Property management in the Short North

It depends which side of High Street the property sits on. West of High is Victorian Village, reviewed by the Victorian Village Commission. East of High is Italian Village, reviewed by the Italian Village Commission. Both issue Certificates of Appropriateness for exterior alterations under Columbus City Code chapters 3116 and 3119, and both take applications through the Columbus Citizens Access Portal roughly a month before the meeting. The High Street corridor running through both is additionally governed by the Short North Design Guidelines, adopted September 19, 2011. Getting the wrong commission is the most common way an owner loses a month on a simple repair.

It runs along High Street between downtown Columbus and the Ohio State campus, with the Arena District to the south and the University District to the north. Victorian Village flanks it on the west and Italian Village on the east, with Harrison West beyond Victorian Village out to the Olentangy River. Italian Village itself is bounded by I-670 on the south, Fifth Avenue on the north, North High Street on the west and the Conrail tracks on the east. Most of it falls in zip code 43201.

No. It is a Columbus district in Franklin County, so Columbus ordinances apply in full: the rental registry, source of income protections, Columbus water and sewer, and Columbus Division of Refuse Collection for buildings of four attached units or fewer. Evictions go to Franklin County Municipal Court like every other Franklin County address.

Two-story brick houses are the backbone, many of them cut into two or three units decades ago, plus doubles, converted commercial upper floors along High Street and a growing set of newer infill buildings. Typical Italian Village stock is soft-burned red brick with a grey slate hipped or flat roof, chimneys rising from the ridge line, moderate roof overhangs and hanging or box gutters. Flat and low-slope roofs are far more common here than in the rest of the city, and they are the single largest capital item an owner should plan for.

Franklin County Municipal Court, at 375 S. High St., a short distance south of the district itself. Ohio Revised Code 1901.02 gives that court jurisdiction throughout Franklin County. An Ohio eviction is a forcible entry and detainer action under Revised Code Chapter 1923, filed in two causes: one for possession and one for the money judgment.

The City of Columbus Department of Public Utilities bills water, sewer and stormwater. A resident can be put on the bill through the city Tenant Billing Agreement, but Columbus City Code 1105.045 is titled "Unpaid charges a lien. Owner liable." and section 1147.16 does the same for sewer. The owner stays liable and unpaid charges attach to the property. This matters more here than elsewhere, because older brick buildings cut into multiple units frequently sit on a single water meter, which means one bill for several households.

Not for private property. In December 2025 Columbus City Council amended the code so the City, its officials, agents and contractors do not need a Certificate of Appropriateness when doing construction, reconstruction, demolition or alteration in a right of way. That covers city work on public streets and sidewalks. Review of exterior alterations on privately owned buildings was not changed.

A flat $117 to $184 per unit per month depending on the plan, with a $0 leasing fee and no startup fee on an occupied unit. Pricing does not vary by Columbus neighborhood, and there is no historic-district surcharge. Since Short North rents run above the Columbus median, a flat fee is worth proportionally more here than a percentage fee would be.