Detroit Tenants Rights Commission — First Meeting, 4/17/2025

    5:54PM Apr 18, 2025

    Speakers:

    Keywords:

    Tenants' rights

    Detroit city government

    housing conditions

    compliance ordinance

    renters' advocacy

    landlord issues

    affordable housing

    tenant protection

    public engagement

    housing policy

    community centers

    retaliation

    property management

    tenant associations

    housing inspections.

    Ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, tenants rights commission. This is our acquainted commission. This commission is established to protect and preserve and also make recommendations for policy around housing in the future, they are a part of the Detroit city government encoded. They also will receive funding from the city of Detroit general fund. So I just want everyone to understand how important this commission will serve for everyone that are renters. We have over 100,000 renters in the city of Detroit, and so we desperately need this commission to be up and running and operating. So we're waiting on one more commission, also council member, Mary waters, and when she come, we'll give a brief introduction on why this Commission was established, because we either got the phone calls from certain people, some in support, some are not in support, and now and we will explain Why we move forward in this process, and so please hold tight and we will start a meeting shortly. Okay, we got our five. We got more than five. Okay, missing two, but we got enough. We get y'all gotta pour on.

    All right, all right, they just gave me my instructions. So hello, everyone I Barry waters. You're one of the at large council members. I I'm excited about today, because for the first time ever, we have a test Rights Commission here. They are sitting ready to give them a round

    of on this

    call, I am so grateful that they decided that they would take on this challenge, because you all know better than than a lot of us, that renters need somewhere to go, and you all are going to be able to be in a position to take a Look at their leases, to take a look at a lot of complaints that they have they've been bringing up to city council, of course, but we wanted them to have another voice, some other additional help, and that's where you all come in at and you all know that we only have About 10, 11% of the landlords that are in compliance too, way, way down. So that's why we introduced back to back ordinances. Tennis Rights Commission formed, that you'll be able to hire your staff and then to follow that was the compliance ordinance, because we want to make sure that people are in compliance, right? Yeah, yeah. And so we don't want people any longer living in unfit conditions in their homes. If you're a landlord, don't be afraid of the tenants. Right Commission and the and the compliance ordinance, just do the right thing. You know, maintain your properties, because it is a two way street. It is both for the landlords and the tenants. And I believe that this is a very great beginning to making sure that those things happen and should be mutual respect, right? So, so I just thank all of you for being here. I wanted to be here this afternoon just to say, Welcome to our new commission. And all they have to do is to let us know how we can be of some help, and you don't have to worry about us mentally. Do your thing, because I already know that we have a wealth of knowledge right here on this commission, everybody. So I just want to be in a position to support you and make sure that you have the tools that you need to do your jobs. Alright, alright. And so I want to thank everybody else for coming out this afternoon, and you help us spread the word. Okay, let renters know that they now have a commission, and you guys will kind of what rotate around in the in the city at different so that people will have ease of access. Yes. Don't have to worry about parking so much. Isn't this wonderful? Yes, yes and, and I've just got to tell this quick little story before I sit down. I can tell you what was really driving me a lot when I decided to sponsor those two ordinances. It goes back to little kabiah Davis, the 11 month old baby who was living in a house, living there and there was a hole in the floor. Baby fell in the hole in the floor to the basement and died. A lot of feces. Now if that doesn't motivate you, I don't know what to do, because those are kinds of things. We don't want our children living like that. We don't want our seniors either in conditions where they're way up on floors, elevators break, no air condition, they suffer and they die. We don't want that, and we're not going to tolerate it, right? That's why we're going to date. We are going to demand better, and this is beginning of it. So I want to thank you all, and I want you all to meet my housing specialist here. Joanna Underwood, I know you're all right Joanna, because I've got to tell you she was so driven and hungry to get those ordinances done. Oh, she is. I mean, I've got to tell you, I don't have to tell you all that you have someone here that's going to work with you, so you just let Joanna know what you need. She's going to tell me, and I'm going to go to work too, because I can't say no to her, because I know her heart is in the right place. Amen. I do. Alright. So alright, Joanna, do you have anything you want to say? Okay, alright.

    Thank you so much. Thank you to my boss, Council Member, Mary water. I don't want to tear up, because this is my dream public policy. I've been a housing advocate for 10 years, and I have advocated for renters in the city of Detroit the whole time I was a homeowner, but I'm I knew how it felt when my mom and how we was treated. You know, my mom had eight kids, and we always struggled to find housing in the city of Detroit. It was always an issue with that my mother being able to house. So when I got the opportunity, when council member waters gave me the opportunity to work with her, that's the first thing I said, was like, I want To do something around renters.

    It was a hard fight, the attitude, the prejudice, the discrimination people have towards renter and people of low income in the city of Detroit and so up there. But we have to do a better job at educating people in the city of Detroit the importance of housing. Housing is not a commodity, it's a human right, and everybody deserves to be housed. And low income don't mean poor housing conditions. Just because you in subsidized housing or low income house doesn't mean that you have to have a, you know, hole in your roof, or, you know, poor conditions for you and your children, you know. So it's so important that we re educate people about this. I'm so happy and so overjoyed that finally we have some leadership that was able to get this done. And this was a two year fight, and it's a lot of work that we I didn't want to talk about, but it was, it wasn't easy, and y'all, work is not going to be easy. I'm so happy and grateful to pass the hundreds of cases off to you that I manage on a daily basis. I'm so grateful to be able to have people that I know, that I have worked with, like Miss D, Miss T, everybody to do this work, and they passionate about it is just as much as me, and have been doing it just as longer than me. So I'm so grateful, and I'm sorry replying, but I just couldn't help it. Um, thank you so much.

