturity is provided in the mortgage, whichever is later, secured as shown in the record of such mortgage, does not give notice to or put on inquiry any person dealing with the land described in such mortgage that such mortgage debt remains unpaid or has been extended or renewed. As to subsequent bona fide purchasers, mortgagees, and other persons dealing with such land for value, the lien of such mortgage has expired. The mortgage creditor may at any time refile in the county recorder’s office the mortgage or a sworn copy thereof for record, together with an affidavit stating the amount remaining due thereon and the due date thereof, whether or not such date has been extended. Subject to the rights of bona fide purchasers, mortgagees, and other persons dealing with such land for value, whose rights were acquired or vested between such expiration and refiling, such refiling is constructive notice of such mortgage only for a period of twenty-one years after such refiling, or for twenty-one years after the stated maturity of the debt, whichever is the longer period.

Effective Date: 07-26-1963

Except in counties in which a separate instrument is required to assign or partially release a mortgage as described in section 5301.32 of the Revised Code, a mortgage may be assigned or partially released by the holder of the mortgage, by writing the assignment or partial release on the original mortgage or upon the margin of the record of the original mortgage and signing it. The assignment or partial release need not be acknowledged, but, if it is written upon the margin of the record of the original mortgage, the signing shall be attested by the county recorder. The assignment, whether it is upon the original mortgage, upon the margin of the record of the original mortgage, or by separate instrument, shall transfer not only the lien of the mortgage but also all interest in the land described in the mortgage. An assignment of a mortgage shall contain the then current mailing address of the assignee. The signature of a person on the assignment or partial release may be a facsimile of that person’s signature. A facsimile of a signature on an assignment or partial release is equivalent to and constitutes the written signature of the person for all requirements regarding mortgage assignments or partial releases.

For entering an assignment or partial release of a mortgage upon the margin of the record of the original mortgage or for attesting it, the recorder shall be entitled to the fee provided by section 317.32 of the Revised Code for recording the assignment and satisfaction of mortgages.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

A mortgage may be assigned or partially released by a separate instrument of assignment or partial release, acknowledged as provided by section 5301.01 of the Revised Code. The separate instrument of assignment or partial release shall be recorded in the book provided by section 5301.34 of the Revised Code for the recording of satisfactions of mortgages. The county recorder shall be entitled to charge the fee for that recording as provided by section 317.32 of the Revised Code for recording deeds. The signature of a person on the assignment or partial release may be a facsimile of that person’s signature. A facsimile of a signature on an assignment or partial release is equivalent to and constitutes the written signature of the person for all requirements regarding mortgage assignments or partial releases.

In a county in which the recorder has determined to use the microfilm process as provided by section 9.01 of the Revised Code, the recorder may require that all assignments and partial releases of mortgages be by separate instruments. The original instrument bearing the proper endorsement may be used as the separate instrument.

An assignment of a mortgage shall contain the then current mailing address of the assignee.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

Except in counties where deeds or other separate instruments are required as provided in this section, a lease, whether or not renewable forever, that is recorded in any county recorder’s office, may be canceled or partially released by the lessor and lessee, or assigned by either of them, by writing the cancellation, partial release, or assignment on the original lease, or upon the margin of the record of the original lease, and by signing it. That cancellation, partial release, or assignment need not be acknowledged, but if written on the margin of the record, the signing shall be attested to by the recorder. The assignment by the lessee, whether it is upon the lease, or upon the margin of the record of the lease, or by separate instrument, shall transfer all interest held by the lessee under the lease in the premises described in the lease, unless otherwise stated in the lease or in the assignment. For copying the cancellation, partial release, or assignment upon the margin of the record, if written upon the original instrument, or for attesting it, if written upon the margin of the record, the recorder shall charge the fee provided by section 317.32 of the Revised Code for recording the assignment and satisfaction of mortgages.

A lease, whether or not renewable forever, that is recorded in any county recorder’s office, also may be canceled, partially released, or assigned by deed or by other separate instrument acknowledged as provided in section 5301.01 of the Revised Code. Unless in the form of a deed, a separate instrument of cancellation, partial release, or assignment shall be recorded in the record of leases provided for by section 317.08 of the Revised Code. The recorder shall charge the fee for that recording as provided in section 317.32 of the Revised Code for recording deeds.

If a lease has been canceled, partially released, or assigned by deed or by other separate instrument and that deed or other separate instrument recites the recorder’s file number of the original lease or the volume and page of the record in which the original lease is recorded, the recorder shall note on the margin of the record of the original lease the recorder’s file number of the deed or other separate instrument or the volume and page of the record in which the same is recorded.

“Lessor” and “lessee” as used in this section include an assignee of the interest of either. “Lease” as used in this section includes a memorandum of lease provided for by section 5301.251 of the Revised Code. This section does not permit the assignment of any lease if the assignment is prohibited by the terms of the lease.

