We all see it. Homes in our neighborhoods falling into increasingly worrisome disrepair. Rental properties being neglected, endangering the safety and well-being of the tenants who live there. Homeowners struggling to be compliant with our City’s codes but being confused and overwhelmed by a system they find hard to navigate. 

As a predominantly residential city with an abundance of old homes rich in charm, protecting our housing stock is a vital component of supporting our local economy. But with older homes, there are greater needs, while many homeowners struggle to make everyday ends meet—adding a major home repair to the household budget can be devastating. Protecting our housing stock must always go hand-in-hand with caring for the people who live in these homes.

Currently, we do not have effective housing code enforcement in Cleveland Heights. Many landlords, especially out-of-town LLCs, do not adequately maintain their properties. This not only reduces quality of life for the tenants living there, but it also negatively affects the property values and security of the neighborhoods they’re in. If negligent landlords are aggressively cited and called to Housing Court, they are more likely to repair their properties. While we strive to make our city welcoming to all, we want to make Cleveland Heights inhospitable to negligent landlords.

Well-maintained, affordable homes will attract home buyers and spur growth in both population and jobs here in Cleveland Heights. If we have dependable and targeted code enforcement, property owners, both local and nonlocal, will respect the City’s regulations and work to maintain our older properties so they can last another hundred years. Property values will increase, especially in those neighborhoods that were hit hardest by the 2008 housing crisis.

We also currently work with low- to moderate-income homeowners to help them understand the housing-violation process and the resources available to them and follow up with them as necessary. While the City needs to be aggressive with negligent landlords, we must extend support to our struggling owner-occupied homeowners to find resources to resolve their housing-code violations and to advocate to have their fines decreased.