COLUMBUS, Ohio — More than 800 people were found living in "substandard conditions" at an apartment complex on the east side of Columbus.
The Colonial Village Apartments, located off East Livingston Avenue, was declared a public nuisance in August 2021. The case is still going through environmental court because of outstanding violations with the previous ownership.
According to the city, building and zoning crews were conducting routine inspections at the property when they found people living inside apartments that were supposed to be vacant.
The City Attorney’s Office said that upon learning that the property manager had allegedly rented substandard housing units, they immediately notified the Columbus Division of Police to open a criminal investigation.
The now-former property manager, Hayes Gibson Property Services, was banned from the premises. A new property management company, Capstone, took over as of Oct. 30 and is addressing emergency code violations with a priority toward units housing families with young children, according to the city attorney's office.
Hannah Jones, deputy director of the Columbus Department of Development, called it an "outrageous situation" and said the city is working to get people the help they need.
The city confirmed that many of the people found living at the apartments were from Haiti.
"First and foremost we're there to protect their safety and this is not about immigration, this is not about determining if you belong, it's about ensuring that you and your family are safe," Jones said. "And then because this is a population that has very specific requirements about their time in this country, making sure that we are following through with agencies in the correct way to bring them the benefits they need."
The city attorney's office said they are demanding swift action by the receiver and lender responsible for overseeing conditions at the property to bring all occupied units up to code. If not, they need to fund the "immediate relocation of residents" in partnership with the city of Columbus and county resource providers.
“My priorities here as City Attorney are twofold: to ensure each of the affected families has access to safe, sanitary, and suitable housing, and to hold accountable those responsible for preying on these vulnerable people in the first place," Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said.
His office said he is fully prepared to take "immediate, aggressive legal action" if needed. The lender and receiver have a Nov. 10 deadline to present a plan for remediation of the substandard units or to begin the process of relocating residents to suitable housing.
"The Christmas 2022 situation at Latitude Five25 provided the city and county with an effective roadmap of how to respond to these extraordinary types of crises, and we are using what we learned from that experience to quickly mobilize our response," Klein said. "I will use every legal tool available to hold any bad actors accountable and ensure that these individuals and families get the adequate housing and resources they need.”