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Neighborhood Services reports landlord compliance increases, HUD $7.75M home‑repair grant and planned demolitions
Summary
Director of Neighborhood Assistance described higher landlord registration and enforcement metrics, a major HUD home‑repair grant, and plans to demolish blighted properties; staff said residential demolitions will largely be completed by May 1 and that commercial demolitions require longer timelines.
At the City of Akron budget hearing, the director of Neighborhood Assistance briefed council on housing enforcement, demolition targets and federal grant awards that will fund repair and lead‑safety work.
Eufenci Lash, director of Neighborhood Assistance, reported the landlord compliance and rental registration program had 4,200 registered landlords, the highest since 2005. Lash told the committee the department completed more than 5,800 residential and commercial inspections in 2024 and brought nearly 700 properties into compliance. The department issued approximately 530 administrative penalties that generated about $150,000 in revenue.
Lash said the department plans to demolish roughly 100 structures this year and had about 76 remaining at the time of the hearing; he and staff said about four demolition contractors were at work and the department expected to complete the residential demolitions by May 1. Lash identified three commercial targets for demolition: Rankin Elementary School on Store Avenue, the former Firestone plant at 1200 South Main Street, and Goodrich (Goodrich Junior High); he cautioned those larger commercial projects will take longer and require abatement and additional steps.
On funding, Lash said the city received a $7,750,000 grant from HUD to implement an Akron Home Repair program and a $1,800,000 Lead Safe Ohio grant. Housing‑services staff also reported a housing resource center and partner‑mediator work to negotiate move‑out dates and short stays so residents can find alternatives when evictions are filed.
Neighborhood Assistance staff shared 311 center metrics: the department received 98,633 calls in 2024 and answered about 97% of them; the 311 system logged 63,190 phone service requests and 9,834 online requests. Parks and recreation highlights included reopening Ed Davis Community Center, expansion of summer camps (42 camps serving 580 children in 2024) and 36,540 meals served through the summer lunch program.
Why it matters: Council members pressed for timelines and budget allocations because demolition and rehabs affect neighborhoods directly. Lash said residential demolitions funded by a state grant were on track to meet the department’s April/May timeline; commercial abatement and demolition work remains more complex.
Council members also asked about vacant properties and administrative fines. Neighborhood staff said the city registered 79 vacant commercial buildings in 2024 and that an active caseload includes roughly 2,000 properties in violation, with about 60% of those verified as vacant at a given time (approx. 1,200). No formal votes were taken during the presentation.
