Ohio requires disclosure, not repairs
Ohio’s main seller rule is R.C. 5302.30, and it is a disclosure law. It requires most sellers of one- to four-unit homes to fill out the residential property disclosure form, listing known problems with things like the roof, foundation, basement water, plumbing, electrical, sewer and septic. Nothing in it says the seller must fix those problems.
The statute even builds that into the form: it must state that the seller’s answers are “not a warranty of any kind” and that the buyer is “encouraged to obtain” their own inspection. So the legal baseline is simple. Tell the truth about what you know, and the buyer decides what it is worth.
Repairs become required only when something else steps in. There are four common triggers.
Trigger 1: the buyer’s lender
The buyer’s loan is the most common reason repairs become mandatory. The appraiser inspects the house for the lender, and if it falls short of the loan program’s standards, the appraisal comes back “subject to” repairs. The loan won’t close until they are done or the deal is restructured.
FHA loans are the strictest. HUD Handbook 4000.1 limits required repairs to those needed to “maintain the safety, security and soundness of the Property,” “preserve the continued marketability,” and “protect the health and safety of the occupants.” It also says “the Mortgagee will determine which repairs are required,” so the lender, not the appraiser, makes the final call.
Conventional loans are usually looser about cosmetic issues but still care about safety and structure. A cash buyer has no lender, so this trigger doesn’t apply.
Trigger 2: city point-of-sale rules and code orders
Some Ohio cities require an inspection before a house can be sold, and the city may require violations to be fixed or formally assumed by the buyer. Practice varies widely across Northeast Ohio. On Infinity Title Agency’s 2025 Summit County list:
| Community | Point-of-sale inspection |
|---|---|
| Macedonia | Required, exterior only, $75 |
| Cuyahoga Falls | Not required, but the optional stormwater dye test must be disclosed |
| Barberton | Not required for sale, though rental permits are |
| Green, Hudson, Munroe Falls, Clinton, Mogadore | Not required |
The list carries a disclaimer, so confirm with the city before you rely on it. An open housing code order is a separate issue: it attaches to the property and usually has to be resolved or transferred in writing. See point-of-sale inspections in Northeast Ohio and selling a house with code violations.
Trigger 3: septic and well inspections
On the same 2025 list, all of Summit County required an inspection of both the well and the septic system when a property has either one. A failed septic inspection can force a repair or replacement before transfer, or a written agreement for the buyer to do it. That is often the single most expensive required repair in rural townships. Our guide to septic and well inspections in Summit County has the details.
Trigger 4: the contract you sign
Once you sign a purchase agreement, its terms can turn a repair into an obligation. This usually happens through the inspection contingency: the buyer’s inspector finds problems, the buyer asks for repairs, and you agree in a written amendment. After that, the repair is required by contract.
You have choices at that point:
- make the repair before closing, with receipts
- give a credit or price reduction instead
- decline and let the buyer decide whether to proceed
Contracts can also require a working furnace, a dry basement, or utilities on at closing. Read those clauses before you sign.
What FHA appraisers commonly flag
These are the items HUD Handbook 4000.1 tells appraisers to report or require on an FHA sale. They are a good checklist for any older Ohio house, even if your buyer isn’t using FHA.
| Item | HUD standard |
|---|---|
| Roof | Must keep out moisture with at least two years of remaining life |
| Paint, pre-1978 homes | All defective paint must be repaired, inside and out |
| Paint, 1978 and later | Exterior paint that exposes the surface to the elements |
| Basement | Free of dampness, wetness or obvious structural problems |
| Sump pump | Must be working at the time of the appraisal |
| Mechanical systems | Heating, plumbing and electrical must be safe and working |
| Crawl space | Properly vented, free of debris, no standing water |
Cosmetic items, such as cracked window glass or a dripping faucet, are not required repairs under the handbook. See FHA appraisal repair requirements.
Repairs you’ve already promised in writing
Once a repair is in a signed amendment, treat it as a deadline. Buyers often ask for receipts or a contractor’s invoice before closing, and some contracts let the buyer re-inspect. If the work isn’t done, the buyer may be able to delay closing or ask for a credit. Use licensed contractors for electrical, plumbing and HVAC work, keep the paperwork, and update your disclosure form if the work reveals something new.
Deciding whether to repair before you sell
Repair when the fix is small and widens your pool of buyers, such as a few hundred dollars of paint on a pre-1978 house you want to sell to FHA buyers. Skip it when the cost is large and uncertain, such as a foundation or a septic system, and price the house to match instead.
If the repairs are bigger than you want to take on, our guide on how to sell a house as-is in Ohio explains which buyers accept a house in its current condition.
