Columbus, OH · Issue Report

Vacant & abandoned buildings in Columbus

The read computed from 4,629 reports · JAN 2025 – JUN 2026

Columbus logged about 4,600 vacant building reports in the last 18 months. That is about one of every 14 complaints filed with code enforcement. No neighborhood is spared, but rates run highest in South Side (core) and Franklinton. The same properties come up again and again. About four in ten reports point at an address that has been reported at least three times.

1 in 14
share of all reports
4,629 reports on file
Steady
2026 vs same months 2025
-5% so far this year
May
peak reporting month
about 1.5× a typical month
Get it handled

Want it fixed?

Report the address to 311 and say whether the building is open or unsecured. Open structures are a priority enforcement category because anyone can get in.

If people are living in it, say that too. Squatting reports route differently than a boarding order, and both start with the address.

Know the rules

What counts?

A vacant building becomes enforceable when it is unsecured, deteriorating, or attracting activity. An empty house that is locked and maintained is just empty.

The same buildings get reported again and again. Repeat reports are not wasted, they are what moves a chronic building up the list.

When it gets reported

Share of the year's reports landing in each month, corrected for how many times each month appears in the data window.
January · 6% of the year's reportsJFebruary · 9% of the year's reportsFMarch · 9% of the year's reportsMApril · 10% of the year's reportsAMay · 12% of the year's reportsMJune · 11% of the year's reportsJJuly · 9% of the year's reportsJAugust · 9% of the year's reportsASeptember · 7% of the year's reportsSOctober · 7% of the year's reportsONovember · 5% of the year's reportsNDecember · 5% of the year's reportsD

Reports peak in May at about one and a half times the volume of a typical month. The quietest month is November. A quiet autumn does not mean the problem went away. Reporting drops citywide in cold months.

All vacant building reports by month latest month: 357
357 JAN '25 JUN '26

Where it's most reported

Neighborhoods ranked by rate, meaning each category's share of the neighborhood's reports against its citywide share, so big neighborhoods don't win just for being big. Only rates with enough reports behind them are listed.
#1South Side (core)1.8×476 reports #2Franklinton1.8×346 reports #3Milo-Grogan1.7×231 reports #4Olde Towne East1.6×864 reports

For contrast, rates run lowest in Lincoln Village among the busiest areas.

Low Moderate Severe Critical
Open the live map filtered to vacant & abandoned buildings →
Each dot is one report, colored by severity. This embed shows 3,000 of the 4,629 reports, keeping every severe and critical one. The live map adds search, filters, and the Block Report.

Often reported with

What else shows up at the same addresses. Address-level comparison, so this reads as a building-quality signal, not a coincidence of one phone call.
Drug activityAddresses with vacant building reports are about five times as likely to also have drug activity reports on file.
EncampmentsAddresses with vacant building reports are about four times as likely to also have encampment reports on file.→ GraffitiAddresses with vacant building reports are about three times as likely to also have graffiti reports on file.→ No heat & shut-off utilitiesAddresses with vacant building reports are about twice as likely to also have heat and utility reports on file.→

What people describe

The words that come up most in these reports, from the complaint narratives. Counts are reports mentioning each phrase.
vacant structure813 structure violations194 boarded443 squatters346 open491 unsecured303 violations586 keep vacants187

Common questions

How do I report vacant and abandoned buildings in Columbus?

Call 311 with the address and whether the structure is open, boarded, or being entered. Open and unsecured buildings are priority reports. Mention squatting explicitly if you see it.

Are vacant building reports in Columbus going up?

They are steady. So far this year Columbus has logged about the same number of vacant building reports as the same months last year.

Where are vacant building reports most common in Columbus?

Rates run highest in South Side (core), Franklinton and Milo-Grogan, comparing each neighborhood's share of reports against the citywide share. No neighborhood is entirely without them.

Looking at a specific address?

Get the full Block Report, covering what's been reported at that exact address, the same building, and chronic neighbors within a third of a mile.

Search an address →
Source & method

What counts here. Reports of vacant and abandoned structures, including open or unsecured buildings, squatting, and break-ins at empty properties.

Data comes from official City of Columbus code enforcement records (Accela portal + ArcGIS REST API). Reports are categorized by keyword matching on complaint narratives and city record types, so counts are reports filed, not verified conditions, and automated matching can misfile individual records. The data window covers JAN 2025 – JUN 2026, so month-of-year patterns will sharpen as full years accrue. Inspector sweeps of vacant properties can produce bursts of reports on one street in one month, so short-term trends in this category are read softly.