Councilman Kevin Bishop received seven $200 fines for ignoring Cleveland's rules at his rental properties.
Published: Feb. 18, 2026, 9:07 a.m.Now he’s been hit with several tickets at his own rental properties, which he’d never registered or certified as lead-safe, despite voting to impose those requirements on landlords.
City inspectors issued seven tickets to Bishop just two days after cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer published a story reportingBishop received two tickets each at his Imperial Avenue and Rexford Avenue properties — one for failure to register as a rental and one for failure to obtain a lead-safe certificate. He received one ticket at his Martin Luther King Jr. Drive home for failure to register it as vacant — as inspectors showed up but found no one living there. The councilman also received two tickets at his Miles Avenue residence for failure to register as a rental and failure to obtain a lead-safe certificate, even though he lives there. Bishop lives in a six-unit apartment building he owns and says he does not offer any of the other units for lease. A city spokesperson said Bishop is still required to register all rental units, whether occupied or vacant. Bishop’s property on Jeffries Avenue was not ticketed because inspectors were unable to confirm it was being used as a rental, the city said. But he has since also filed paperwork to register the house as a rental unit.Online property records show Bishop is still completing the rental registration process, which includes submitting paperwork for each home proving they are safe from lead hazards. Cleveland requires landlords to register rental properties annually at a cost of $70 per unit and hire private inspectors to test for lead and fix any hazards before a property can be leased. Any rental built before 1978 is not considered lead-safe until it’s been inspected and certified. In a previous interview, Bishop told cleveland.com that three of his homes in Cleveland were used as rentals, while his son lived in the fourth house. Under city rules, any non-owner-occupied properties must be registered even if family members live there at no cost. Vacant properties must also be registered. The councilman and his colleagues created Cleveland’s 2019 lead-safe law to replace the city’s previous reactive approach, which often addressed lead hazards only after a child was poisoned. The law is central to efforts to combat a decades-long public health crisis. More than 1,000 children in Cleveland still test positive for lead poisoning each year. Bishop and the rest of City Council voted in 2024 to authorize inspectors to issue $200 tickets for code violations. They were part of what Mayor Justin Bibb coined as the “Residents First” legislation package. Cleveland has issued more than 10,000 of these tickets since the start of 2025, including 7,889 to unregistered rental properties and 371 for a lack of lead-safe certifications. A spokesperson said the city first issues civil tickets, which property owners can appeal. If a landlord still doesn’t comply, the city will then issue a violation notice. The city has used that escalating strategy since last year, though inspectors can skip straight to a violation notice if the situation warrants it. Building and Housing Director Sally Martin-O’Toole previously said that Cleveland has been issuing tickets in large batches, targeting rentals whose registrations had expired and landlords who accept federal housing vouchers but don’t register their properties. She said the city was unaware of Bishop’s properties, so they were not among those initially ticketed. Martin-O’Toole also said at the time that the department would follow up on Bishop’s rentals now that they had been brought to the city’s attention. Many rentals in the city do not follow the rules but have escaped enforcement so far. While more than 28,000 rental units have been inspected, fixed and certified as lead-safe, it’s estimated that Cleveland has anywhere from 90,000 to 100,000 rental units.Sean McDonnell covers Cleveland City Hall for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Prior to this role he covered the business beat. His focus, whether reporting on city government or the economy, is to write...
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