High Court Will Determine Whether Forbidding More Than Two People from Living Together Violates Ohio Constitution
High Court Will Determine Whether Forbidding More Than Two People from Living Together Violates Ohio Constitution
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 25, 2025
Legal Center: zoning is to stop property uses that inflict harm on others, not social engineering
Kent, OH – The Supreme Court of Ohio will hear arguments on whether Ohio cities can ban groups of more than two from living together within the city, irrespective of the size of the home.
The action is brought against the City of Kent, Ohio by the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law on behalf of Kent landlord Reed Havel, who the City threatened with criminal charges after learning that he had leased his six-bedroom home to four tenants, two of whom were brothers.
A federal court in 2019, agreeing with arguments made by the 1851 Center, held that an Ohio city’s zoning ordinance restricting homes to occupancy by no more than three unrelated adults violates the Ohio Constitution’s greater protection of private property rights.
However, Kent and several other Ohio cities ignored the landmark decision and continued to enforce their own ordinances
“In Ohio, many zoning regulations needlessly interfere with private property rights, drive up the cost of living, fail to accomplish their proclaimed purposes, and are used as political weapons – often to benefit special interests. This regulation is no different,” said 1851 Center Executive Director Maurice Thompson. “There is no coherent reason why four graduate students or even the Golden Girls should be prohibited from occupying a large six-bedroom house, even as an unruly family of eight lives in a smaller home next door.”
The 1851 Center’s Motion for Jurisdiction urges the Supreme Court to apply nuisance-rooted principles that protect property owners from restrictions on how they use their property so long as that use does directly inflict harm on others.
“This regulation is aimed at government-controlled social engineering, i.e. keeping ‘the wrong kind of people’ out of certain neighborhoods, rather than land use. Unruly behavior should be directly regulated, rather than regulated on the basis of the relationships between those who live together,” added Thompson. “Ohioans should not be forced to pay higher rent or endure longer commutes due to such arbitrary regulations.”
The case is pending before the Supreme Court of Ohio, supported by Amicus Briefs from the Ohio Association of Realtors and Pacific Legal Foundation.
Read the 1851 Center’s Motion for Jurisdiction HERE .
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The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law is a non-profit, non-partisan legal center dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights of Ohioans from government abuse. The 1851 Center litigates constitutional issues related to property rights, regulation, taxation, and search and seizures. www.OhioConstitution.org