    Now you want to see why Joanna Underwood is part of Team waters, yeah, yes, yes, because I remember how she used to fight out the community. I'm like, Girl, come on with me and you stop and I enter. You that You have and fight here with me on city council. And so that's exactly and I'm so grateful that that she's part of the team. Thank you, Joanna, alright, so at this point, I guess you guys haven't chosen any leadership yet here, so maybe you guys want to introduce yourselves to the community. What started with that are those microphones working

    about your background so that community will know, because everybody was not at at the internal operations when we interviewed you so so please, Alright, go ahead. Misty, good afternoon.

    Everybody, good afternoon.

    Everybody, my name is Dee Davis, and I am the president of United tenant councils, of councils, and I was so honored. I have to say this first, I was so honored to have Councilwoman waters ask me to come on board to help out with this endeavor. I have been advocating and I have been organizing since 1995 and I helped to co found the United tenant council of councils in 2011 it's now 2025 so we've been around the block a few times. We understand our assignment. Um, I look so forward to working with all of the people on this panel and YouTube Councilwoman waters, and we're going to get something, I think we have the kind of minds and the kind of spirit and the energy to go into this endeavor, and I think that we're going to Get many, many victories out of

    it. Good afternoon, everyone. All right. My name is Chad mcflyno. Thank you for having us here today at the welcome I am a government affairs associate in the city of Detroit Mayor's office, and when I got the assignment to be asked to be on the tenants rights commission. I thought it was mind boggling that they asked enough of me to serve the city of Detroit and its residents, and unlike Miss Davis here that might have 30 years of experience advocating the love, the passion that's there young people, middle aged people, old seniors, all have the need and the right to have safe, affordable housing, a place that they can Call home, where they don't have to go and have the stress, where they can raise their kids in a comfortable place, no fear, exactly. And so those 100 plus cases that Joanna has, I'll be glad to take them all with this amazing team that we have in Councilwoman waters with the team, with the keyword team, because we are a team and what the residents is about. So thank you for having us here. I appreciate this

    Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Sherry Smith. I am a night C Detroiter, single mother of two, and I work with various organizations, the Detroit Black Community Food sovereignty network, as well as community movement building Detroit. And I'm just so happy to be here to represent tenants and to advocate for housing that everybody in our city needs. There's not a person in our city who does not need shelter every single day, and so I think it is a great opportunity to be able to represent that with this amazing, amazing condition.

    My name is Mary Cox, and I'm a retired 40 year school teacher from Detroit public schools. And I am the secretary for the Jefferson apartments attendance Council, one of the things that I have been a renter my entire life, my. Higher adult life. And it's important that the consulates this, because it's like a neighborhood association. It gives you a chance to it gives one the chance to to work together and to give both protection and improvement to certain areas. And that's why I was so pleased to be allowed to accept this position on this Council. Thank you.

    Good Hello. Hi, everyone,

    hello, everyone. I go by, miss, T, M, z, t, e, a, Tanisha Sanders, I am the lead base building organizing with Detroit action, with emphasis on renters and tenants. I've been doing it for about four, four strong years. I started off in education justice. I became homeless at 44 even a bad relationship, and coming back to Detroit, it was so hard for a single woman to find housing without me having adequate income. So I started off just, you know, in the soup kitchens, and just trying to figure out, you know, how to get people, as well as myself, out of the soup kitchen to permanent housing. I did get housing at the time, thank God, by the grace of God. Now I am a land contract home owner, but I'm not going to ever turn my back on renters. I am also co lead of Detroit right to council with wisdom Institute Sicily Allen. And also, I am a renters and tenant organizer that we have bi weekly meetings at 3131 Arden Street, six to 8pm every other Tuesday, second and fourth Tuesday. I have a relationship with some lawyers that if you know anybody that know they have a court case coming up live next week or 30 days out, we want you to share your story via email so they can give you resources up front. We don't have a system like that, but they're trying to build that system with this commission. So basically, for me, I'm just a people person. I think everybody should have housing no matter who you are, what you are, why you are, and that's what I'm here for. And I thank you guys for coming up and sharing this opportunity with

    us. You Hi everybody. I just want to thank you guys for coming out, and I'm very grateful for everybody being here. My name is Josephine alone. I'm a student at Wayne State. I'm student rep here on the commission. I was duly appointed by both the council and the mayor. So I would just like to thank both the council and the mayor for this opportunity. My goal here on this commission is to ensure that renters have affordable, accessible and safe housing, and I would like to empower renters to not only know their rights, but to be able to come together collectively through collective power, I think that's really powerful and important, and ultimately, I would just want to make A difference for the better. Thank you.

    Hello, everyone. My name is Jamie Jr. I'm so happy to be here. I'm so happy that all of you guys are here. I am a disability justice advocate and activist. I've been doing disability justice activism for probably as long as I've been alive, which is 40 some years. And I am also affiliated with Detroit people's platform. I work with the transit justice team as well as the housing justice team to ensure Detroiters have access to equitable transportation and equitable affordable, accessible housing. I'm here to bring my expertise as an ADA coordinator and up here. Specialist, along with my lived experience being a lifelong trainer of being a renter for some 30 years going through things, I want to make sure that folks have again an equitable, affordable and accessible place to call home. I

    Yeah. So let's go to number four, because I think everybody kind of shared their their mission, alright, and we understand what the roles and responsibilities of the commissioner, right, all right, so adoption of meeting procedures, proposal rules for meetings you're going to use Robert's Rules, I would

    suggest that we use other survivors, you know Robert, just because we want to make sure that everybody has a chance to be heard. So I propose a combination of Robert's Rules and sentences.