In a county in which the county recorder has determined to use the microfilm process as provided by section 9.01 of the Revised Code, the recorder may require that all cancellations, partial releases, and assignments of leases be by deed or other separate instrument. The original instrument bearing the proper endorsement may be used as such separate instrument.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

Except in counties where deeds or other instruments are required as provided in this section, a land contract that is recorded in the office of the county recorder may be cancelled, partially released by the vendor and vendee, or assigned by either of them by writing the cancellation, partial release, or assignment on the original land contract or upon the margin of the record of the original land contract, and by signing it. That cancellation, partial release, or assignment need not be acknowledged, but if written on the margin of the record, the signing shall be attested to by the county recorder. The assignment by the vendee, whether it is on the land contract or upon the margin of the record of that contract, or by separate instrument, shall transfer the right held by the vendee under the land contract in the premises described in the contract unless otherwise stated in the land contract or in the assignment. For copying the cancellation, partial release, or assignment upon the margin of the record, or for attesting it, if written upon the margin of the record, the recorder shall charge the fee provided by section 317.32 of the Revised Code for recording the assignment and satisfaction of mortgages.

A land contract that is recorded in the office of the county recorder may also be cancelled, partially released, or assigned by deed or by other separate instrument, acknowledged as provided in section 5301.01 of the Revised Code. Unless in the form of a deed, a separate instrument of cancellation, partial release, or assignment shall be recorded in the book provided by section 5301.34 of the Revised Code for recording satisfactions of mortgages. The recorder shall charge the fee for that record as provided for in section 317.32 of the Revised Code for record fees.

If a land contract has been cancelled, partially released, or assigned by deed or other separate instrument, and that deed or other separate instrument recites the recorder’s file number of the original land contract or the volume and page of the record in which the original land contract is recorded, the recorder shall note on the margin of the original land contract the recorder’s file number of the deed or other separate instrument or the volume and page of the record in which the same is recorded.

“Vendor” and “vendee” as used in this section include an assignee of the interest of either. This section does not permit the assignment of any land contract if the assignment is prohibited by the terms of the land contract.

In a county where the county recorder has determined to use the microfilm process as provided by section 9.01 of the Revised Code, the recorder may require that all cancellations, partial releases, and assignments of land contracts be by deed or other separate instrument. The original instrument bearing the proper endorsement may be used as such separate instrument.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

Whenever leases of natural gas and oil lands recorded under section 5301.09 of the Revised Code concerning lands upon which there are no producing or drilling oil or gas wells become forfeited for failure of the lessee, his successors or assigns, to abide by specifically described covenants provided for in the lease, or because the term of the lease has expired, the lessor, his successors or assigns, may file for record an affidavit for forfeiture with the county recorder after serving notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the lessee, his successors or assigns, at his last known address, or if service is not obtained by certified mail, by giving notice by publication at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the land is located of the lessor’s intent to declare the lease forfeited.

The notice or publication shall be addressed to the lessee, his successors or assigns, and shall contain the name of the lessee; a general description of the land; the number of acres; the date of the lease; the volume and page of the lease record where the lease is recorded; the cause of the forfeiture; and shall state the intention of the lessor to file for record an affidavit of forfeiture with the county recorder if the lessee does not have the lease released of record within thirty days from the date of receipt of the notice or of publication.

After thirty days and not more than sixty days from the date of proof of mailing or publication of the notice, the lessor, his successors or assigns, may file with the county recorder an affidavit of forfeiture setting forth that he is the lessor of an oil or gas lease; the volume and page of the lease record where the oil or gas lease is recorded; that the lessee, his successors or assigns, has failed and neglected to comply with specifically described covenants provided for in the lease, reciting the facts constituting such failure, or that the term of the lease has expired; that there are no producing or drilling oil or gas wells on the leased premises; that the lease has been forfeited and is void; and that notice was served on the lessee, his successors or assigns, or publication made and the manner and time thereof.

If the lessee, his successors or assigns, claims that the lease is in full force and effect, the lessee, his successors or assigns, shall, within sixty days after the mailing or publication of the notice of the lessor of his intention to declare the lease forfeited, notify the person who filed the affidavit of forfeiture of the claim, and file for record an affidavit with the office of the county recorder of the county in which the land is situated stating that the lease has not been forfeited and that the lessee, his successors or assigns, still claim that the lease is in full force and effect.

If the lessee, his successors or assigns, does not give such notice in writing to the lessor at any time prior to the sixtieth day after the mailing or publication of the notice of the lessor of his intention to declare the lease forfeited, then the lessor shall cause the county recorder to note upon the margin of the record of the lease the following: “This lease cancelled pursuant to affidavit of forfeiture recorded in Lease Vol. . . ., Page. . . .” Thereafter the record of the lease shall not be notice to the public of the existence of the lease or of any interest therein or rights thereunder and the record shall not be received in evidence in any court of the state on behalf of lessee, his successors or assigns, against the lessor, his successors or assigns.

For recording the affidavit of forfeiture, for noting such cancellation upon the margin of the record, and for recording the affidavit giving notice that the lease has not been forfeited, the recorder shall charge the fees provided by section 317.32 of the Revised Code.

