Columbus Fights Zombie Properties: Absentee Landlords Targeted

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — The city of Columbus is escalating its legal battle against absentee landlords, filing motions this week to seize control of vacant “zombie properties” that officials say have become magnets for crime and fires in North Linden and the Hilltop.

The filings, submitted to the Franklin County Municipal Court’s Environmental Division, target a cluster of homes owned by out-of-state investment groups. The city attorney’s office is seeking receivership, a legal designation that strips control of a property from a negligent owner and hands it to a court-appointed third party — typically a nonprofit or land bank — to be renovated or demolished.

City Attorney Zach Klein said the move is necessary to break the cycle of neglect where fines and code violations are ignored by limited liability companies with no physical presence in Ohio.

“Ownership comes with responsibility,” Klein said in a statement regarding the filings. “If an investor chooses to let a property rot, creating a hazard for families living next door, the city will intervene. We are no longer asking these owners to fix the problem; we are asking the court to let someone else do it.”

The crackdown comes as Columbus neighborhoods face heightened risks during the winter months. Vacant properties often attract squatters who start “warming fires” that can quickly spread to adjacent homes. On Wednesday, city and county leaders announced a broader public safety initiative aimed at reducing these environmental hazards.

Under Ohio law, a property can be placed in receivership if it is deemed a public nuisance and the owner fails to abate code violations. Unlike eminent domain, the city does not take ownership. Instead, a receiver borrows money to rehabilitate the home, and the costs become a lien on the property. If the original owner cannot pay the lien, the property is sold, often to a local family or first-time homebuyer.

The properties targeted in this week’s filings include single-family homes near Cleveland Avenue in North Linden and several structures in the “Wedges” neighborhood of the Hilltop.

The cases are expected to be heard by Judge Stephanie Mingo later this month. If the court grants the receivership, renovation work on the properties could begin as early as this spring.