Exhibit 31.1


                      CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO RULE 13A-14
                     OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
                    AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE
                           SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002



I,  Thomas  J.  Linneman,  President  and Chief  Executive  Officer  of  Cheviot
Financial Corp., certify that:


     1.   I have  reviewed  this  quarterly  report  on  Form  10-Q  of  Cheviot
          Financial Corp.;

     2.   Based on my  knowledge,  this  quarterly  report  does not contain any
          untrue  statement of a material  fact or omit to state a material fact
          necessary to make the statements  made, in light of the  circumstances
          under which such  statements were made, not misleading with respect to
          the period covered by this quarterly report;

     3.   Based on my knowledge,  the financial statements,  and other financial
          information  included in this quarterly report,  fairly present in all
          material respects the financial  condition,  results of operations and
          cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods  presented in
          this quarterly report;

     4.   The registrant's  other certifying  officers and I are responsible for
          establishing  and maintaining  disclosure  controls and procedures (as
          defined  in  Exchange  Act  Rules  13a-15(e)  and  15d-15(e))  for the
          registrant and have:

          a.   Designed such  disclosure  controls and procedures or caused such
               disclosure  controls to be  designed  under our  supervision,  to
               ensure that  material  information  relating  to the  registrant,
               including its consolidated  subsidiaries,  is made known to us by
               others within those entities,  particularly  during the period in
               which this quarterly report is being prepared;

          b.   Evaluated  the  effectiveness  of  the  registrant's   disclosure
               controls  and   procedures  and  presented  in  this  report  our
               conclusions  about the  effectiveness of the disclosure  controls
               and  procedures,  as of the  end of the  period  covered  by this
               quarterly report based on such evaluation; and

          c.   Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's  internal
               control  over  financial   reporting  that  occurred  during  the
               registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's  fourth
               fiscal  quarter  in  the  case  of an  annual  report)  that  has
               materially  affected,  or  is  reasonably  likely  to  materially
               affect,   the   registrant's   internal  control  over  financial
               reporting; and

     5.   The  registrant's  other  certifying  officer(s) and I have disclosed,
          based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
          reporting,  to the  registrant's  auditors and the audit  committee of
          registrant's  board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
          functions):

          a.   All  significant  deficiencies  and  material  weaknesses  in the
               design or operation of internal control over financial  reporting
               which are reasonably  likely to adversely affect the registrant's
               ability  to  record,  process,  summarize  and  report  financial
               information; and

          b.   Any fraud,  whether or not material,  that involves management or
               other employees who have a significant  role in the  registrant's
               internal control over financial reporting.


Date:  August 3, 2004                      /s/Thomas J. Linneman
                                           --------------------------------
                                           Thomas J. Linneman
                                           President and Chief Executive Officer
                                            (principal executive officer)



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