In a county in which the county recorder has determined to use the microfilm process as provided by section 9.01 of the Revised Code, the recorder may, where applicable, require that the notation “This lease cancelled pursuant to affidavit of forfeiture recorded in Lease Vol. . . ., Page . . . .” be entered on the affidavit, and that the affidavit be recorded in the record of leases provided for by section 317.08 of the Revised Code. The recorder shall charge the fee for such recording as provided by section 317.32 of the Revised Code for the recording of deeds. The record of the lease is not notice to the public of the existence of the lease or of any interests therein or rights thereunder and the record shall not be received in evidence in any court of the state on behalf of the lessee, his successors or assigns, against the lessor, his successors or assigns.

Effective Date: 10-31-1979

A mortgage shall be discharged upon the record of the mortgage by the county recorder when there is presented to the county recorder a certificate executed by the mortgagee or the mortgagee’s assigns, acknowledged as provided in section 5301.01 of the Revised Code, or when there is presented to the recorder a deed of release executed by the governor as provided in section 5301.19 of the Revised Code, certifying that the mortgage has been fully paid and satisfied. In addition to the discharge on the records by the recorder, such certificate shall be recorded in a book kept for that purpose by the recorder. The recorder is entitled to the fees for such recording as provided by section 317.32 of the Revised Code for recording deeds.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

The priority of the lien of a mortgage may be waived to the extent specified by the holder of the lien in favor of any lien, mortgage, lease, easement, or other interest in the property covered by the mortgage, by writing the waiver of priority on the original mortgage and signing it, by writing the waiver of priority upon the margin of the record of that mortgage and signing it, or by a separate instrument acknowledged as provided by section 5301.01 of the Revised Code. That waiver, when recorded upon the margin of the record of the mortgage, or when recorded as a separate instrument, is constructive notice to all persons dealing with either the property described in that mortgage or the mortgage itself from the date of filing the waiver for record. The waiver, if written upon the mortgage or upon the margin of the record of the mortgage, need not be acknowledged, but if written upon the margin of the record, the signing shall be attested by the county recorder.

If the waiver of priority is by separate instrument, it shall be recorded in the book provided by section 5301.34 of the Revised Code for the recording of satisfactions of mortgages. For the recording, the county recorder may charge the fee as provided by section 317.32 of the Revised Code for recording deeds. For entering any waiver of priority upon the margin of the record of the mortgage, or for attesting it, the recorder is entitled to the fees for recording those waivers of priority that are charged for assignments or satisfactions of mortgages under section 317.32 of the Revised Code.

In a county in which the county recorder has determined to use the microfilm process as provided by section 9.01 of the Revised Code, the recorder may require that all waivers of priority of mortgages be made by separate instrument. The original instrument bearing the proper endorsement may be used as such separate instrument.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

(A) Except in a county in which the county recorder has elected to require that all satisfactions of mortgages be recorded by separate instrument as allowed under section 5301.28 of the Revised Code, when recording a mortgage, county recorders shall leave space on the margin of the record for the entry of satisfaction, and record therein the satisfaction made on the mortgage, or permit the owner of the claim secured by the mortgage to enter such satisfaction. Such record shall have the same effect as the record of a release of the mortgage.

(B) Within ninety days from the date of the satisfaction of a residential mortgage, the mortgagee shall record the fact of the satisfaction in the appropriate county recorder’s office and pay any fees required for the recording. The mortgagee may, by contract with the mortgagor, recover the cost of the fees required for the recording of the satisfaction by the county recorder.

(C) If the mortgagee fails to comply with division (B) of this section, the mortgagor may recover, in a civil action, damages of two hundred fifty dollars. This division does not preclude or affect any other legal remedies that may be available to the mortgagor.

(D) As used in this section, “residential mortgage” means an obligation to pay a sum of money evidenced by a note and secured by a lien upon real property located within this state containing two or fewer residential units or on which two or fewer residential units are to be constructed and shall include such an obligation on a residential condominium or cooperative unit.

Effective Date: 12-13-1984

Whenever the county recorder in making photostatic or photographic records leaves no margin suitable for the entering or recording of assignments, cancellations, or further transactions relating to the instruments so recorded, or whenever such margin is completely filled with assignments, cancellations, or further transactions relating to the instruments so recorded, such transactions shall be effected by separate instruments executed and recorded according to law.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Patents for lands lying within this state, granted to any person by the president of the United States, and copies of such patents, certified under the official seal of the commissioner of the general land office of the United States, and exemplifications of the record of the general land office of any patent recorded there, may be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which such lands, or a part thereof, are situated.

The recorder shall be paid the fees for recording such patents as provided in section 317.32 of the Revised Code for recording deeds.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The court in which proceedings are commenced, relative to a mortgage or other lien, change of title, or partition of lands, the final judgment, order, or decree in which is to release or declare such mortgage or other lien void, in whole or in part, or require the judicial sale of property included in the mortgage or other lien, in case of failure to pay the amount secured thereby, or when the title has been changed by judgment or decree, or partition made and confirmed between tenants in common, at the rendition of such final judgment, order, or decree, shall make the necessary order for the proper entry of a memorandum, release, or satisfaction, by the clerk of such court, on the record of such mortgage or other lien, and in cases of change of title or partition, for the record of so much of the decree in the records in the office of the county recorder, as is necessary to show such change of title or partition.

