The city of Columbus is expected to allocate more funding to pay housing costs for the mostly Haitian asylum seekers who were displaced from more than 400 homes in December after the Colonial Village Apartments closed, because many of them are still living in hotels.
The asylum seekers from Haiti were lured to the complex under false pretenses from Florida and other states, said Hannah Jones, Deputy Director of Columbus' Department of Development.
"The onsite property manager had entered into some sort of arrangement with a number of individuals who were bringing asylum seekers up from Florida and other locations, claiming that they had access to units and places for these families to live," Jones said. "When they arrived there, the majority of them were presented with false leases that were fraudulent. That gave the impression to these families that that was a legal relationship."
People were found living in units that were recorded as "vacant," in conditions that were rife with code violations and plumbing issues.
The complex had a reputation for being in disrepair and in violation of city codes. The final straw was when the complex lost heat, Jones said.
In November, 530 households, or about 1,300 people, were told they would have to leave.
Since relocating to the hotels, 118 households left that temporary housing. Fifty-one of those households found permanent homes with rental assistance from the city, Jones said.
"We have a very large number of families that need to be processed in our community. So we will have already offered an extension through April. And we are in the process of legislating the additional funding to the Community Shelter Board to pay for that extra month," Jones said.
Columbus City Council originally allocated $4 million to pay for the emergency housing through March, but they've been unable to find housing for the former residents of Colonial Village Apartments.
The council is expected to add another $700,000 to cover April's costs at a meeting next month.
Jones said the city lacks the infrastructure to resolve the issue swiftly, but they're committed to finding a solution.
Jones said the city could use attorneys wiling to volunteer at Legal Aid or Community Refugee and Immigration Services to help solve the crisis. The city is looking for more landlords who are willing to relax their requirements and work with the city to house more asylum seekers.
The tight housing market, stringent requirements from landlords and an insufficient safety net have caused unique challenges to finding housing for this vulnerable population, Jones said.
"Of course for many of these families, the majority of these families, working is still not an option. The process to get a work permit is very bureaucratic and cumbersome," Jones said.
Jones said those that can work get paid low wages and lack other things typical landlords look for, like a credit history.
"It is both the (housing) supply issue, as well as the very high bar that is set in the screening and application process for those who are seeking to rent a unit," Jones said. "Most property managers require that you have proof of income or in many cases, proof of three months of income. And that you have a credit score, of which the majority of these families are not going to have that information, because they have not been active in our community."
The city attorney's office and Columbus police have an open fraud investigation, Jones said.
The city attorney's office is also seeking to recoup the costs of the temporary housing from the receivership that took over the complex when it went into foreclosure. That company is tasked with rehabilitating the complex and selling it as an affordable housing complex.
"The former property manager's office was essentially running an underground operation where they were allowing folks to live in these units and taking rent checks from them. So they were taking advantage of some of the most vulnerable people in our community that came here," said City Attorney Zach Klein back in November.
