Columbus, OH · Issue Report

Landlord & management negligence in Columbus

The read computed from 3,703 reports · JAN 2025 – JUN 2026

Columbus logged about 3,700 landlord negligence reports in the last 18 months. That is about one of every 20 complaints filed with code enforcement. Reports are increasing, with 2026 so far running about 25% ahead of the same months last year. Tenants file these reports at the highest rates in Blacklick / Brice and Far North / Polaris. That maps where people report, not where the worst landlords are. Reports come from over 3,000 different addresses and no block is immune. Check the specific address, not the neighborhood average.

1 in 20
share of all reports
3,703 reports on file
Increasing
2026 vs same months 2025
+26% so far this year
July
peak reporting month
about 1.5× a typical month
Renting or buying

Renting or about to?

These reports are the pattern behind every other problem on this site. The vocabulary in them is time. Several months. Ongoing. Nothing has been done.

Before you sign, check the address and the complex for negligence reports alongside mold, pest, and sewage reports. One repair ticket is life. A pattern is the landlord.

Check an address on the live map →
Right now

Dealing with it right now?

Put every repair request in writing and keep copies. When the landlord does not act, report the underlying problem to 311 and say how long it has been open.

Retaliation for reporting is restricted under Ohio law. A 311 report is dated, public, and yours, which is exactly why it matters.

Owners

Landlord or property manager?

Responding to repair requests before they reach 311 keeps a property out of this dataset. Most of these reports describe silence, not disaster.

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 · 7% of the year's reportsJFebruary · 7% of the year's reportsFMarch · 8% of the year's reportsMApril · 9% of the year's reportsAMay · 10% of the year's reportsMJune · 10% of the year's reportsJJuly · 12% of the year's reportsJAugust · 10% of the year's reportsASeptember · 9% of the year's reportsSOctober · 7% of the year's reportsONovember · 5% of the year's reportsNDecember · 6% of the year's reportsD

Reports peak in July 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 landlord negligence reports by month latest month: 282
282 JAN '25 JUN '26

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.

Tenants file these reports at the highest rates in Blacklick / Brice and Far North / Polaris. That maps where people report, not where the worst landlords are.

Low Moderate Severe Critical
Open the live map filtered to landlord & management negligence →
Each dot is one report, colored by severity. This embed shows 3,000 of the 3,703 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.
Mold & water damageAddresses with landlord negligence reports are about three times as likely to also have mold and water damage reports on file.→ RoachesAddresses with landlord negligence reports are about three times as likely to also have roach reports on file.→ Raccoons & wildlifeAddresses with landlord negligence reports are about three times as likely to also have wildlife reports on file.→ Sewage backupsAddresses with landlord negligence reports are about three times as likely to also have sewage 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.
ongoing issue216 issue832 several502 management436 done389 problem323 since423 fix263

Common questions

How do I report landlord and management negligence in Columbus?

Report the underlying problem to 311, and say how long it has been reported to management without action. Keep your own written requests. The city enforces the condition, and the record documents the pattern.

Are landlord negligence reports in Columbus going up?

Yes. Landlord negligence reports so far this year are running about 26% ahead of the same months last year.

Where are landlord negligence reports most common in Columbus?

Tenants file them at the highest rates in Blacklick / Brice, Far North / Polaris and Westgate & Hilliard fringe. That measures where people report, not where the worst landlords are. No neighborhood is entirely without them.

Who is responsible for fixing landlord and management negligence?

Ohio law requires landlords to make repairs within a reasonable time after notice, and restricts retaliation against tenants who complain to a government agency. Documented requests plus a 311 report are the escalation path.

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 where the complaint is the response, not just the problem. Management described as unresponsive, repairs left undone for months, threats after a complaint, or problems painted over.

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. Geography on this page shows where tenants report negligence most, which also reflects who files complaints. It is not a map of where the worst landlords are.