In a county in which the county recorder has determined to use the microfilm process as provided by section 9.01 of the Revised code and has elected to require a separate instrument for satisfactions and other actions affecting mortgages and other liens on real property, the court order for proper entry as referred to in this section, or certified copy thereof, may constitute the separate instrument and shall be recorded according to the type of action involved.

Effective Date: 12-17-1973

When a mortgage or other lien is satisfied or declared void, in whole or in part, by a judgment, final order, or decree, the clerk of the court in which the proceedings are had shall enter upon the record of the mortgage or other lien, in the county recorder’s office where it is recorded, a memorandum of the character of the proceedings, giving also the volume and page of the record where they are recorded.

The clerk may tax in the bill of costs the fees of the recorder provided by law for the entry of the memorandum, release, satisfaction, or record, including a fee to himself for making the entry as provided for in division (K) of section 2303.20 of the Revised Code, and the fees provided by law for official copies of records.

In a county in which the county recorder has determined to use the microfilm process as provided by section 9.01 of the Revised Code and has elected to require a separate instrument for satisfactions of mortgages and other liens, the judgment, final order, or decree may constitute the separate instrument and shall be recorded as appropriate for the type of action involved.

Effective Date: 01-01-1993

If the final judgment, order, or decree referred to in section 5301.39 of the Revised Code, upon which the entry of release, satisfaction, change of title, or partition is based, or in which the order for release, satisfaction, or record is included, is reversed, vacated, or modified, such reversal, vacation, or modification, so far as it applies to such memorandum, release, or satisfaction of such mortgage or other lien, record of change of title, or partition, will vacate or modify the entry and record.

Effective Date: 01-10-1961

Sections 5301.39 to 5301.41, inclusive, of the Revised Code do not give to any judgment, order, or decree an effect, by reason of the entry thereof in the county recorder’s office, other than that which it would have had without such entry.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

A copy of the record of a deed or other instrument of writing, certified by the county recorder with his official seal affixed thereto, shall be received in all courts and places within this state, as prima-facie evidence of the existence of such instrument, and as conclusive evidence of the existence of such record.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When a conveyance of real estate has been executed in which there is a mistake, defect or omission in the description of the lands, execution, acknowledgment, or otherwise, and it has been recorded in the county recorder’s office of the county where the lands are or were situated at the time of such record, the record or a certified copy thereof in an action to cure or supply such defect, mistake, or omission, or to compel the execution of a valid conveyance of such real estate, may be read in evidence, and shall be prima-facie evidence that such instrument was executed and existed as shown by such record.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When a deed, mortgage, lease, or other instrument of writing intended to convey or encumber an interest in real estate is not printed or written on a single sheet, or when the certificate of acknowledgment thereof is not printed or written on the same sheet with the instrument, and such defective conveyance is corrected by the judgment of a court, or by the voluntary act of the parties thereto, such judgment or act shall relate back so as to be operative from the time of filing the original conveyance in the county recorder’s office.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A) As used in this section, “separate instrument” means an instrument other than the writing in which was created the interest in real property that is being assigned, released, or canceled.

(B) In any county that maintains sectional indexes pursuant to section 317.20 of the Revised Code, each assignment, release, or cancellation of an interest in real property that is made by a separate instrument shall contain a description of the real property that is subject to the interest sufficient to enable the county recorder to index the assignment, release, or cancellation correctly, and the description shall include all of the following:

(1) The permanent parcel number, if there is one, for the real property;

(2) The section, range, tract, subdivision, addition, lot, quarter, and municipal corporation, town, or township associated with the real property.

(C) If division (B) of this section requires a description of the subject real property to be contained in an assignment, release, or cancellation of an interest in real property that is made by a separate instrument, the omission in the assignment, release, or cancellation of any part of the description does not invalidate that instrument.

Effective Date: 10-10-1991

As used in sections 5301.47 to 5301.56, inclusive, of the Revised Code:

(A) “Marketable record title” means a title of record, as indicated in section 5301.48 of the Revised Code, which operates to extinguish such interests and claims, existing prior to the effective date of the root of title, as are stated in section 5301.50 of the Revised Code.

(B) “Records” includes probate and other official public records, as well as records in the office of the recorder of the county in which all or part of the land is situate.

(C) “Recording,” when applied to the official public records of the probate or other court, includes filing.

(D) “Person dealing with land” includes a purchaser of any estate or interest therein, a mortgagee, a levying or attaching creditor, a land contract vendee, or any other person seeking to acquire an estate or interest therein, or impose a lien thereon.

(E) “Root of title” means that conveyance or other title transaction in the chain of title of a person, purporting to create the interest claimed by such person, upon which he relies as a basis for the marketability of his title, and which was the most recent to be recorded as of a date forty years prior to the time when marketability is being determined. The effective date of the “root of title” is the date on which it is recorded.

(F) “Title transaction” means any transaction affecting title to any interest in land, including title by will or descent, title by tax deed, or by trustee’s, assignee’s, guardian’s, executor’s, administrator’s, or sheriff’s deed, or decree of any court, as well as warranty deed, quit claim deed, or mortgage.