    Have consensus.

    Then Robert rules will take, uh, precedence. Okay, does that? Does that make sense? Yeah, yeah. So you guys gonna have somebody to draw up your rules, your commission rules, yeah, that's what I mean, right? Yeah, you just tell whoever's gonna do the rules. I don't know. Have you guys decided to do it? But you want to? Alright? You guys going to take a vote on that, then that you going to do Robert rules and consensus base that way, that'll be out of the way today. Alright? Is it? Is there a motion from anybody? Oh, did you make a motion? Okay,

    this is Jamie Junior. I make a motion that we adopt Robert's rule, a combination of Robert's rule and consensus as our meeting procedures. Any second

    All in favor?

    Looks like the ayes, have it? So we have a combination of rules scheduled for regular meetings, monthly or quarterly. Uh, what are you guys going to do with that if

    we are going to go out for

    cases? Monthly meetings,

    all right, and so you're going to rotate the meetings throughout the various recreation centers, or what, um,

    you listen to these standards. I would like the motion that

    we do monthly meetings and, alright,

    okay,

    alright, alright, yes, yeah, all right. So guys have it, so they gonna do

    rotate. So if you initially, if you have a problem scheduling those rec centers, let us know, and we'll help you facilitate that. Okay, if, if there's until you kind of get used to doing the details, you know, at least the first couple of something, we can assist with that. Joanna, there she is. Okay. Now here comes a big deal. Here, election of officers, Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary,

    or other relevant roles, so you can

    have a discussion. Question about roles and responsibilities, I think you kind of know outreach, all right. Well, can we get a chair and a vice chair first and a secretary?

    So are there are there any nominations? Because you don't you know what the Secretary's role is, right? And keep all the notes and so forth, right? But, but the other thing I think that will be helpful to this commission is that you make sure that there's somebody here recording all of your meetings, wherever you are, and people your services they have. You just have to get on media services agenda early on saying where you're going to be, media services will be there to record all your meetings. Okay? And the Secretary wouldn't have as much work to do. I mean, you do some work with keep some notes, because you got to have some minutes, right? So that's for now, until you hire your staff that can help you, right? Okay, so any nominations for chair I'm talking maybe

    we can Table. Table

    what you don't have to do it today, I guess. I mean, it would be nicer that you can have something in place for moving forward. What about just somebody temporarily to do it until you make a permanent decision? Just just a chair, somebody can volunteer to do that. You do it okay? Until temporary, yeah, until you have an election. Then she said, Secretary, okay, alright. So, so Mary, here I know her name because her name is Mary. So Mary says she will serve as temporary Secretary until you are holding the election. And all right, and Miss Sherry here will serve as temporary chair, all right, and you will be vice chair. All right. So we have Sheriff Smith chair, Mary Cox, secretary and Miss jorna Junior, yes for the Vice Chair. Okay, so any other, any other, okay, alright, so we have outreach here. She's checked like she wants that to be a perfect role for her

    every day. Okay, I know. I know. Alright. In any other role, we have that the three main things for now, because we've got to have somebody responsible for getting the next meeting set up and so forth. So we have a chair, Vice Chair, the Secretary, in those roles, any other role you guys want to do? Yes. Treasurer, okay. Treasurer, okay, all right now, the

    I mean, I haven't talked about the Treasury movie, I guess you guys have to have that conversation then. I mean, how that fits in. Says you are your your stipend is paid by the city. Your staff is made for by the city. So and that's the other thing you guys gonna have to at least put together, find, identify somebody who can help you with marketing for these next few weeks, because there's money in the budget for that, so that we can get the word out, so the renters throughout the city will know that you exist. So we can do that, and then

    I hope

    Joanna, that was it was an attorney. What did we put in the ordinance? Again, an attorney, and what else we have?

    Y'all have to have. About background

    for. You know, organizations and really more

    executive assistant to executive assistant. So once again, your budget will be a total of $500,000 reoccurring, a little bit over 500,000 reoccurring budget out of the general fund of the city of Detroit, which means Council won't make sure that this coming that's a stable source of funding for the commission, and you will operate and fund and operate under the charter December to the Police Commission and other commissions that we have in the city of Detroit and as well as having the duties and responsibilities in the charter. So I suggest that everybody get a copy of Detroit city charter, a former charter, a former charter Commissioner, so And to give you an understanding of what commissions in the city of Detroit operate, and so we expected to his rights commission to operate accordingly. And also was another thing is that we want to make sure that you understand where the source of your budget is coming from. So we found out that your money currently is in building a safety budget. Okay? So we want to make sure we keep our eye on that until every until y'all comfortable. And, you know, working with those directors. So the current director is Director Bell, and be familiar with him, because he has your money, okay? And then you also need to be familiar with Director Julie Snyder over HRD, because she's going to be responsible for you to be drafting your yearly reports that you will be in the ordinance you are mandated to do reports and collect data from all the meetings and stuff like that, and that will be compiled that will be put together in proposed recommendations, where you'll make these recommendations to city council and the mayor, and future housing plans, proposals, all that kind of stuff, and it should be based off your experience working in community and research and stuff that you do as far as your work entails. And then lastly, I was going to say, yes, best practice model, we encourage, and I think I don't know if I was able to put that in the ordinance, we encourage best practice model. This is the first of its kind. So you don't really have any models as far as the city of Detroit, but I recommend that you look at Ann Arbor tenants rights commission, and Ann Arbor have attendance Rights Commission. I think it's another city or state that has something similar. So you can, you know that's the source of reference for you, because that's the source of reference I use to draft this order. So that is something that I would like for you to know, and so that's just pretty much the basic we respect you to have the independence team to hire all staff. What Miss waters will make sure it's once everything is set up, when y'all set up the board, your bylaws and everything like that, when the to put up to hire the staff is a process, and we will walk you through that process. Actually, once you guys like to give us some recommendations on who you might consider or who you might think could be a good match, or whatever, we can't promise you they don't, because they got to go through the procurement process. However, it's best to put that out there so you can get a sense of who we potentially to apply. So if they apply to the position, it will go through the regular procurement process, just like any other hiring process, and once that process is taking place, we will help shepherd that make sure it's it's a timely matter. We know we behind. Y'all a couple months behind. Y'all supposed to start in January, but we play a catch up. Okay, alright,

