Detroit is expanding its efforts to ensure more renters live in safe, well-maintained homes, and giving residents new tools to check a property’s compliance status and report serious housing concerns.

Mayor Mary Sheffield and the Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED) have announced a five-point plan focused on the city’s estimated 85,000 one- and two-family rental properties. These homes make up the largest share of Detroit’s rental housing but have historically received less compliance attention than larger apartment buildings.

The City’s initial goal is to increase compliance among these properties from 14% to 25% within one year. That would bring thousands more rental homes into compliance with Detroit’s health and safety requirements.

Resources for Detroit renters

Residents can take two immediate steps:

• Check a rental property’s compliance status: Visit the City’s rental compliance map to search registered rental properties and see whether a property has a current Certificate of Compliance.
• Report serious problems with a rental property: Visit DetroitMI.gov/TenantSupport to submit a complaint online at any time.

Tenant complaints submitted through the new online system will be tracked and prioritized based on the nature and severity of the reported problem.

What will change for renters?

The plan is designed to help the City identify unsafe or unregistered rental properties sooner, respond more effectively to tenant concerns and hold property owners accountable for meeting housing standards.

BSEED will build a more complete enforcement list that includes properties potentially operating as rentals without being registered. The department will use rental registrations, complaint records, court information, occupancy data and other available records to help identify these properties.

Inspectors will also be assigned to specific geographic areas. This will allow inspectors to become more familiar with the properties and housing conditions in the neighborhoods they serve, while giving residents and landlords a more consistent City contact.

Preventing compliant properties from falling behind

Thousands of smaller rental properties lose their compliant status each year when their certificates expire without being renewed.

To prevent that, BSEED will contact landlords 90, 60, 30 and seven days before a Certificate of Compliance expires, as well as one day before the deadline. An inspector will also be assigned to follow up directly.

The department will contact landlords whose certificates expired within the past three years, with the goal of returning those properties to compliance within 90 days.

More guidance for small landlords

The City will expand assistance for smaller landlords who may not have professional property managers or experience navigating the compliance process.

BSEED will provide more hands-on guidance to help property owners understand inspections, required repairs and the steps needed to earn or renew a Certificate of Compliance. The City will also hold monthly landlord compliance clinics at recreation centers.

Different outreach and enforcement strategies will be used for:

• Owners with up to four one- or two-family rental properties
• Owners with five or more one- or two-family rental properties
• Owners of multifamily properties containing at least three units

Helping responsible landlords complete the process can prevent avoidable lapses while allowing inspectors to focus enforcement on owners who fail to address unsafe conditions.

Building on progress in senior housing

The expanded effort follows the City’s recent work to improve conditions in Detroit’s senior apartment buildings.

In January, Mayor Sheffield set a goal of bringing at least 65 of the city’s 111 senior apartment buildings into compliance by August. The City surpassed that goal by 32%, with 86 senior buildings now holding Certificates of Compliance. Work continues at the remaining properties.

“All Detroiters deserve to live in safe, quality housing,” Mayor Sheffield said. “Our senior building compliance effort shows that with a good strategy and follow-up, we can significantly increase compliance and improve the quality of housing for thousands of Detroiters. Now we are turning our full attention to the segment of rental properties that has received the least attention from the City in recent years.”

For renters, the broader plan is intended to mean safer homes, clearer information and a more direct way to ask the City for help.

“Detroit’s rental compliance strategy is about giving residents more stability, more choices and a clearer path to long-term housing security,” BSEED Director David Bell said. “We are working together to strengthen neighborhoods and make quality rental housing accessible to every Detroiter.”

Check a property or request help

• Search the rental compliance map: DetroitMI.gov/webapp/rental-map
• Report a serious rental housing concern: DetroitMI.gov/TenantSupport