Effective Date: 09-29-1961

Any person having the legal capacity to own land in this state, who has an unbroken chain of title of record to any interest in land for forty years or more, has a marketable record title to such interest as defined in section 5301.47 of the Revised Code, subject to the matters stated in section 5301.49 of the Revised Code.

A person has such an unbroken chain of title when the official public records disclose a conveyance or other title transaction, of record not less than forty years at the time the marketability is to be determined, which said conveyance or other title transaction purports to create such interest, either in:

(A) The person claiming such interest; or

(B) Some other person from whom, by one or more conveyances or other title transactions of record, such purported interest has become vested in the person claiming such interest; with nothing appearing of record, in either case, purporting to divest such claimant of such purported interest.

Effective Date: 09-29-1961

Such record marketable title shall be subject to:

(A) All interests and defects which are inherent in the muniments of which such chain of record title is formed; provided that a general reference in such muniments, or any of them, to easements, use restrictions, or other interests created prior to the root of title shall not be sufficient to preserve them, unless specific identification be made therein of a recorded title transaction which creates such easement, use restriction, or other interest; and provided that possibilities of reverter, and rights of entry or powers of termination for breach of condition subsequent, which interests are inherent in the muniments of which such chain of record title is formed and which have existed for forty years or more, shall be preserved and kept effective only in the manner provided in section 5301.51 of the Revised Code;

(B) All interests preserved by the filing of proper notice or by possession by the same owner continuously for a period of forty years or more, in accordance with section 5301.51 of the Revised Code;

(C) The rights of any person arising from a period of adverse possession or user, which was in whole or in part subsequent to the effective date of the root of title;

(D) Any interest arising out of a title transaction which has been recorded subsequent to the effective date of the root of title from which the unbroken chain of title or record is started; provided that such recording shall not revive or give validity to any interest which has been extinguished prior to the time of the recording by the operation of section 5301.50 of the Revised Code;

(E) The exceptions stated in section 5301.53 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 01-23-1963

Subject to the matters stated in section 5301.49 of the Revised Code, such record marketable title shall be held by its owner and shall be taken by any person dealing with the land free and clear of all interests, claims, or charges whatsoever, the existence of which depends upon any act, transaction, event, or omission that occurred prior to the effective date of the root of title. All such interests, claims, or charges, however denominated, whether legal or equitable, present or future, whether such interests, claims, or charges are asserted by a person sui juris or under a disability, whether such person is within or without the state, whether such person is natural or corporate, or is private or governmental, are hereby declared to be null and void.

Effective Date: 09-29-1961

(A) Any person claiming an interest in land may preserve and keep effective the interest by filing for record during the forty-year period immediately following the effective date of the root of title of the person whose record title would otherwise be marketable, a notice in compliance with section 5301.52 of the Revised Code. No disability or lack of knowledge of any kind on the part of anyone suspends the running of the forty-year period. The notice may be filed for record by the claimant or by any other person acting on behalf of any claimant who is:

(1) Under a disability;

(2) Unable to assert a claim on his own behalf; or

(3) One of a class, but whose identity cannot be established or is uncertain at the time of filing the notice of claim for record.

(B) If the same record owner of any possessory interest in land has been in possession of the land continuously for a period of forty years or more, during which period no title transaction with respect to such interest appears of record in his chain of title, and no notice has been filed by him on his behalf as provided in division (A) of this section, and such possession continues to the time when marketability is being determined, the period of possession is equivalent to the filing of the notice immediately preceding the termination of the forty-year period described in division (A) of this section.

Effective Date: 05-31-1988

(A) To be effective and entitled to recording, the notice referred to in section 5301.51 of the Revised Code shall satisfy all of the following:

(1) Be in the form of an affidavit;

(2) State the nature of the claim to be preserved and the names and addresses of the persons for whose benefit the notice is being filed;

(3) Contain an accurate and full description of all land affected by the notice, which description shall be set forth in particular terms and not by general inclusions, except that if the claim is founded upon a recorded instrument, the description in the notice may be the same as that contained in such recorded instrument;

(4) State the name of each record owner of the land affected by the notice, at the time of its recording, together with the recording information of the instrument by which each record owner acquired title to the land;

(5) Be made by any person who has knowledge of the relevant facts or is competent to testify concerning them in court.

(B) The notice shall be filed for record in the office of the recorder of the county or counties where the land described in it is situated. The recorder of each county shall accept all such notices presented to him which describe land situated in the county in which he serves, shall enter and record them in the deed records of that county, and shall index each notice in the grantee deed index under the names of the claimants appearing in that notice and in the grantor deed index under the names of the record owners appearing in that notice. Such notices also shall be indexed under the description of the real estate involved in a book set apart for that purpose to be known as the “Notice Index.” Each recorder may charge the same fees for the recording of such notices as are charged for recording deeds.

(C) A notice prepared, executed, and recorded in conformity with the requirements of this section, or a certified copy of it, shall be accepted as evidence of the facts stated insofar as they affect title to the land affected by that notice.

