Renting in Columbus With Pests: Who Pays for Treatment

This is general information, not legal advice. The facts of your lease and your building matter, and the law changes. If you are thinking about putting rent in escrow or ending a lease, talk to a lawyer or a legal aid program first. Contacts are at the end of this page.

What Ohio law requires of a landlord

Ohio's landlord-tenant law is Chapter 5321 of the Ohio Revised Code. Section 5321.04(A) lists the landlord's duties. Three of them cover most pest problems:

• Comply with the building and housing codes, and the health and safety codes, that materially affect health and safety (A)(1).
• Make all repairs and do whatever is reasonably necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition (A)(2).
• Keep common areas safe and sanitary (A)(3).

The statute does not use the words "pest" or "bed bug." What it does is tie the landlord to the local housing code, and in Columbus that code is specific.

What the Columbus housing code says

Columbus City Code Chapter 4551 splits responsibility between owners and occupants.

Situation	Who the code makes responsible	Section
Building with two or more units, pests in the building or on the grounds	Owner	4551.01(f)
Building with two or more units, only your unit infested	Occupant	4551.02(f)
Single-family house	Occupant	4551.02(f)
Infestation caused by improper rat-proofing	Owner, in every case	4551.01(f), 4551.02(f)

If roaches or bed bugs are in more than one apartment in your building, the code puts elimination on the owner. If the problem is confined to your unit, or you rent a whole house, the code puts it on you, unless the cause is a building that was not rat-proofed. Section 4551.01(i) separately requires the owner to keep the dwelling rat-proof.

Two cautions. The city code sets what code enforcement can cite, and it does not replace the state habitability duty in ORC 5321.04 or what your lease says. And "only your unit is infested" is a fact question. Ohio State Extension notes that bed bugs move between adjoining units, so ask the landlord to have neighboring units inspected before anyone concludes the problem is yours alone.

A licensed company's written inspection result is useful evidence either way. You can ask for one.

Your side of the deal

ORC 5321.05(A) lists what a tenant must do. The duties that matter for pests:

• Keep your part of the premises safe and sanitary.
• Dispose of garbage and other waste in a clean and sanitary way.
• Keep the plumbing fixtures you use as clean as their condition permits.
• Comply with the state and local codes on housing and on health and safety.

The Columbus code says the same in more detail in 4551.02(g), down to keeping floors free of garbage and refuse and putting rubbish in the receptacles provided.

You also have to let the pest company in. Under ORC 5321.04(A)(8), the landlord must give reasonable notice before entering, and 24 hours is presumed reasonable. Columbus code 4551.02(a) requires you to give access on reasonable advance notice. Refusing a treatment visit, or skipping the prep sheet, is the quickest way to end up paying for the next one.

Giving written notice

Complain in writing, even if you already called. ORC 5321.07(A) lets a tenant give the landlord written notice that specifies what the landlord failed to do or which code is violated, and requires that it go to the person or place where rent is normally paid. That notice is the first step to every remedy below.

Here is an outline. It is a starting point, not legal advice, and a lawyer can tailor it to your lease.

1. Your name, the unit address and the date.
2. The landlord or manager's name, at the address where you pay rent.
3. What you found and when: "German cockroaches in the kitchen and bathroom since September 30," or "bed bugs confirmed in the bedroom on October 12." Attach dated photos.
4. What you have done so far, such as phone calls and dates, and any inspection report.
5. What you are asking for: treatment by a licensed pest control company, and inspection of neighboring units.
6. A request to reply in writing with a treatment date, and a note that you will give access with reasonable notice.
7. A reference to ORC 5321.04, and to Columbus City Code 4551.01(f) if your building has two or more units.
8. Your signature. Keep a copy.

The Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk's rent escrow sheet adds practical steps: sign and date the notice, keep a copy for the court, and deliver it in person with a witness or by mail with a certificate of service. Save every receipt.

If the landlord does not fix it: rent escrow

ORC 5321.07(B) is the remedy. If the landlord gets your notice and fails to fix the condition within a reasonable time considering how severe it is, or within 30 days, whichever is sooner, and you are current on rent, you may do one of three things:

• Deposit your rent with the clerk of the municipal or county court.
• Apply to the court for an order directing the landlord to fix the condition. You can ask for reduced rent until it is fixed, or for the deposited rent to pay for the repair.
• End the rental agreement.

The exceptions matter. Under 5321.07(C), the section does not apply to a landlord with three or fewer rental units who says so in a written lease, or, for an oral lease, in a written notice at move-in. Under 5321.07(D), it does not apply to a "student tenant," which ORC 5321.01(H) defines as someone living in housing owned or operated by their own college or university. Off-campus students renting from a private landlord are not excluded on that ground. Our Ohio State move-in guide covers student rentals.

In Columbus, rent escrow runs through the Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk's Rent Escrow Program, 375 S. High St., 3rd Floor, 614-645-7420. The clerk's information sheet lists mice and rats, along with roaches, among the conditions landlords must fix, and makes these points:

• Any rent that comes due within 30 days after you deliver the notice must still be paid to the landlord.
• After the 30 days, deposit the full rent by the next due date. The clerk takes only cash or money orders.
• There is no filing fee, but the court keeps 1 percent of each deposit.
• Miss a deposit and you risk losing the case.

Get the order of steps wrong and you can be evicted for nonpayment. This is the part to run past a lawyer first.

Calling Columbus code enforcement

A city inspection backs up your notice. File a "Pest Infestation/Rental Property" request through Columbus 311 or call 614-645-3111. In 2024 and 2025, renters inside city limits filed 757 of these requests, plus 116 bed bug code complaints. Our Columbus pest data page breaks them down by neighborhood.

The clerk's sheet suggests asking the inspector for a written report and a copy for yourself. Keep it with your notice. For rats outside, the city's own Vector Control program may treat the yard. Our rats and 311 guide explains when it can and cannot help. Note that Columbus Public Health does not inspect or treat bed bugs.

Keep a paper trail from day one: dated photos, every maintenance work order number, the date of each call, and your 311 service request number. The city's 311 lookup shows the status of a request from that number, with no login. If the problem ever goes to escrow, small claims or a lease dispute, those numbers are your timeline.

To see Columbus 311 pest requests by month and neighborhood, open the data page.

Retaliation

ORC 5321.02(A) bars a landlord from raising your rent or cutting services because you complained, and from bringing or threatening an eviction for that reason. The protected acts are a complaint to a government agency about a code violation that materially affects health and safety, a complaint to the landlord about a 5321.04 violation, and joining with other tenants to deal with the landlord. If a landlord retaliates, 5321.02(B) lets you raise it as a defense to an eviction. You can also recover possession or end the lease, and recover actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees. Under 5321.02(C), a landlord can still raise rent to cover improvements or higher operating costs.

Keep everything in writing. Dates are your evidence.

Where to get help

• Ohio Legal Help has a free guide for when a landlord will not make repairs, and can point you to legal aid.
• Ohio State students can get a lease review and advice from Student Legal Services, 614-247-5853.
• The Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk's Rent Escrow Program answers process questions at 614-645-7420.

For the pest itself, our pages on bed bugs and cockroaches cover what treatment involves. We only refer companies that hold an Ohio Department of Agriculture pesticide business license and send licensed commercial applicators. If you own the rental, or the pest is yours to handle under the code, ask for a free inspection and a written price.