Ombudsman helped woman reach department of housing inspection

Editor’s note: The Dayton ombudsman’s office provides weekly columns to the Dayton Daily News to bring awareness to issues it sees. The column was recently moved to the Ideas & Voices section to help readers identify solutions to common problems in their communities. Read this in print on Thursdays.

Frequently the Ombudsman is called when residents cannot receive a response from a government agency. Recently the Ombudsman received a call from a property owner.  The woman owns two properties on the same street.  She occupies one of the properties and rents the other property to her grandchild. Between the two properties is an abandoned home which has become an eyesore. According to the woman, the owners of that home are deceased, and the woman understands that there is no family to take responsibility. The garage belonging to the neglected property caught fire, and even burned part of the woman’s fence. The woman and her neighbors have been calling the city department of housing inspection, but no one has returned their calls to explain what will happen to this property.