(D) Any person who knowingly makes any false statement in a notice executed under this section is guilty of perjury under section 2921.11 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 05-31-1988

(A) Any lessor or his successor as reversioner of his right to possession on the expiration of any lease, or any lessee or his successor of his rights in and to any lease, except as may be permitted under section 5301.56 of the Revised Code;

(B) Any easement or interest in the nature of an easement created or held for any railroad or public utility purpose;

(C) Any easement or interest in the nature of an easement, the existence of which is clearly observable by physical evidence of its use;

(D) Any easement or interest in the nature of an easement, or any rights granted, excepted, or reserved by the instrument creating such easement or interest, including any rights for future use, if the existence of such easement or interest is evidenced by the location beneath, upon, or above any part of the land described in such instrument of any pipe, valve, road, wire, cable, conduit, duct, sewer, track, pole, tower, or other physical facility and whether or not the existence of such facility is observable;

(E) Any right, title, estate, or interest in coal, and any mining or other rights pertinent to or exercisable in connection with any right, title, estate, or interest in coal;

(F) Any mortgage recorded in conformity with section 1701.66 of the Revised Code;

(G) Any right, title, or interest of the United States, of this state, or of any political subdivision, body politic, or agency of the United States or this state.

Effective Date: 03-22-1989

Nothing contained in sections 5301.47 to 5301.56, inclusive, of the Revised Code, shall be construed to extend the period for the bringing of an action or for the doing of any other required act under any statutes of limitations, nor, except as provided in sections 5301.47 to 5301.56, inclusive, of the Revised Code, to affect the operation of any statutes governing the effect of the recording or the failure to record any instrument affecting land.

Effective Date: 09-29-1961

Sections 5301.47 to 5301.56, inclusive, of the Revised Code, shall be liberally construed to effect the legislative purpose of simplifying and facilitating land title transactions by allowing persons to rely on a record chain of title as described in section 5301.48 of the Revised Code, subject only to such limitations as appear in section 5301.49 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-29-1961

(A) As used in this section:

(1) “Holder” means the record holder of a mineral interest, and any person who derives the person’s rights from, or has a common source with, the record holder and whose claim does not indicate, expressly or by clear implication, that it is adverse to the interest of the record holder.

(2) “Drilling or mining permit” means a permit issued under Chapter 1509., 1513., or 1514. of the Revised Code to the holder to drill an oil or gas well or to mine other minerals.

(3) “Mineral interest” means a fee interest in at least one mineral regardless of how the interest is created and of the form of the interest, which may be absolute or fractional or divided or undivided.

(4) “Mineral” means gas, oil, coal, coalbed methane gas, other gaseous, liquid, and solid hydrocarbons, sand, gravel, clay, shale, gypsum, halite, limestone, dolomite, sandstone, other stone, metalliferous or nonmetalliferous ore, or another material or substance of commercial value that is excavated in a solid state from natural deposits on or in the earth.

(5) “Owner of the surface of the lands subject to the interest” includes the owner’s successors and assignees.

(B) Any mineral interest held by any person, other than the owner of the surface of the lands subject to the interest, shall be deemed abandoned and vested in the owner of the surface of the lands subject to the interest if the requirements established in division (E) of this section are satisfied and none of the following applies:

(1) The mineral interest is in coal, or in mining or other rights pertinent to or exercisable in connection with an interest in coal, as described in division (E) of section 5301.53 of the Revised Code. However, if a mineral interest includes both coal and other minerals that are not coal, the mineral interests that are not in coal may be deemed abandoned and vest in the owner of the surface of the lands subject to the interest.

(2) The mineral interest is held by the United States, this state, or any political subdivision, body politic, or agency of the United States or this state, as described in division (G) of section 5301.53 of the Revised Code.

(3) Within the twenty years immediately preceding the date on which notice is served or published under division (E) of this section, one or more of the following has occurred:

(a) The mineral interest has been the subject of a title transaction that has been filed or recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the lands are located.

(b) There has been actual production or withdrawal of minerals by the holder from the lands, from lands covered by a lease to which the mineral interest is subject, from a mine a portion of which is located beneath the lands, or, in the case of oil or gas, from lands pooled, unitized, or included in unit operations, under sections 1509.26 to 1509.28 of the Revised Code, in which the mineral interest is participating, provided that the instrument or order creating or providing for the pooling or unitization of oil or gas interests has been filed or recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the lands that are subject to the pooling or unitization are located.

(c) The mineral interest has been used in underground gas storage operations by the holder.

(d) A drilling or mining permit has been issued to the holder, provided that an affidavit that states the name of the permit holder, the permit number, the type of permit, and a legal description of the lands affected by the permit has been filed or recorded, in accordance with section 5301.252 of the Revised Code, in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the lands are located.

(e) A claim to preserve the mineral interest has been filed in accordance with division (C) of this section.

(f) In the case of a separated mineral interest, a separately listed tax parcel number has been created for the mineral interest in the county auditor’s tax list and the county treasurer’s duplicate tax list in the county in which the lands are located.