    alright. So remember, I talked to you about marketing a little bit earlier, so there's an easy way to get that done. If you have somebody in mind that can help you get the word out, and you can bring them on right now as a task employee, just somebody temporarily to help you get those things done. Get the marketing out there. So let us know if you have somebody in mind, and we'll help walk you through that process of getting that done. Okay, but so you guys think you. Have somebody by next week, somebody in mind? Yeah, okay. You have a list, okay, alright. Well, just let us know who that is, and we can help you bring them on board as as a task employee. Now it's not somebody that you have to keep passing July 1 if you don't want to just somebody help you do the marketing. Alright. Oh, okay, alright. So we recommend, too, that you hire staff before then as well. Okay, before July 1? Can you do that? Okay, alright, alright. So, I mean, get your attorney ready, your paralegal, your executive assistant, you get all of those folks together. I don't know who they are. I don't have a recommendation for me. So you all, you all just let us know we help you with the process. Okay, alright, so it looks like we're kind of off and running. We know what we're going to be doing within this next week. You're going to have somebody that's going to assist you with marketing. You're going to put together, they're going to give you some names, Miss Sherry, for potential staff, and so forth. And then you guys can go from there. Like I said, we're just here to assist. Okay, that's what we'll do. Alright, just to catch you going now

    that's pretty

    soon. We don't hear Miss waters.

    Alright, so is that it

    for today? Then, huh?

    Okay, says, initial priorities and focus areas discussion, identifying urgent tenant issues and Detroit evictions, rent, heights, housing conditions. I think that's easy for some of you already have that information. You have this deep and certainly Detroit action habit, oh, my God, all right, then you are going to have brainstorming areas of focus, education, policy, enforcement, public engagement strategies, maybe, maybe the public has has some suggestions for you. Then you'll do I don't think you're ready to form your subcommittees yet, because right now you just, you're coming on as a, just an ad, but your subcommittees will be research and policy outreach and education and legal and advocacy, so those are the things for you guys to work on. Alright, your your subcommittee's, and then you have, you have public comment summary of us of assignments. I think we've already kind of summarizing your assignments for today. So do you guys want to brainstorm now your areas of focus, education policy, you're good. Okay, alright. So you want to hear from the you want to hear from the public, alright? We want to hear from the residents. That's what they say. That's what we will do. Okay, alright. So everybody come right here. If you have some comments, you have some feedback for newly formed permission, please come to the center here.

    I am Kathy. I'm the coordinator

    for the 48226, zip code area, all

    300 or more seniors down there. No representation, no help whatsoever, for years and years and years, nothing new. Something needs to be done. You say you're going to meet at community centers around the city. We need a community center desperately. This has to be taken care of. Thank you.

    Well, first of all, rocket

    damaged our meeting place, which was the library, so you have to negotiate with rocket for the whole of the quarry, 226, downtown area where

    the. We're not going to be meeting at any churches. That's not working for us. We try that. That's out a school meeting. We don't have any schools.

    Whoa, let, let. Can we? Can we deliberate on that for you?

    Yes, it needs to be done

    seriously, and after you just leave one of us your information on absolutely

    alright. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate

    you. Thank you for making us aware.

    Good afternoon. My name is Rita house. First of all, I really want to thank Representative Morris. So very much for this board we

    need so

    all over the city, especially in my neighborhood, I want to say, first of all, there's a difference between a community and a neighborhood. There's a difference from a house and a home. We have given emphasis to renters, squatters, very little to home owners in regards to their homes, but squatters, but most of all, somehow we need to add the homes to this group. Right now in my community, many of the homes are been abandoned from one way for either PMI insurances or the aging out as myself and there are a lot of vacant homes that are beautiful historical homes in the city of Detroit, which which are being destroyed. I am representing right now, several seniors in my community who we've had renters to come on and because of their age, they have taken advantage of them financially as well as physically. Have one lady can't live in her house right now because we had to get rid of the harm it took the court system, which we need to work on, four years, to get the renters out that didn't pay rent for four years, and they were part of the efforts to abuse her. Finally, when they get out, I start cleaning the house up so she can come home. The hospital said she could not come home until the threat of harm was gone. She bought this house in 1958 she's 95 today, still walking. Was a part of the active part of the community. She has this house and she can't come home. Fix it up. So happy I'm almost there, she can come home now with help squatter. A squatter is in it last year at this time, it took me last year to last week to get the squatter out. The squatter came in poured pink all over every floor in the house, punch holes all over the roof, and then call the city inspector to come out to give her a ticket. Then when I try to explain that to the city, because the court system, again, will not allow me in the house as long as a squatter is in the house, wouldn't allow me to clean up, fix up what they messed up after I fixed it up. So now I'm back to square now, not square one. She's four years older, and I'm not exactly sure if she would be able to come home to her home. She says to me every week. When am I going a home? I can't tell her my heart is broken. And there is a whole generation like myself because I'm old. I'm just not 95 but that's going to be my plight in the next few years. So we need to definitely come up with a way to address the homes, because my feeling in my community, why are you doing this? Do you want her home? I have a home, so I don't want another home, but I don't want to see another home in my community be destroyed by squatters, renters, investors, who have brought them, sat on them and are still sitting them, because, first of all, they know what we don't seem to appreciate how what a wonderful place Detroit is. We got four seasons here. Have we had any hurricanes and all that stuff, all these days have had? This is a wonderful place. Other people know it. They're sitting on it because when Coleman Young was here, they just said, Well, you guys have the city now. We'll wait and we'll come back and take it over when you when it's gone. So make sure we meet with you.

