• UACT investigation reveals apartment ceiling collapse followed 14-year history of negligence by landlord and city officials at property whose owner is both a landlord and city official

On August 4, 2022 United Athens County Tenants (UACT) learned of a ceiling collapse at a West Side Athens rental apartment that endangered the lives of a family with young children and forced the family to relocate. The incident occurred that evening at 79 ½ North Shafer Street, part of a house divided into two rental units – 79 & 79 ½. 

Immediately following the ceiling collapse, UACT launched an investigation into the Shafer Street property and its landlord, Krause Rental Properties (KRP). The property is nominally owned by JEM Management, 1 of 7 different limited liability corporations affiliated with Krause Rental Properties and Joe Krause that together own 17 different rental properties in Athens and several additional rental properties in Columbus.

To conduct our investigation we 

  • reviewed police and fire department records of the ceiling collapse;

  • reviewed code enforcement records on 17 different Krause properties in Athens, including the North Shafer property;

  • spoke to a North Shafer neighbor who witnessed the police and fire department response;

  • spoke to 4 recent tenants of the North Shafer property and tenants of other Krause properties

  • reviewed tenant photos of the North Shafer property;

  • reviewed email correspondence between tenants and the landlord regarding the North Shafer property;

  • reviewed some Columbus city records pertaining to a Krause property in that city.

To view the full press release, an extended report of our findings, a detailed spreadsheet of the inspection reports, and links to the records, see the links above.