(C)(1) A claim to preserve a mineral interest from being deemed abandoned under division (B) of this section may be filed for record by its holder. Subject to division (C)(3) of this section, the claim shall be filed and recorded in accordance with division (H) of this section and sections 317.18 to 317.201 and 5301.52 of the Revised Code, and shall consist of a notice that does all of the following:

(a) States the nature of the mineral interest claimed and any recording information upon which the claim is based;

(b) Otherwise complies with section 5301.52 of the Revised Code;

(c) States that the holder does not intend to abandon, but instead to preserve, the holder’s rights in the mineral interest.

(2) A claim that complies with division (C)(1) of this section or, if applicable, divisions (C)(1) and (3) of this section preserves the rights of all holders of a mineral interest in the same lands.

(3) Any holder of an interest for use in underground gas storage operations may preserve the holder’s interest, and those of any lessor of the interest, by a single claim, that defines the boundaries of the storage field or pool and its formations, without describing each separate interest claimed. The claim is prima-facie evidence of the use of each separate interest in underground gas storage operations.

(D)(1) A mineral interest may be preserved indefinitely from being deemed abandoned under division (B) of this section by the occurrence of any of the circumstances described in division (B)(3) of this section, including, but not limited to, successive filings of claims to preserve mineral interests under division (C) of this section.

(2) The filing of a claim to preserve a mineral interest under division (C) of this section does not affect the right of a lessor of an oil or gas lease to obtain its forfeiture under section 5301.332 of the Revised Code.

(E) Before a mineral interest becomes vested under division (B) of this section in the owner of the surface of the lands subject to the interest, the owner of the surface of the lands subject to the interest shall do both of the following:

(1) Serve notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each holder or each holder’s successors or assignees, at the last known address of each, of the owner’s intent to declare the mineral interest abandoned. If service of notice cannot be completed to any holder, the owner shall publish notice of the owner’s intent to declare the mineral interest abandoned at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the land that is subject to the interest is located. The notice shall contain all of the information specified in division (F) of this section.

(2) At least thirty, but not later than sixty days after the date on which the notice required under division (E)(1) of this section is served or published, as applicable, file in the office of the county recorder of each county in which the surface of the land that is subject to the interest is located an affidavit of abandonment that contains all of the information specified in division (G) of this section.

(F) The notice required under division (E)(1) of this section shall contain all of the following:

(1) The name of each holder and the holder’s successors and assignees, as applicable;

(2) A description of the surface of the land that is subject to the mineral interest. The description shall include the volume and page number of the recorded deed or other recorded instrument under which the owner of the surface of the lands claims title or otherwise satisfies the requirements established in division (A)(3) of section 5301.52 of the Revised Code.

(3) A description of the mineral interest to be abandoned. The description shall include the volume and page number of the recorded instrument on which the mineral interest is based.

(4) A statement attesting that nothing specified in division (B)(3) of this section has occurred within the twenty years immediately preceding the date on which notice is served or published under division (E) of this section;

(5) A statement of the intent of the owner of the surface of the lands subject to the mineral interest to file in the office of the county recorder an affidavit of abandonment at least thirty, but not later than sixty days after the date on which notice is served or published, as applicable.

(G) An affidavit of abandonment shall contain all of the following:

(1) A statement that the person filing the affidavit is the owner of the surface of the lands subject to the interest;

(2) The volume and page number of the recorded instrument on which the mineral interest is based;

(3) A statement that the mineral interest has been abandoned pursuant to division (B) of this section;

(4) A recitation of the facts constituting the abandonment;

(5) A statement that notice was served on each holder or each holder’s successors or assignees or published in accordance with division (E) of this section.

(H)(1) If a holder or a holder’s successors or assignees claim that the mineral interest that is the subject of a notice under division (E) of this section has not been abandoned, the holder or the holder’s successors or assignees, not later than sixty days after the date on which the notice was served or published, as applicable, shall file in the office of the county recorder of each county where the land that is subject to the mineral interest is located one of the following:

(a) A claim to preserve the mineral interest in accordance with division (C) of this section;

(b) An affidavit that identifies an event described in division (B)(3) of this section that has occurred within the twenty years immediately preceding the date on which the notice was served or published under division (E) of this section.

The holder or the holder’s successors or assignees shall notify the person who served or published the notice under division (E) of this section of the filing under this division.

(2) If a holder or a holder’s successors or assignees who claim that the mineral interest that is the subject of a notice under division (E) of this section has not been abandoned fails to file a claim to preserve the mineral interest, files such a claim more than sixty days after the date on which the notice was served or published under division (E) of this section, fails to file an affidavit that identifies an event described in division (B)(3) of this section that has occurred within the twenty years immediately preceding the date on which the notice was served or published under division (E) of this section, or files such an affidavit more than sixty days after the date on which the notice was served or published under that division, the owner of the surface of the lands subject to the interest who is seeking to have the interest deemed abandoned and vested in the owner shall cause the county recorder of each applicable county to memorialize the record on which the severed mineral interest is based with the following: “This mineral interest abandoned pursuant to affidavit of abandonment recorded in volume …., page …..”