    Give us a small agenda, everything you want to. Talk about and make sure you give us your information, because right now we can't address it, but you are important, and we want to make sure we take care of what you ask

    and do me the favor whenever I get up to talk, give me a time limit. Oh,

    I already know, like we need a time. Capri yesterday,

    I suffer longevity, and I can go on and on, but thank you for listening to me. But most of all, thank you for being here.

    Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

    Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for this commission. My name is Deborah Moore. I'm from the East Side, District Four. And I would like for you to add for one of your focus points is the matter of adverse possession. I do know people that have taken over homes that have been abandoned, and put money in these homes and have been there for over 10 years, and at some point they have to move from being an adverse possessor to a tenant with rights. And because of that, they have the potential to be taxpayers, tax paying citizens in this city. So I think that something, a method should be scrutinized and taken a look at for this matter of adverse possession from folks that are in homes that have put monies in homes, what can be done to make them potential taxpayers? Thank you very much. Applause.

    The

    room. Jamal, we love your information. Okay?

    Thank you. Hi, hi,

    good afternoon, everybody. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Water and the D Davis, who trained me back in 2015 so make sure I get your card. God represent Garden View Estates. Senior gated community is located with drill and Southfield. It's been in existence since September 16, 2013 we have never had our carpets clean. This is for the three story apartment buildings. Their refrigerators broke water liquor from one floor to the next. Management at the main office do not talk to the client. You could call them 15 times and they will not return your call. Most of the attendants do not know how to composite the email and send that. We're afraid to talk to management. So I find myself fighting them by myself, not anymore. Personally, I don't have any problem because I know what to do. Miss David taught me, and now you have Yeah, well, twice you attempted to come back when I called you, but I having a hard time fighting for the qualified people in order to make a new council board, because you do have to be in good standing. Yes, okay, when you're out. I'll cut this short and let you know. And nobody wants to reveal their names and telephone numbers because they're afraid they'll get put out.

    Yes, retaliation is real, and I call it well, I'm not

    out. So since they can't put me out, because I know what to do, thanks to the you know, they just follow suit and combined as a group, you know, one person can resolve some issue, but a whole group can resolve a lot. Thank you.

    As I reach I want to make sure I get your information so I can come out and see you, and we would love to do a party over there to give everybody

    information about tenants rights. I

    have pictures, I have videos, I have email, and I don't people left my house because, okay,

    let me get your information so I can write up and hear you, and you can walk me around and show me, okay. Oh, I would love to do Thank you.

    Thank I'm aggressive.

    Oh, I'm extra too. So okay, thank you. We're going to do this together.

    Okay, hello. My name is Valerie Austin. Um, two points of note I want to make for the commission having a good website, hopefully you'll get a good web developer. A lot of the websites that we go to for the city of Detroit, some pages are non functioning, and for tenants to be able to easily access information as well as submit maybe a contact form to get information or get assistance would be great. And then another point of emphasis, hopefully you will focus on, are. Apartment units and complexes that may be owned one day by a particular management company, and they allow certain percentage of low income renters, but then, when they change his hands, they intentionally try to force out those low income renters, because they know they can get more income, especially when those homes are located close to downtown. So if something being done about that tenants being forced out, who may have a lease, maybe on Section Eight, they're doing their part, maintaining their apartment or home, but then they're being forced out because a management company comes in and wants that for more money. So something like that being addressed within the commission hopefully takes place. Thank you. Thank you. We appreciate you.

    My name is Steven River. I'm the organizer of the Detroit Tenant Association. Been doing this work for a few years now. It started in district five missing area, being retaliated against on my landlord, like this young lady just said, retaliation is a real thing here. And I know this is a good day, and I see some familiar faces, some people that I believe get some good work done, Miss T, Miss Junior, but I want to show the importance of the work that has done like this is serious. People's lives are at stake. People are being displaced day by day with no support. No one's coming out of these folks. So I really think it needs to be a focus on education for tenants, renters on their rights and helping them form tenant associations, because that is true, power and protection from these landlords. No one's going to step in and save us but ourselves. Another day, real quick, we've been working with Mary Sheffield's office for a few years now, trying to get to a right to renew good cause protection. I have some comments here. I want to deal with you all to review. We want to know what's the holiday you presented this multiple times. So again, this is important. People are getting displaced and real quick. Right to renew right now landlords, if at the end of your lease, your landlord can just choose not to renew it, right? And that's termination of tenants. So

    my question to you, Steve, and I to say this, is that, what if rights renewal have to be bundled in attendance, Bill of Rights like, are you ready to participate in all that? Because just what rights renewal is the top line, right, housing stock is the top line. But are you ready to go a little further with the fight so we can hear community, so we can make a tenants Bill of Rights?

