Homeless Families and Their Pets Displaced After Columbus Hotel Closes Due to Safety Concerns
Columbus, OH – Over the weekend, a group of homeless individuals and their pets were left without shelter after the Loyalty Inn, located at 5910 Scarborough Blvd. on Columbus’ Southeast Side, was shut down. This closure follows escalating safety and crime issues at the hotel, which had been used to house 30 residents who could not stay in regular shelters due to the presence of their pets.
The Community Shelter Board had been funding the hotel since mid-December, providing a temporary housing solution for residents coming from homeless camps that the city had ordered to vacate. However, the Loyalty Inn’s closure on Saturday resulted from an agreement between the hotel’s owner and the City Attorney’s Office Property Action Team, which has been working to address the hotel’s ongoing problems.
In 2021, the Franklin County Environmental Court had declared the Loyalty Inn a public nuisance and required the property’s owner to make significant improvements. The current owners have not complied with the court’s orders, and recent inspections found multiple violations, including 17 issues identified by the State Fire Marshal. Over the past year, Columbus police responded to the hotel more than 100 times, further highlighting the building’s safety concerns.
City Attorney Zach Klein expressed his concerns about the challenges the situation presents, stating that had something tragic occurred, his office would have faced serious scrutiny for not acting sooner. Despite offering the hotel owner additional time to relocate residents, the decision was made to close the hotel early.
The shelter program was initially set to last until the end of March, with the Community Shelter Board paying between $43 and $49 per night for the rooms. Following the closure, alternative shelter options were offered, including traditional shelters where pets would be housed at the Franklin County Animal Shelter. However, all the impacted residents declined these options, with some choosing to return to the streets or find other accommodations with friends or family.
This situation underscores the critical shortage of affordable housing in the area. As Community Shelter Board spokesperson Niél Jurist explained, if there were more affordable housing options available, hotels and motels would not need to serve as emergency shelters for the homeless and their pets.
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