Officials say this data is extremely valuable for tracking progress to improve housing in local neighborhoods and identify properties that are at risk of falling into disrepair without intervention.
Steve Gondol, Dayton’s director of planning, neighborhoods and development, said the city wants to try to help out people whose properties have condition issues.
“This is not punitive,” he said. “We hope people engage through this so we can get out there and reach more people to explain how they can be better stewards of their property.”
Housing inspectors evaluated the exteriors of all residential properties in Dayton. The citywide assessment took place in the fall of 2023.
Properties were given ratings of 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest score (the property is sound) and 5 being the lowest (the property is dilapidated).
The city evaluated structural conditions but not environmental conditions, like trash in the yard or overgrown vegetation.
Data from the online portal show that Dayton surveyed about 53,220 properties, and about 38,585 were in sound condition (73%).
About 9,060 properties needed minor repairs (17%), while nearly 4,600 needed major repairs (9%). The rest needed major rehab (1.5%) or were dilapidated (0.3%).
“What we’re seeing here is out of 53,000-plus structures, the bulk of our city is in the 1 (grade) range,” Gondol said.
The online dashboard (found at daytonohio.gov/transparency) has information about residential property counts and grades in the city’s 65 residential neighborhoods.
Users can zoom in on individual properties to find out their ratings and other information. Data can be filtered by neighborhood or housing condition grades.
Data from the portal show that some city neighborhoods have very few properties that are dilapidated, distressed or need major repairs, like Cornell Heights, DeWeese, Eastmont and Hearthstone .
Other neighborhoods have many properties with condition issues, like Roosevelt, Santa Clara, Twin Towers and Westwood.
City officials have said housing survey data can help identify properties that are nearing a “tipping point” and could become dilapidated or candidates for demolition unless action is taken.
“We’re going to use this (data) to figure out where can we be strategic to eliminate the worst and improve the best” properties, Gondol said.
Property owners who have questions about their property condition ratings or who disagree with grades can contact the city at the bottom of the housing condition survey webpage.
However, Gondol stressed, “You don’t need to appeal these numbers — this is a point-in-time marking.”
The city is planning to complete another housing condition survey this fall.
City Commissioner Matt Joseph said neighborhood leaders have been asking for data like this for a very long time.
Dayton City Commissioner Darryl Fairchild said the online portal is “awesome” and possibly could be transformative.
He said the city should be prepared to help connect people to resources if they want to try to improve their properties and neighborhoods.
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