The Inspection Comes Before the Contract, Not the Closing
The detail owners get wrong most often, and it changes the sequence of everything.
Cleveland Heights requires owners of real estate, including single-family and two-family dwellings, apartments, condominiums and commercial property, to obtain a Certificate of Inspection before entering into an agreement to sell. Shaker Heights requires submission before entering into a contract with a buyer. These are not closing conditions to be tidied up later.
So an owner who has agreed a sale and then discovers the requirement has done things in the wrong order. The full position is on our page covering housing court and the sale.
What Does It Cost to Obtain?
Escrow Is the Part That Bites
Where violations remain uncorrected at transfer, several of these municipalities require money to be placed with the city and held until the work is completed and signed off.
In Cleveland Heights, where Class A violations are uncorrected, the escrow must be at least $1,000 and equal to 125 per cent of the estimated repair cost, with a typical window of 90 days for corrections or a schedule of progress. Some cities in this county require escrow of up to 150 per cent of the value of the needed repairs.
Who Pays That on a Fire-Damaged House?
We publish no fee schedules, escrow formulas or inspection requirements for the individual inner-ring cities. Each sets its own and each changes them, and your building department will state the current position for your address.
Scope Differs City by City
Some of these municipalities inspect the exterior only and some the interior as well. Some require an occupancy permit before a property may transfer at all, with full funds escrowed where one is not issued. Some have suspended their programmes and others have expanded them.
The inspection is carried out by a city building department representative rather than a private inspector, and it is not a contingency in the purchase agreement. Purchase agreements in this region commonly state expressly that inspections required by any government do not replace the need for buyer inspections, because the two are different things.
The Gratuitous Transfer Exception
Point of sale inspections are typically not required for gratuitous transfers, meaning transfers where no money changes hands, such as inherited or gifted property.
Given how many fire-damaged houses across the inner ring sit inside estates, that exception arises regularly. It is worth confirming with the specific municipality, because these requirements and their exceptions are set city by city.
A Different Court, Too
Cleveland Municipal Housing Court has jurisdiction over violations of the City of Cleveland's codes. These suburbs prosecute their own code cases through their own courts, and the approach differs between them.
The general shape is similar. Code violation cases here are criminal matters, penalties can include fines and jail, each day a violation continues can constitute a separate offence, and selling does not necessarily absolve liability for the period before transfer.
The Inner Ring in Context
Where the City of Cleveland's own requirements apply, see our page about Ohio City, Tremont and the near west side. Where inspection requirements thin out, see our page for outer Cuyahoga County.
Inner-Ring Questions
Do I Need the Inspection Before I List?
In several of these cities the requirement attaches before entering into an agreement to sell rather than before closing. Ask your building department for the exact trigger.
Can the Buyer Take the Violations?
Some municipalities permit escrow funded by the buyer or an affidavit assuming them, and some do not. It is a contract term rather than an assumption.
Will You Buy in the Inner Ring?
Yes, across these cities. The inspection and escrow position affects the figure and it does not stop us buying.