www.thelantern.com
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Up to code: The rise in housing violations in the University District By Nathan Mader Campus LTV Producer
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inding off-campus housing can keep students up at night. Living in it can be a nightmare. From unwelcome pests crawling throughout the kitchen to fire escapes that look like they’d crumble with one step, code violations have been an ever-present issue plaguing the University District, and more importantly, the students that live there. Code enforcement, run by Columbus Building and Zoning Services, is a complaint-driven organization. Sorting through reports taken from the City of Columbus’ code enforcement website can show
show how unclean, dangerous or mismanaged some off-campus housing is. A Lantern investigation of Columbus Building and Zoning data found housing code violations in the University District are just over 14 times higher than they were three years ago. In fact, the 373 violations covering the first nine months of 2023 are roughly equal to a total of 379 violations reported over nine years, stretching from 2013 to 2021. CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
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