Columbus officials are hauling a West Side landlord into court, accusing the owner of a 16-unit complex of letting tenants live in unsafe, unsanitary conditions while crime and code violations piled up.
City attorneys filed the case in municipal court on Tuesday, saying the lawsuit is meant to force long-delayed repairs and make the owner pay for the fallout. The city’s complaint describes a pattern of problems that, it argues, turned the property into a public-safety headache.
The lawsuit was first detailed by The Columbus Dispatch, which reviewed court records alleging years of drug-related calls, assault reports and other incidents tied to the property. According to the paper, city officials also point to repeated building-code failures and unpaid property-tax liens that they say helped fuel the decline. The story was written by reporter Bethany Bruner.
City complaint cites long pattern of issues
Documents posted by the Columbus City Attorney’s Office, including the complaint filed in Franklin County, lay out the city’s evidence. The filings cite frequent police runs and multiple inspections by code officers as signs that the problems were not isolated.
The Property Action Team, which prepared the case, describes the apartments as unsafe and accuses the owner of failing to fix a series of violations over time. The City Attorney’s Office filed the lawsuit in municipal court, asking a judge to step in where, it argues, voluntary compliance has not worked.
What the city is asking for
The suit asks the court to declare the properties a public nuisance and to order abatement, repairs and other steps to protect tenants and nearby residents, according to the complaint on file with the Columbus City Attorney’s Office. The city is also seeking to recover its code-enforcement costs along with any unpaid taxes it says are tied to the property. City lawyers argue those measures are needed to restore safe, stable housing at the site.
How the law works
Under Columbus’ municipal code, city officials can ask a judge to order repairs, boarding or even demolition of unsafe buildings and to recoup what the city spends on cleanup, according to the Columbus Code. The law also allows the city to place liens for those abatement costs and to seek receivership when owners neglect needed work, tools the city says it uses to protect renters.
The Columbus City Attorney’s Office has highlighted previous nuisance cases in which the Property Action Team relied on those same powers.
What’s next
The case will move through Franklin County Municipal Court, with hearings set for a judge to decide whether to grant the city’s requests. Depending on how the court rules, the outcome could include mandatory repairs, financial penalties or changes in who manages the property in order to safeguard current tenants.
For now, city officials say they are focusing on tenant safety while the legal process plays out.
