How Columbus is cracking down on neglectful landlords

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- In direct response to what city leaders are calling two of the worst cases of landlord neglect they've seen, Columbus City Council passed measures Monday to hold property owners accountable.

More than 1,000 tenants were displaced from the Latitude Five25 and Colonial Village apartments in the past two years due to unsafe living conditions, costing the city more than $9 million in relocation and housing costs.

"It's no secret that our region is in a housing crisis," Councilmember Shayla Favor said. "As a result, we are confronted with the impacts of this pressurized housing market as we experience increased resident displacements and increase in eviction rates and homelessness."

The council passed three pieces of legislation making property owners responsible for relocation and housing costs in the event of an emergency vacate order, and keeping tabs on vacant and foreclosed properties to prevent neighborhoods from becoming blighted.

It comes after Latitude Five25, a pair of twin towers on Sawyer Boulevard visible from Interstate 670 east of Downtown, was evacuated on Christmas day 2022, and after Colonial Village, on East Livingston Avenue, was emptied in late 2023 over two years after it was declared a public nuisance.

"The vast majority of our property owners and our landlords are absolutely great neighbors. We need them to continue being great neighbors," Favor said. "What we are talking about today are those individuals who have refused to do so or just have been neglectful in their responsibility to provide that safe and habitable housing."

Accountability for 'problem property owners'

The relocation assistance code, a first for the city, was created through amendments to the housing code and the health, sanitation and safety code. After Columbus paid millions to relocate and house displaced residents of Latitude Five25 and Colonial Village, the relocation code will call on "problem property owners" to pay if tenants are vacated in an emergency.

It will help in three ways:

• In the event of temporary displacement for repairs, the property owner will cover temporary housing costs for up to three months if deemed reasonable and necessary.
• If a unit is unable to be reoccupied, the property owner will provide a cash payment to tenants totaling three times the monthly fair market rent.
• When a property owner refuses to pay, the city will provide assistance and pursue repayment through legal action.

Attorneys for the city are working in the courts to recover millions spent on Latitude Five25 and Colonial Village resident relocation. With this change to city code, there's a framework for how to handle such cases.

"It's never guaranteed that the city is going to recoup that money," City Attorney Zach Klein said. "What I particularly like and support about this legislation is that it legalizes the process for us to recoup the cost and puts the burden, the financial burden, where it belongs, and that's on the landlord, not the taxpayer."

Vacant and foreclosed property database

Other changes to city code include the creation of registries for vacant and foreclosed buildings. The council said vacant and foreclosed residential properties can quickly become blighted, leading to criminal activity, more dangerous neighborhoods and less available housing.

"It is insane that at the time of a housing crisis in Columbus that we have thousands of vacant and foreclosed properties in Columbus," Council President Pro Tem Rob Dorans said. "There are places that families could call home today but don't. And the question is, why not?"

The council said it's sometimes an impossible task to keep track of those responsible for the care and maintenance of a property. Under these changes, landlords would have to register annually if their property has been vacant for a year or more and provide contact information. Mortgagees would be required to register semiannually and conduct monthly inspections of the property that include whether it's occupied.

These registries would create a database, ensuring Columbus officials are alerted to vulnerable properties. Klein said it sends a message to landlords.

"You have your own responsibility," Klein said. "By creating this registry, it alerts us of who those people are, heightens the accountability so that we can go after you for the neglect you're causing in your neighborhoods."