Public Health Nuisance Complaints

The Defiance County General Health District needs citizen participation to assist in the prevention and elimination of hazards to the public health.  A nuisance is an act or omission that obstructs, damages, or inconveniences the rights of the community. It covers a wide variety of matters that threaten the health, morals, safety, comfort, convenience, or welfare of a community. A public health nuisance is a legally actionable nuisance that violates Ohio codified law and has the potential to negatively threaten the public health of a community.

The health district does not enforce any building or housing maintenance code (currently there are no building codes or housing maintenance codes for Defiance County) for issues dealing with electrical, plumbing, roofing, structure, etc.  You may check with your city/ village offices to find out if there are residential building codes within your city/ village.

A concerned citizen should take the following two steps prior to filing a formal complaint with the health district:

  1. Ask yourself if the nuisance condition is health related.  The enforcement ability of public health is limited to conditions which threaten the public health.  A condition may certainly be a nuisance to you, but it may not be a public health nuisance.
  2. Address your concerns to the offending party and attempt to work out a solution directly.  If you attempt to resolve the problem, but are unsuccessful, then it may be appropriate to file a public health nuisance complaint.

Complaints are generally investigated in the order in which they are received.  Turn around time is usually a week to ten days, but may be less, depending on the number of complaints received.

Once a nuisance complaint is filed with our office, it becomes a public record.  Anyone may obtain a copy of a complaint file upon request by submitting the request form found below.  

 

Types of Public Health Nuisance Complaints Investigated by DCGHD

 

Nuisance Reporting and Investigation

Defiance County is working hard to meet the needs of the community. If you have observed conditions, which may be causing a nuisance, fill out the form below. Once completed, this form is not visible to the public. Upon submission, it is reported to the Defiance County Health Department.

In the event of a Public Health Emergency, Class A Reportable Disease, or Bioterrorism Event, please contact the Defiance County Sheriff at (419) 784-1155 or call 911.

To file a complaint with the Defiance County Nuisance Task Force please read the following:

To file a complaint with the Defiance County Nuisance Task Force please read the following:

Not every condition meets the definition of a public nuisance. There may be conditions that you personally may not like or want to live in, but people do have the freedom to choose how they live. The issue is when those choices affect the life and safety of others, which can include people living in such conditions that they are endangering themselves.

After filling out the complaint form it will be sent electronically to the Defiance County Health Department. The form and information will be evaluated and sent to the agency that has jurisdiction or authority.

Be advised that you may be contacted for more details. Complaints may take an extended period of time for resolution because of reporting and investigation time. Not every issue can be resolved to the complainant's complete satisfaction.

First
Last
Please indicate to the best of your knowledge the date the nuisance was observed.
Please select the type of nuisance(s) of concern. Click the links below the submit button for a description of each nuisance.
Type of service(s) you are seeking:

 

Bed Bugs In Home Solid Waste Mold in Home
Lead in Home Landlord/Tenant Issues Hoarding
No Heat in Home/Plumbing Mosquito Breeding Ground Open Burning
Illegal Dumping Manure Application  

 

Additional Forms

Public Records Request Form

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