Ombudsman assists homeowner with neighbor’s housing code violations

The Ombudsman Office.

The Ombudsman Office.

Editor’s note: The Dayton Ombudsman Office provides weekly columns to the Dayton Daily News to bring awareness to issues it sees in the community.

A 23-year-long homeowner contacted the Ombudsman with a complaint about the condition of the home next to hers. She called to complain that the municipality would not enforce housing code violations. She reports having called her municipality numerous times and none of them had been addressed. She has even complained to the owner of the rental property next door but has seen no results.

The homeowner reported that a fence between the two properties was in disrepair, and broken pieces of the fence had fallen into her yard. The bushes were quite overgrown and needed to be trimmed. The owner has ordered her own privacy fence, but it will not be possible to erect it until work at the neighboring property has been addressed.

The Ombudsman contacted code enforcement at the municipality and learned that the last complaint of this year was filed in May, and that a Warning Notice has been issued but no citation has been issued. At the time the contact information for the inspector handling the case was obtained. The inspector later reported to the Ombudsman that he had been out to the property three times, one time with his supervisor.

The next week the Ombudsman called the homeowner to follow-up. She reported that the neighbor did manage to get his fence propped up straight so that she was able to get her privacy fence installed. The homeowner is okay with things for now and was grateful for the intervention to assist in getting her fence up.

The Ombudsman Column, a production of the Joint Office of Citizens’ Complaints, summarizes selected problems that citizens have had with government services, schools and nursing homes in the Dayton area. Contact the Ombudsman by writing to us at 11 W. Monument Ave., Suite 606, Dayton 45402, call 937-223- 4613, or by electronic mail at ombudsman@dayton-ombudsman.org.

About the Author