Immediately after the county recorder memorializes the record, the mineral interest shall vest in the owner of the surface of the lands formerly subject to the interest, and the record of the mineral interest shall cease to be notice to the public of the existence of the mineral interest or of any rights under it. In addition, the record shall not be received as evidence in any court in this state on behalf of the former holder or the former holder’s successors or assignees against the owner of the surface of the lands formerly subject to the interest. However, the abandonment and vesting of a mineral interest pursuant to divisions (E) to (I) of this section only shall be effective as to the property of the owner that filed the affidavit of abandonment under division (E) of this section.

(I) For purposes of a recording under this section, a county recorder shall charge the fee established under section 317.32 of the Revised Code.

A county recorder who uses microfilm as provided under section 9.01 of the Revised Code may require the memorial “This mineral interest abandoned pursuant to affidavit of abandonment recorded in volume …., page …..” to be located on the affidavit of abandonment instead of the record on which the severed mineral interest is based, and the affidavit may be recorded under section 317.08 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 03-22-1989; 06-30-2006

No person having an interest in real property, buyer, lessee, tenant, or occupant of real property, knowing that such real property is mortgaged or the subject of a land contract, shall remove, or cause or permit the removal of any improvement or fixture from such real property without the consent of the mortgagee, vendor under the land contract, or other person authorized to give such consent.

Effective Date: 01-01-1974

For the purpose of ensuring adequate access of solar energy collection devices to sunlight, any person may grant a solar access easement. Such easements shall be in writing and shall be subject to the same conveyance and recording requirements as other easements.

Any instrument that grants a solar access easement shall include:

(A) A description of the real property burdened and benefited by the solar access easement;

(B) A description of the limits in heights, locations, or both, of permissible development on the burdened land in terms of structures, vegetation, or both, for the purpose of providing solar access for the benefited land;

(C) Any terms or conditions under which the solar access easement is granted or may be terminated;

(D) A term stating that the solar access easement runs with the land, unless terminated in accordance with the terms of the easement regarding termination, or unless otherwise agreed by the parties;

(E) Any other provisions necessary or desirable to execute the instrument.

The owner of the benefited land may prevent any obstruction of the solar access described in the solar access easement by any equitable remedy, and may maintain any action at law for any damages caused by any such obstruction.

Nothing in this section shall affect the status of any recorded easement to protect or ensure adequate access of solar energy collection devices to sunlight conveyed prior to the effective date of this section.

Effective Date: 08-14-1979

As used in sections 5301.67 to 5301.70 of the Revised Code:

(A) “Conservation easement” means an incorporeal right or interest in land that is held for the public purpose of retaining land, water, or wetland areas predominantly in their natural, scenic, open, or wooded condition, including, without limitation, the use of land in agriculture when consistent with and in furtherance of the purpose of retaining those areas in such a condition, or retaining their use predominantly as suitable habitat for fish, plants, or wildlife; that imposes any limitations on the use or development of the areas that are appropriate at the time of creation of the conservation easement to achieve one or more of those purposes; and that includes appropriate provisions for the holder to enter the property subject to the easement at reasonable times to ensure compliance with its provisions.

(B) “Agriculture” means those activities occurring on land devoted exclusively to agricultural use, as defined in section 5713.30 of the Revised Code, or on land that constitutes a homestead.

(C) “Agricultural easement” means an incorporeal right or interest in land that is held for the public purpose of retaining the use of land predominantly in agriculture; that imposes any limitations on the use or development of the land that are appropriate at the time of creation of the easement to achieve that purpose; that is in the form of articles of dedication, easement, covenant, restriction, or condition; and that includes appropriate provisions for the holder to enter the property subject to the easement at reasonable times to ensure compliance with its provisions.

(D) “Homestead” means the portion of a farm on which is located a dwelling house, yard, or outbuildings such as a barn or garage.

Effective Date: 07-26-2001

An owner of land may grant a conservation easement to the department of natural resources, a park district created under Chapter 1545. of the Revised Code, a township park district created under section 511.18 of the Revised Code, a conservancy district created under Chapter 6101. of the Revised Code, a soil and water conservation district created under Chapter 1515. of the Revised Code, a county, a township, a municipal corporation, or a charitable organization that is authorized to hold conservation easements by division (B) of section 5301.69 of the Revised Code, in the form of articles of dedication, easement, covenant, restriction, or condition. An owner of land also may grant an agricultural easement to the director of agriculture; to a municipal corporation, county, township, or soil and water conservation district; or to a charitable organization described in division (B) of section 5301.69 of the Revised Code. An owner of land may grant an agricultural easement only on land that is valued for purposes of real property taxation at its current value for agricultural use under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code or that constitutes a homestead when the easement is granted.

All conservation easements and agricultural easements shall be executed and recorded in the same manner as other instruments conveying interests in land.

Effective Date: 07-26-2001; 04-15-2005

(A) The director of natural resources, the board of park commissioners of a park district created under Chapter 1545. of the Revised Code, the board of park commissioners of a township park district created under section 511.18 of the Revised Code, the board of directors of a conservancy district created under Chapter 6101. of the Revised Code, the board of supervisors of a soil and water conservation district created under Chapter 1515. of the Revised Code, the board of county commissioners of a county, the board of township trustees of a township, or the legislative authority of a municipal corporation may acquire conservation easements in the name of the state, the district, or the county, township, or municipal corporation in the same manner as other