The Office of Fair Housing & Consumer Affairs contributes to the overall mission of improving the quality of life in the City of Cleveland.  The office also educates and mediates on behalf of Cleveland area consumers in order to facilitate successful resolution on consumer related complaints. The City’s Office of Consumer Affairs enforces Cleveland’s 1972 Consumer Protection Act.  DCA works with public and private consumer complaint agencies and prosecutes code violators.  This department promotes legal consciousness and an atmosphere of market fairness.

Consumer Affairs educates the public regarding scams and fraudulent business practices.  It works with the media, holds public neighborhood forums, and works cooperatively with private and governmental consumer agencies.  It interacts with various levels of government to impact key consumer issues, ranging from Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) rate matters to banking practices.  This office may subpoena witnesses and hold hearings to determine whether a vendor has engaged in unfair practices with a Cleveland consumer.  Along with field work, this may result in prosecution.