How to report your apartment complex to the city in Columbus, OH
Columbus 311 takes complaints about rentals. Code enforcement inspects problems like mold, pests, broken heat, and sewage, and can order the owner to fix them.
Is it an emergency?
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Call 911
Gas smell, carbon monoxide alarm, fire, or sparking wires
Get everyone out first. Report the landlord after.
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Call 311 today
No heat, no water, no working smoke detector, or sewage coming in
Say it in your first sentence. The city issues emergency orders for no heat, no water, and missing smoke detectors.
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File with 311
Everything else
Pests, mold, leaks, broken appliances. Write to your landlord first and keep a copy, then file.
See what is already on record at your complex
If neighbors have reported the same problem, mention it when you file.
Free · no account needed
What your landlord has to fix
Ohio law requires every landlord to:
- Follow building, housing, health, and safety codes.
- Make the repairs needed to keep your home fit to live in.
- Keep common areas, like halls, stairs, and laundry rooms, safe and clean.
- Keep working the electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, appliances, and elevators they supply.
- Supply running water, hot water, and reasonable heat at all times, unless the heater is yours alone and runs on your own utility account.
- Provide trash containers and pickup in buildings with four or more units.
Source: Ohio Revised Code 5321.04 · a plain-words summary, not legal advice
The full path
Write to your landlord first
Send the problem to your landlord or management company in writing. Email, text, and the tenant portal all count. Keep a dated copy.
Ohio’s tenant remedies, including rent escrow, start from written notice. Copy the letter below or write your own.
[Date] To [landlord or management company]: I am writing about repairs needed at [your address], unit [number]. The problem: [what is wrong and which rooms]. It started on [date]. I first reported it on [date] by [phone, text, email, or portal]. Ohio law requires landlords to keep rentals fit to live in (Ohio Revised Code 5321.04). Please tell me in writing by [date] when the repair will be made. [Your name] [Phone or email]
File with 311
File with Columbus 311 online, in the app, or at (614) 645-3111. Name the complex and the management company in the description so they are part of the public record.
If no menu option fits, pick the closest housing one and describe the problem in plain words. The checklist below lists what to include.
If other units have the same problem, say so, and ask those neighbors to file their own reports.
Be ready for the inspector
An inspector usually needs to see a problem inside your unit in person. Put a phone number in your report and answer calls from unknown numbers for the next few weeks.
Save the 311 case number, photos, and every message with management. Each later step asks for them.
Track the case
Your report becomes a public case tied to the address. Look it up on the city’s official case portal or search the address here. New cases do not appear right away.
Active means the case is open. Closed means the city ended it, which does not always mean the problem was fixed. If it is still broken, file again and give the old case number. Court means the case went to court.
Each stage in between is on the Columbus code enforcement page.
If it is still not fixed
Do not stop paying rent on your own. That can get you evicted for nonpayment. Ohio has a court process called rent escrow that lets you pay rent to the court instead, and its rules are strict.
Your options, and how to find free legal help, are in what to do when the landlord will not fix it.
What a strong report covers
- Your address and unit number.
- What the problem is and which rooms it affects.
- When you first told management, and how.
- What management said or did after you told them.
- How long the problem has been open.
- Whether other units have the same problem.
- Who lives in the unit. Mention children, elderly residents, or anyone with a medical condition. Inspectors prioritize those cases.
Mold on the bathroom ceiling of unit 4B at [your address]. First reported to [management company] by email on June 3. Maintenance painted over it and it came back within two weeks. Two other units on this floor have it. Two children live in the unit.
What Columbus tenants report
Where these complaints are filed across the city: landlord and management complaints.
Common questions
Who do I report my apartment complex to?
Columbus 311. File online at 311.columbus.gov, in the Columbus 311 app, or by phone at (614) 645-3111. The city sends rental housing problems to code enforcement.
Can my landlord evict me or raise my rent for reporting them?
Ohio law (Revised Code 5321.02) bars a landlord from raising your rent, cutting services, or evicting or threatening to evict you because you reported a code violation that affects health or safety. If any of that happens after you report, write down the dates and get legal advice right away. Our guide on what to do when the landlord will not fix it covers how to find free help.
Will my landlord know I reported them?
If the problem is inside your unit, assume so. The inspector needs to get in to see it. That is why the retaliation protections matter. You can ask 311 how your contact details will be used when you file.
Can I stop paying rent until it is fixed?
Not on your own. Withholding rent can get you evicted for nonpayment. Ohio’s rent escrow process lets you pay rent to the municipal court clerk instead. It requires written notice to the landlord, a reasonable wait of up to 30 days, and being current on rent. Get legal advice before you start.
How do I report a property management company?
The same way. File with 311 and name the management company in the report. Complaints are recorded against the address, and the company name in the description becomes part of the public record.
What if the problem is in many units?
Say so in your report and ask neighbors to file their own reports. Each report adds to the record at the address.
Keep going
Contacts on this page were verified August 2026. If one has changed, Columbus 311 can route you.
Know Your Block is an independent public-information project operated by Canary Civic LLC, not the City of Columbus and not a law firm. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and this site does not recommend or partner with any legal provider. Report counts come from official City of Columbus code-enforcement records and describe reports filed, not verified conditions.