    Well, we the DTA, believe that rights renew needs to come sooner than later. Um, tenants are in fear of retaliation, which means when they stand up to their landlords, their leases are not renewed, they're simply evicted. So if people don't feel secure or protected in their lease in their homes, they're not going to be confident standing up for themselves. I've seen in our experience that we've seen people not, you know, want to talk to people on situations, right? We can, we can get to that point, but that's going

    to take we have here from the community. We can't make no decisions. It's your decisions,

    right? I'm just bringing this to you all to see what you can do to support

    good evening. My name is Steven hanshu. I'm here from the Hamilton's Council. Since when, when I moved into the hamilho building in 2016

    it was generally considered to be one of the very best subsidized senior buildings in Detroit. Two years after I moved in, it was bought by what the heck is their name? American community developers we have been fighting with them ever since they came into the building. They have two major intents. The first one is to make us move so that they can spend it that's not what they say when they get the City Council hungry the business of supporting the seniors, they're in the business of abusing seniors. And I don't think you know there's something a little festive about today, because we all worked so hard to get this commission to come into reality. City, and we have a right to pat ourselves and each other on the back for achieving that, but I don't want to be a party group of folks. I'm not feeling very festive. Last July, we spent two months in front of city council dealing with things going in our building, most of which are still going wrong in our building, thanks to the help of various people, particularly Councilwoman waters and Joanna and because of our own activity, I don't want to sell us short. We need to advocate, and you guys helped us find some crow bars. And both roles are essential, but a lot of that stuff is still going on. Michael essian, vice president of American Community Development told us in a meeting with Councilman Tate and his staffer, Mr. Single Terry, for example, he told us that it was the policy of his organization that if they found a delinquent rent or alleged delinquent rent from a person who was had had their lease renewed and had gone through a reauthorization, that that was old news, and they could not and would not act on it. Right? We have right now a person who is being told that they there's nothing. They will not stop the process. They're going to take them to court over a couple of $100 that they claim that they owe. From two and a half years ago, they've been we authorized twice. They've signed two new leases, we say, but you have this policy, oh, it's out of our hands. So gotta go higher in corporate. You go up higher in corporate, and they say, No, you have to deal with the building manager. So we have

    to individualize this situation, because it's not you're not the only person that has went went through this, or the person that went through it, but what we need to do is get several of those people that's going through this, so we can make sure that we hitting our dotting, all eyes are our T's, making sure we take care of so if you would leave your information as well and let us get your story telling out. To do we need to do. Because one thing we need to do as tenants, we need to tell our story, about our bad issues, what has happened, and also we have a good landlord to upload uphill. We need to talk about that too. But if you got a landlord or a management company, I've taken over and done you wrong, we got to come in and talk to not just one person. We gotta talk to a good, nice percentage of

    the people. You're welcome. You're welcome to come to our council meetings.

    Well, thank you. So when, when is your next meeting? What's the date? It will be the third

    Thursday in May, from four o'clock to six o'clock at the himala building at 1545 Woodward Avenue. He said, The Third Thursday, right? That's correct. Okay,

    from four to six, yes, ma'am, alright,

    and then we can get your information. Would you like to leave your information so

    we can make sure to talk? Oh, of course, of course. And I think at least half of you already have

    it. Yeah. Thank you,

    Mr. Waterman, hello.

    I'm just a regular citizen today. My name is Tamiko Williams. I am a citizen, taxpayer stakeholder and long time resident Detroiter. I come to bring greetings to all of you in this council, this body, it is very nice to see what we fought and advocated for with a team of strong women. And gentlemen, I don't respect the two Doug and appointees, Steven Harmon and his Roger dude. I don't know who he is, but Steven Hart, I want him off this board. I don't trust him. I'm sorry. I just gotta put that on the record.

    Hallelujah.

    Thank you. Okay, that's all I want to say, Yeah, give us some time back. Thank you. Okay, so I just want to say thank you for doing this commission. It is so important. Once someone had told me that they needed a Zoom meeting. So if you have this capable on Zoom and this meeting transcribed on the city's website, Channel 10 or the neighborhood channel to where it's accessible on the city's social media, that would be. Great, because a lot of people need to see this meeting happen in real time. That's one two for this commission. I hope you all would investigate landlord management companies that are from out of state that own a bunch of properties in the city of Detroit, when I was looking for another place after my my my apartment went high. I could not find another place, because everything out of the city was expensive, especially the housing that they give you on the 866, number that housing all is full. They have waiting list, or they have, you know, you know, they're just not technique applications. What I want to know is, why are some of these places owned by either the same company, or they're owned by a pool of different companies, and they're not congruently sharing information with the city of Detroit, as far as rental compliance, as far as paperwork and such, so that we know that we're not getting into a scam. And my last thing, and I'll let you all know, is that you know your work is so important, I agree with Steven. We'll try to help you the best we know how. But please work with us. We work with you. We've got to include everybody so that they could have a voice, but also to include them in this endeavor. It's more the people versus money sometimes. And

    I want to also let you know that by me being outraged outreach coordinator, we need to talk got and I need you to have agenda before we talk. Gotcha ready,

    I will thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

    Good afternoon, everyone and good afternoon. Thank you waters as well as this newly formed committee. My name is Nina trait. I work right up here at Central Detroit, Christian CDC, and I am a HUD housing counselor. And I just wanted to, for the for the sake of time, I'm going to be short. My first thing is, I have a question in the state of Michigan, how long does a landlord actually have to give a tenant to that to inform them that there is going to be a rental increase or there is going to be a change in guard? That's number one.

    For number one, we would like to say that we only have a tenants guide, tenant landlord guy, we don't have laws. So that's why it's so important for us to build the tennis Bill of Rights, and it's so important for us to make laws and ordinance to pass. So we would need you on that board. So you know, why do you acknowledge that you don't get your people together? Because no, I can do anything about everything. That's right.

