At last week’s City of Cleveland budget hearing, the Law Department put some numbers on the table that every Cleveland landlord needs to hear.
During Q4 2025 alone, the city issued more than 1,500 civil infraction tickets to landlords for housing code violations. That’s roughly 500 tickets per month. At $200 per ticket, the city is generating approximately $100,000 per month in fines — and those fines don’t just disappear if you ignore them.
They get assessed directly to your property taxes. They accrue at 18% annual interest. And they become a lien on your title.
The hearing took place on February 18, 2026, during the Finance, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee’s Day 2 budget sessions. Councilman Richard Starr (Ward 5) spent roughly 20 minutes questioning Chief Code Enforcement Officer Dave Roberts about enforcement numbers, prosecution gaps, and what the city is doing about repeat offenders. You can watch the full exchange starting at 38:15 in the hearing video.
Here’s what came out of it — and what it means if you own rental property in Cleveland.
Civil Tickets: The Enforcement Tool That’s Actually Working
The headline number from the hearing isn’t the 432 criminal prosecutions filed in 2025 — it’s the civil ticket volume. Chief Roberts confirmed that inspectors can now issue $200 civil infraction tickets on the spot, and they can issue them every single day for ongoing violations.
These tickets work like parking tickets on steroids. You don’t have to show up in court. You don’t get a hearing date. The fine just appears on your property tax bill. If you don’t pay it, it grows at 18% annual interest and becomes a lien that follows the property.
Roberts gave a telling example during the hearing: the city recently sent bulk civil tickets to an owner of approximately 200 rental properties for failure to register. That owner called the next day to negotiate a compliance schedule — including getting lead safe certificates.
The tickets worked where years of other enforcement efforts hadn’t.
Criminal Prosecution Is Happening Too — But the Civil Tickets Are the Real Story
On top of the civil tickets, the Law Department prosecuted 432 first-degree misdemeanor criminal complaints in 2025 for failure to comply with Building & Housing orders. The department has seven attorneys dedicated to criminal housing cases in Housing Court.
But here’s what matters for most landlords: the city doesn’t have to choose between civil and criminal enforcement. Roberts confirmed that inspectors can use both tools simultaneously. There is no fixed number of civil tickets before escalation to criminal prosecution — an inspector can go straight to criminal proceedings if the situation warrants it.
The LLC Problem Council Wants Solved
Councilman Starr zeroed in on what many Cleveland residents already know: out-of-state LLC landlords are a major enforcement headache — and Council is demanding the administration crack down harder on them specifically.
Roberts was candid about the challenge. Many LLC-owned properties get summoned to court and get no response — the LLC goes on the “corporate docket” and is subject to civil fines for contempt, but if the LLC is folding up, refusing to pay mortgages, and has already distributed profits to its owners, those fines just pile onto uncollectable debt.
But civil tickets change the equation. Those $200/day tickets assessed to property taxes hit the balance sheet whether the owner shows up in court or not. The property itself becomes the enforcement mechanism.
Starr made it clear: Council specifically wants to know how many corporate LLC landlords have been prosecuted for hiding behind corporate shields — and they want that number to go up.
What Council Is Demanding from the Administration
Starr didn’t stop at questions. He formally requested the administration provide Council with specific enforcement data:
- Total housing code violations issued from 2022–2025, with outcomes
- Charges filed for failure to register rental property since Residents First passed
- Charges for failure to register LLCs with the Secretary of State
- Charges for failure to file certificates of disclosure
- How many corporate LLC landlords have been prosecuted specifically for using LLC structures to avoid accountability
- A list of every landlord with more than 10 violations in 2025
- How often Building & Housing and the Law Department meet to review repeated offenders
- Whether a data-sharing system exists tracking violations across departments
- Whether administrative bottlenecks are preventing criminal filings
This data request signals that Council is building the case for even stronger enforcement — particularly against corporate LLC landlords — and they want to know exactly where the gaps are so they can close them.
The HUD Jurisdiction Question
Starr also raised an important question about subsidized housing, and Roberts clarified three categories:
- Voucher program properties — The city can prosecute these landlords just like any private owner.
- Project-based HUD subsidized housing (non-conventional, like Arbor Park or Garden Valley) — The city can prosecute the third-party operators.
- Conventional CHA public housing (like Longwood or Carver Park) — The city cannot prosecute due to federal immunity. The only option is reporting concerns to HUD.
This distinction matters because Starr specifically called out Shaker Apartments as having over 50 ongoing violations over the years, pushing the administration to work more closely with HUD on conventional public housing enforcement.
What This Means for Cleveland Landlords
The bottom line: Cleveland is issuing fines at a pace that adds up to over $1 million per quarter — and those fines don’t go away. They attach to your property, accrue interest, and compound. The city is moving toward:
- 500+ civil tickets per month at $200 each — assessed to your property taxes whether you respond or not
- 18% annual interest on unpaid fines — turning a $200 ticket into a growing financial burden
- Criminal prosecution stacked on top — 432 first-degree misdemeanor cases in 2025, with more coming
- Targeting repeat offenders and corporate LLC landlords — Council wants a list of every landlord with 10+ violations and is specifically demanding more prosecution of LLCs hiding behind corporate shields
- Cross-department enforcement coordination — breaking down silos between Building & Housing and the Law Department
If you own rental property in Cleveland, the time to get compliant is before your address shows up on one of those lists.
How PbFree Ohio Can Help
We work with landlords every day to get ahead of exactly this kind of enforcement wave. Whether you need a lead safe certificate, help with rental registration compliance, or guidance on meeting your Residents First obligations, we can get you on a compliance schedule that keeps you off the city’s radar.
The owner of 200 properties who got those bulk civil tickets? He got compliant by getting on a schedule. You can do the same — without the fines.
Schedule your free consultation today or call us at (216) 208-7423.
Watch Councilman Starr’s full testimony: Cleveland City Council Budget Hearing — Feb. 18, 2026 (starts at 38:15)