Last updated: July 2026. HB 92 is pending in the Ohio Senate with no committee hearing date scheduled. We'll update this post as the bill moves.
Ohio HB 92 and the water lien problem every sheriff sale buyer should understand
Ohio HB 92 passed the House 67-28 in March 2026, and if it clears the Senate, it would kill one of the most annoying costs in the sheriff sale game: water and sewer liens that a tenant ran up on someone else's property. The bill would prohibit municipalities from certifying tenant-incurred utility charges as property liens when the landlord never contracted for the service. If you're buying rental properties at auction in Ohio, this changes your bid math. And even if the bill stalls, you already have a statutory defense that almost nobody uses.
How water liens trap buyers today
Under ORC 743.04 and 729.49, a tenant racks up a water bill, stops paying or moves out, and the municipality certifies that unpaid balance to the county auditor. It becomes a lien on the property, collected like taxes. That lien can survive a sheriff sale once it's been certified to the tax duplicate.
We see this constantly across Ohio's rental-heavy auction markets. Cuyahoga County, Franklin County, Lucas County, Hamilton County. A $2,500 water bill from a tenant who left two years ago can show up on the tax duplicate, and the buyer gets stuck with it. The landlord didn't contract for the service, the tenant is long gone, and the municipality doesn't care. They want the money from whoever owns the property now.
County sheriff FAQ pages make it worse. Sandusky County tells buyers to "be aware of delinquent water bills and other outstanding costs that they may be liable for." Paulding County warns bidders to "contact local utility offices" because utilities "may collect from new owners any and all unpaid amounts." Summit County says liens "not resolved by the sale monies may become the responsibility of the buyer."
None of those FAQ pages mention the statutory defense that already exists. None of them reference HB 92.
The ORC 743.04 defense you probably don't know about
ORC 743.04 already protects sheriff sale buyers. Unpaid water charges from before a sheriff sale cannot be certified against a new purchaser, as long as the buyer is not the prior owner or a related party. It's in the statute. Not a loophole, not a workaround.
The catch is it's not automatic. Municipalities can still attempt certification, and you have to actively challenge it. If you don't know the defense exists, you just pay the bill or hire an attorney. BiggerPockets threads on Ohio sheriff sales show investors assuming "utility liens will probably stick," and nobody corrects them.
So the defense is real. But it only works if you know it's there.
What HB 92 would actually change
Instead of giving buyers a defense after the fact, HB 92 would prevent the lien from being created in the first place.
The bill draws a clear line: debt the owner incurred (still certifiable) versus debt the tenant incurred (blocked from certification). If you're buying a property that was tenant-occupied and the landlord never signed up for the water service, HB 92 says the municipality can't stick that bill to the property.
Where the bill stands
HB 92 passed the Ohio House on March 18-19, 2026. A 67-28 vote, which is a solid margin for a bill that touches municipal revenue authority. It's now sitting in the Ohio Senate with no committee hearing date as of July 2026.
Two things to keep in mind. The bill could still change in the Senate, and amendments could narrow or expand the scope. Municipal water departments aren't going to love losing the ability to certify tenant debt as property liens, so expect some pushback there. And until it passes, current law applies in full. The ORC 743.04 buyer defense is your only protection, and you need to know it exists before you need it.
We're tracking HB 92 through the Senate. When the bill moves, we'll update this post and push it through our newsletter.
What to do with this information
Whether HB 92 passes or not, one phone call changes everything if you're buying rental properties at Ohio sheriff sales: call the municipal utility department before you bid. Ask whether there's an outstanding water or sewer balance and whether the account was in the tenant's name or the owner's name. Tenant name? You have options. Owner name? Budget for it.
And if you win and a municipality tries to certify pre-sale water charges against you, don't just pay it because a county FAQ page told you to expect it. ORC 743.04 gives you a defense as long as you're not the prior owner or a related party. Push back.
If HB 92 clears the Senate, your exposure on tenant-occupied rentals in Cuyahoga, Franklin, Lucas, and Hamilton counties gets meaningfully better. Fewer certifiable liens, fewer surprises. But don't wait for the bill to start asking the right questions.
We track this kind of legislative movement at AuctionScout because it directly affects what you should bid. Our auction dashboard shows occupancy signals and lien exposure across Ohio counties, so you can flag utility risk before you commit. Set up alerts for the counties you buy in.
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