Mold and water damage in Columbus, Ohio

This page maps every mold and water damage report filed with the City of Columbus, Ohio: cases where someone reported mold, a leak, or flood damage in a home.

About 850 of these reports also say the landlord or manager was told and did not act, the most of any problem on this site. Check the address for both before you sign. Landlord and management complaints in Columbus →

Renting or buying

Renting or about to?

Most mold reports describe water from above. On a tour, look at bathroom ceilings, under-sink cabinets, and basement walls, and ask what caused any fresh paint.

Mold is the problem tenants most often report landlords ignoring. Check the address for both mold and landlord complaints before you sign.

Check an address on the live map →
Right now

Dealing with it right now?

Photograph the mold and the water source before you clean anything. Then report the leak or the water damage to 311 in writing with the address and unit. City code has no provision for mold itself, so the water problem is what an inspector can cite.

If management paints over the mold instead of fixing the leak, report that too. The paper trail is what escalation runs on.

Owners

Landlord or property manager?

Fixing leaks fast and venting bathrooms prevents the reports that recur most. Painting over mold without fixing the water is itself a reportable pattern.

Block Report

Is your building or block already on record for mold and water damage?

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

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Live map

Want to see all 2,421 mold and water damage reports on a map?

2,421 mold and water damage reports across Columbus, plus about 81,000 complaints of every kind, plotted block by block.

Mold and water damage map All complaints
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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.
#1Westgate & Hilliard fringe3.9×53 reports #2Blacklick / Brice2.6×40 reports #3Hayden Run / Scioto Darby1.8×36 reports #4Far East / Eastland1.5×218 reports #5Lincoln Village1.5×88 reports

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

See mold and water damage 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.
Landlord and management complaintsAddresses with mold and water damage reports are about six times as likely to also have landlord complaints reports on file.→ Smoke detectors and fire hazardsAddresses with mold and water damage reports are about five times as likely to also have fire safety reports on file.→ RoachesAddresses with mold and water damage reports are about five times as likely to also have roach reports on file.→ Sewage backupsAddresses with mold and water damage reports are about five times as likely to also have sewage 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 · 6% of the year's reportsFMarch · 7% of the year's reportsMApril · 7% of the year's reportsAMay · 8% of the year's reportsMJune · 9% of the year's reportsJJuly · 12% of the year's reportsJAugust · 13% of the year's reportsASeptember · 12% of the year's reportsSOctober · 8% of the year's reportsONovember · 5% of the year's reportsNDecember · 6% of the year's reportsD

Reports peak in August 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 mold and water damage reports by month latest month: 232
232 JAN '25 SEP '26

Common questions

How do I report mold and water damage in Columbus?

Report the water problem, not the mold alone. City code has no provision for mold, so name the leak, the water damage, or the failing roof or plumbing in your 311 complaint, with the address and unit. Photograph the mold and the water source before cleaning, and ask the landlord for the repair in writing at the same time so the dates match. The step-by-step reporting guide →

Are mold and water damage reports in Columbus going up?

Yes. Mold and water damage reports so far this year are running about 43% ahead of the same months last year.

Where are mold and water damage reports most common in Columbus?

Rates run highest in Westgate & Hilliard fringe, Blacklick / Brice and Hayden Run / Scioto Darby, comparing each neighborhood's share of reports against the citywide share. No neighborhood is entirely without them.

Who is responsible for fixing mold and water damage?

In Columbus rentals the landlord is responsible for fixing the water problem behind mold and repairing the damage it caused. City code has no provision for mold itself, so inspectors cite the leak or the materials not kept in sound repair, and Columbus Public Health works with code enforcement on the mold in the unit.

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 mold, mildew, active leaks, or flooding damage.

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. Mold reports are complaints, not lab results. This page makes no claim about toxicity or health outcomes.