COLUMBUS, Ohio - Two Ohio State Representatives have introduced legislation that seeks to protect the rights of property owners who want to provide short-term rentals.

House Bill 563 was filed in the Ohio Statehouse on Wednesday by Republican Representatives Sarah Fowler Arthur and Ron Ferguson. Fowler Arthur said that the bill would strive to eliminate any developing regulation or policies that would outright ban short-term rentals and limit the duration they can be used.

"Ohioans should always have the right to use what is often their most valuable asset, their homes, as an investment to make money through short-term rental," said Fowler Arthur.

Short-term rentals are usually provided by property owners who lease out the entirety or part of their home. The period that the property is leased out to tenants is commonly one month at a time.

If passed, the bill would not eliminate local governments ability to regulate short-term rentals. It would just ensure that the properties are subjected to the same regulations as long-term rentals. Those regulations would also address any public safety or nuisance issues for the property.

Steve Stivers, who serves as the Ohio Chamber's President and CEO, praised the bill's filing. He believed that short-term rental property owners are business small businesses.

"Rental hosts, like those who rent through Airbnb, are small-business owners," Stivers said. "We should be supporting their entrepreneurial spirit, not trying to prevent it through local prohibitions."