Land Laws in Ohio: H.B. 212

In 1804, Ohio was the first state to pass legislation permitting non-United States citizens to own land, paving the way for other states to do the same.  In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, amidst a wave of anti-Asian sentiment, Ohio was among the thirty states or so that did not enact “alien land laws” prohibiting non-citizens from owning land. However, during the 1970s, in response to growing fears about foreign ownership and investment in the United States, Ohio enacted a law requiring nonresident aliens as well as their corporations and businesses to register their interests in real property. The law is still in effect today.