    Number two, and this is something that I'm hearing a lot, because someone alluded to this, which is true, you have some wonderful tenants and you have horrible landlords, but then you have some wonderful landlords and horrible tenants. So I know of someone who is a landlord, and this is happening a lot, where they have inherited a home and it was in disrepair. And so the landlord is tired of complaints, tired of receiving tickets. And so they decide, You know what, I don't want this home anymore. And so what they're doing is selling their home to the first investor. That's it, because they're tired of doing repairs. And I understand on the tenants part, you you are supposed to complain about what's going on, but then I'm not going to say but however you have the landlord now they're waiting for an investor, and when that investor purchases the home, that's when we see The rent shoot up between 345, 100, $600 to push that tenant out, and this is some of the reasons. And you all mentioned retaliation, that the tenants do not say anything because they know, okay, if I say something, then not only will, it's going to be some type of retaliation, but folks know that there are a lot of investors here waiting to purchase that home, so that's why some don't say anything at all, because they're afraid to and also, too, regarding this is almost the bad actors. Go ahead. I'm sorry,

    please put your name under the list, yes, so that you can be contacted, we promise we going to get to everybody. Okay. Need to give everybody a chance, right?

    Okay, okay,

    right? My proposition to you is to make sure you get other people with their story so we can record their stories and understand really what's going on. Everybody, because everybody dealing with the same things, a lot of people dealing with unique things as well. So I'm going to ask you to proposition you that you bring me the list of people that need to be heard. Okay, thank you. Thank you. And I got you down. Miss Minnie. I love

    me. Okay, okay, good evening. I'm

    Lori Ann Sabatini, and I just want to thank member waters and Joanna, because the tenants rights commission is 100 years in the coming, and I know you guys are going to make great changes to make life easier for renters, because they deserve it. They're tired of being stepped on and abused, and I'm so proud and so happy to see this commission and be here at your inaugural meeting. Thank you.

    Good afternoon. Hello. My name is Rebecca Atkinson, and I'm a long time Detroit resident. I am a renter, and I came to this meeting because I am a renter, and I didn't have called the landlord from hell, but I am one of those people where we had a lease, we decided not to renew the lease, and then we on a month to month, but then there are no rights for us tenants, when all of a sudden you just decide to go up on a rent, there are things that have gone wrong with the house, like I've Been in this house 12 years. The first the hot water tank went up, I got blamed for the hot water tank going out. Don't know how that happened, but that was me. And then he increased the rent. Then something else happened. Oh, the housing market across the city has increased, so now I'm going to increase your rent again. Well, me as a tenant, because there's been no afraid or anything done to the house. I have no choice. I have no place else to go. I have some place else to go. I'm going to walk away years ago. I'm here a single parent. I have a school aged child. I have an adult son, and this is where I would like to live. But I want to have some type of right, because at the end of the day, there are no rights for us, all of the rights for the landlord. That landlord goes on the 36th district website, gets that form, notice to quit, right to whatever you want to call it. We go to court. I have no lease. I have no stand on so now I've got to move, find someplace else to move in 6090, days. But again, still, they want their rent that I am required by law to pay, and there's just no rights for us. So I hope that this Commissioner comes together and gives us some rights, because it's unfair many of us if we could buy house people in but we can't, so we rent, and I just think it's something that needs to be done

    on the table, but also I need my number, but I'll be in outreach. I want to talk to you. Thank you.

    Greetings and the Lord does answer prayers. I just literally pray for this panel, like

    what a week

    ago, and now it's our fruition. So thank each and every last one of you. I'm in the neighboring Wayne County community, where they took our voice from us, so we have they took resident council for us because she has a conflict and interest, but she has three key positions. She's a Vice Chair of the Board of Commissioners, she's a resident Commissioner, and she's the president of resident council. So therefore they said she cannot speak or advocate for us. So I went out to another outside organization. So, make a long story short, I lost my father. We went to his funeral on March 7. I did leave a letter on the door, taped the keyhole, so in order to put the key in, you have to see the letter, and it's faded. I'm attending a funeral. However, if you need to gain entry, please give me a call so I can turn off my ADT alarm. Thank you in advance. Didn't they go in there anyway? Disregard disrespectfully disregarded the letter on the door. So in turn, ADT was blowing my phone up at my father's funeral, so I stepped out in the hallway to see the message. ADT said we already dispatched the police because we didn't hear from so I didn't see my father's casket being closed, I missed out on this, the grave size ceremony, and I also missed out on a repast because I had left there once I seen all these cops and the housing staff on my my line. So. So because I kept calling the office, I kept calling the office because I didn't want to leave my father's funeral, I called the housing officer. I left several messages. I said, Please, can you pick up your phone? Can someone call me? I'm at my father's funeral. I'm looking at the ADT care what is going on. So anyway, I end up leaving Swanson's funeral homes from East side of Detroit, and traveled, you know, back to where I live, and I went to the main office. And I was not disrespectful, but

    I was emotionally

    distraught. I missed my father's funeral. So I asked to speak to the man, the housing manager, and I asked her. I said, you know, why did your staff go on my house? I left a note on a door, you know? I said they caused me to leave my father's funeral. And she she cut me off. She said, You knew this was a housing inspection. And I said, No. I said, the flyer said a property walk, a meet and greet from 10 to four, either Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. But it seemed like your staff would have left a card and said, Sorry we missed you. However, give our office a call so we can reschedule this meet and greet. So I turned to her, I said, How can you meet and greet an empty house on my furniture when I'm staying on madam funeral. So the make a little story is short. She said that I came to at her in an aggressive threat and manner. She said that I prevented her from dialing 911, I was stalking and harassing her. I mean, those are just bald faced lies, and those are felonies. Those are serious charges. No one is going to rent to me, no one's going to give me a job. So I'm trying to reach out for any resources here.

