Springfield Haitian community housing playbook (Clark County)

Yes. Springfield requires each rental dwelling unit to be registered, even if it is not currently occupied. After registration and approval, the city issues a rental license. The city says current annual fees are $35 for a single-unit property, $25 per unit when there are 2 or more units in the same building, and a $750 maximum per owner and per LLC. The city also says the self-inspection checklist is not currently required to complete the application.

In plain language, landlords must provide a safe, habitable place to live, make needed repairs, keep common areas safe, maintain plumbing/electrical/HVAC supplied by the landlord, provide water, hot water and heat when required, and usually give about 24 hours notice before entering unless there is an emergency. Tenants must keep their unit reasonably clean, dispose of trash properly, use fixtures correctly, avoid damage, not disturb neighbors, and allow reasonable access for repairs and inspections.

Ask for a Haitian Creole interpreter immediately. Springfield's Community Development planning documents say the city contracts for interpreter services for neighbors with limited English proficiency and is working to strengthen communication with the Haitian Creole community. The city also says police have translators and equipment that allow communication in any language. As a practical step, renters can ask HAUS or Creole Connect to join the call, help translate notices, and explain next steps before a deadline is missed.

Springfield Metropolitan Housing Authority says its Housing Choice Voucher program pays a portion of rent directly to the landlord and the tenant pays the remainder. A landlord may participate if the unit and paperwork meet program rules. Voucher tenants still keep the same baseline Ohio tenant rights, and the Clark County tenant-landlord guide says subsidized-housing tenants often have added protections, including that a landlord generally needs good cause to evict in public-housing programs. Separate from the voucher rules, Ohio fair-housing law still forbids discrimination based on protected classes such as national origin, ancestry, race, religion, disability, sex, familial status, and military status.

Yes, for most pre-1978 housing. Before the lease is signed, federal law requires landlords, property managers, and agents to disclose known lead-based paint or lead hazards, provide any available reports, give the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home, and include the required lead warning statement in or with the lease. This is a disclosure duty, not just a best practice.

Common issues flagged by Springfield's maintenance standards and Clark County Public Health include trash accumulation, water damage, holes or weak floors, broken doors or windows, bad plumbing or drain lines, leaking roofs, unsafe porches or handrails, missing smoke detectors, inadequate heat in season, raw sewage, rats or other vermin, and improper waste storage. In practice, landlords should expect the highest risk in older units to be moisture, structural wear, plumbing, electrical safety, lead-related surfaces, and exterior deterioration.

Call Clark County Public Health for public-health nuisances such as raw sewage, rats or other vermin, open dumping of trash and garbage, and improper waste-tire storage. Call Springfield Code Compliance for structural issues, exterior property maintenance, tall weeds, junk vehicles on private property, vacant/unsecured structures, graffiti, and similar city property-maintenance problems. If the issue is a landlord-tenant dispute, the Clark County guide points people to fair-housing or legal-help resources rather than treating it as a simple nuisance call.

Springfield Police says it uses community-oriented policing and has formal community-relations channels. The Community Police Advisory Team (CPAT) is meant to study police-community relations, identify concerns early, and serve as a conduit for complaints and recommendations. The Citizens Police Academy is another relationship-building option for landlords, neighborhood leaders, and nearby homeowners who want to understand police procedures and de-escalate rumor-driven conflicts. For non-emergencies, use the police non-emergency line rather than 911.

Use HAUS or the Haitian Support Center as a bridge, not as a substitute for the lease. The organization says it helps with housing navigation, interpreting, job search, welfare assistance, education, legal assistance, advocacy, and community integration. That makes it useful for move-in orientations, translating house rules, explaining trash and maintenance expectations, helping tenants gather documents, and calming avoidable misunderstandings before they turn into police, code, or court problems.

For threats or bias-motivated intimidation, call 911 if there is immediate danger and report hate crimes or serious threats to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. For scam calls, texts, or emails claiming to be FBI or another agency, the FBI says real agencies do not demand money by phone or email; verify independently, do not click unsolicited links, and report internet fraud at ic3.gov. For immigration-related encounters, Ohio Legal Help says police may require your name, address, and date of birth if they believe you committed a crime, but you should not discuss immigration status with police; if ICE or CBP asks for immigration papers, show valid papers if you have them and ask for an interpreter if needed. On eviction, Ohio law requires a landlord to serve a written notice to leave the premises at least 3 days before filing the eviction case, and the notice must include the statutory warning language. A 3-day notice is not the final lockout by itself; the landlord still has to file in court, get a hearing, and obtain an order before a lawful set-out occurs.