The Columbus City Attorney's Property Action Team is currently engaging in a legal battle with the proprietors of the Crestwood Village Apartments, instigated by a slew of allegations which include the persistent neglect of crime and hazardous conditions at their east side property, amid efforts to hold these landlords accountable for their supposed indifference, an effort chronicled in a report released by the Columbus City Attorney's office.
The lawsuit points to an array of unsettling statistics, primarily the 131 police dispatches between November 2024 and November 2025 that include responses to violent acts and sex crimes, fighting to assaults, and an assortment of weapons-related incidents. This, paired with a conspicuous neglect of property maintenance, as landlords reportedly collected rent despite problematic living conditions being presented to them.
Violations are not scarce at Crestwood Village, where the City's Code Enforcement Officers have recorded approximately 60 infractions in the past two years, 19 of which were considered emergencies. Despite such figures, many of these violations remain unaddressed, only exacerbating the community's frustrations and fears, with residents enduring a litany of issues from pest infestations to inoperative heat and flooding units, as accounted in the lawsuit documentation.
Among the objectives laid out in the City’s case is the intent to brand Crestwood Village a public nuisance, motivating a court directive that requires landlords not only to clean up the complex but also conform to Columbus' health and safety mandates, and once the basic standards of livability are met, the City's demands extend towards routine inspections to ensure a sustained improvement in living conditions.
This action from the City Attorney's Property Action Team reflects a staunch effort to protect the residents of Crestwood Village from the perils of neglectful landlordship and to improve the quality of life for those affected by these ongoing issues, it remains to be seen how the court will respond to this suit and whether landlords will make the required changes to provide safer, more habitable conditions for their tenants.
