Hoarding in Columbus, Ohio

This page covers every hoarding report filed with the City of Columbus, Ohio: most come from a worried family member or neighbor asking the city to check on a home.

The process

What happens when you report

Hoarding reports are treated as welfare situations first. The city’s response usually starts with an inspection and referrals, not punishment.

Report to 311 with the address and what you can observe from outside, like blocked exits or accumulation you can see. You do not need to have been inside.

For family & neighbors

Worried about someone?

Many of these reports mention an elderly resident, and the practical risks are fire, blocked exits, and pests in the accumulation. Those are the words that get a report acted on.

A report can be the step that connects someone to help. It is not an eviction.

Block Report

Is your building or block already on record for hoarding?

Search any Columbus address to see what neighbors reported in that building and on that block.

Free · no account needed

Live map

Want to see all 145 hoarding reports on a map?

145 hoarding reports across Columbus, plus about 81,000 complaints of every kind, plotted block by block.

Hoarding map All complaints
Open live map ↗ HoardingAll other

Where it's most reported

Rates compare each neighborhood's share of reports against the citywide share. This page describes where reports come from and skips ranked lists on purpose.

The rate barely moves from one neighborhood to the next. This is a citywide pattern, not a local one.

For contrast, rates run lowest in Short North among the busiest areas.

See hoarding reports on the live map →

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.
Rats and miceAddresses with hoarding reports are about five times as likely to also have rat and mouse reports on file.→ Smoke detectors and fire hazardsAddresses with hoarding reports are about four times as likely to also have fire safety reports on file.→ Sewage backupsAddresses with hoarding reports are about four times as likely to also have sewage reports on file.→ Raccoons and wildlifeAddresses with hoarding reports are about four times as likely to also have wildlife reports on file.→

When it gets reported

Share of the year's reports landing in each month. Each year is scaled to its own level before months are averaged, so a year with more reports, or a change in how the city takes them in, does not tilt the shape.
January · 6% of the year's reportsJFebruary · 5% of the year's reportsFMarch · 11% of the year's reportsMApril · 7% of the year's reportsAMay · 9% of the year's reportsMJune · 9% of the year's reportsJJuly · 8% of the year's reportsJAugust · 6% of the year's reportsASeptember · 8% of the year's reportsSOctober · 18% of the year's reportsONovember · 5% of the year's reportsNDecember · 8% of the year's reportsD

With about 150 reports on file, the month-to-month pattern is too thin to read as a season.

All hoarding reports by month latest month: 3
3 JAN '25 SEP '26

Common questions

How do I report hoarding in Columbus?

Call 311 with the address and what you can see from outside. Say if the resident is elderly or vulnerable. The response leads with inspection and referrals to services. The step-by-step reporting guide →

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 that describe hoarding conditions, usually filed by worried family members or neighbors.

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 – SEP 2026, so month-of-year patterns will sharpen as full years accrue.