    So I'm so sorry you're going through this, like, literally, and I, you know, I'm so sorry. Like, what you have said is that now I'm a big dev state I'm getting today, so what we need to talk about is that I don't mind even talking to you, because my organization, we can reach out to the state side. So you know, I can't make an appointment with you to talk to you, but we need time, and you need to also write down an agenda on what you need to talk about, because with the emotions so high we only have, I would only have hour with you, literally. And so with that hour, I need you to write down the agenda. Understand that you practice on how you going to tell me this stuff, and so I will get writing. Well, my 30 days is up. Um, they want me out. We're done. You can talk as soon as tomorrow, if you just give me a chance. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you. I really do you. How

    you doing today? I'm in Wayne County. I'm doing good. How are you good? Evening, commissioners. My name is Richard McClain, and I'm a member of the National Federation of the Blind Detroit. This is historic, long overdue, and I say congratulations to council. Wally Mary waters, thank you. I have been glad to do my little bitty part in the process to help create this commission and working through her representative, Miss Joanna Underwood, and I'm glad to be here today. To me, the city of Detroit has gotten into this tenant crisis that has existed for a long time, but the crisis has gotten to this point for two main reasons. One, the One mayor, Duggan, went around for years and years and years on his crusade about tearing down houses, making houses. And it did, tear down houses by the 1000s and by the Bucha many of those homes, those houses, Excuse me, could have and should have been rehabbed and people put into those homes where they could live in them. Some of them should have been torn down, but many of them could have been saved. And instead of the $10,000 that it should have taken to tear them down, they were being torn down for 25 and $30,000 a pop, somebody or somebody's got rich, and the crisis got worse. But what made the crisis King forward worse was the so called ring tomb ordinance that was passed through city council, mainly on the words, not of the tenants of the city, not even of the landlords of the city, but of a racist think tank called Detroit future city, their words and their recommendations and stuff, saying that when Detroit. Needed was a new class of landlords. Class that's interesting because the majority of the property in the city was owned by black home owners. That's not the case anymore, because there was an aggressive campaign to get a class of new landlords. I fought against the rental ordinance, but I was one of few, and with the rental ordinance, it took the viewpoint that all landlords were evil and they needed to be gotten rid of. And what do we have now? How do we get to all of the 90% of property tenants. Rental properties being owned by management companies because they shut down and squeezed out all of the mom and pop landlords and now those of us that go to rent, we all okay. We all have this thing your credit. You gotta have three to one ratio to rent your credit gotta be 700 and above. These is all stuff that these management companies and the new class of landlords created. So I say to the Commission in closing, look at everything. The rental ordinance needs to be re, evaluated and rewritten so they really reflects the interest of tenants, and then it again that it does not take the small mom and pop landlords and dump them out with the evil big landlords, the corporate folks who are really causing the crisis. Thank you. Thank

    you very much. I still would like to see

    you. Thank evening. Hi. My name is Adam graves. I've lived in my home since 2000 I have worked with help me hang on my property, due to the fact that, like there, everybody is saying these property companies coming here and they want to push people out of their homes. 2022 on my birthday, I went to court to fight them. The judge told me, I'm glad you gave me the fault for your house because the property management wanted to just throw me out on the street. And I said, No. I said, I've been in this house for over nine years. I'm not leaving my house. So to bring to where the property management company is. When you try to resort things with them, only thing they want to hear is money. That's it. I said, Well, who's the property? Who's the real owner of this house? Oh, they in Dubai, you know, oh, data, let divine come in hand. Buy all our properties. You know, you can't, never talk to noone. Um, it's just so bad for a lot of seniors that I deal with. I'm a bus driver, and I deal with a lot of seniors, and a lot of them are, I guess, complying together to try to make ends meet, because, like they say, the mortgages, the rent, it's it's out of control here in Detroit, I done brought two houses here in Detroit, gave one to my daughter, one to my plant door, and this last one, I'm lying for myself, but it's Just that these property management that doesn't Haman here are horrible, and they mean something needs to be done about they don't care about our feelings. They don't care about nothing. They want is money, money, money, money, money. They won't fix nothing. Like my lady said earlier, they don't repair the properties, my property, I'm here now, which I said, I walk in 22 I told the judge, I'm staying in my property. I'm not walking away from my house, which a lot of people did walk away from their house because maybe they didn't have the money, I said. And a lot of people gotta realize they gotta get out like they're doing now. They're fighting, but it's the fight that we weren't fighting for. You know, are we going to really be heard? Is we going to get help, you know? And that's all I'm asking for. It's just a little help graves

    say a lot of why? You know that the landlords and the managers and the whatever get away with so much. There has been absolutely no oversight, none. Okay, nobody. Everybody is either scratching each other's back. There's loads of nepotism in this business. So give us a chance. Give us give us some time, because we just got here. Yeah, yeah, as you should, yeah, but just understand that, because there was absolutely no oversight, and now we're on board, let's see what. Okay, because we're going to work our hands off to make something happen for you,

    yeah, because too many people are losing their houses, right, right, right? You know, they don't have nowhere to go, and they wonder why all this crime is, right? You know, like people killing each other, and you know, it's because they have nowhere to go, yeah? And it's bad like that

    all over, yeah, and we're thankful for you and thank you. Thank God.

    Thank you so much for generational wealth. You have our generational wealth, and it makes sense so but we still want to be what you talk to you because, but you still need your experience.

    Okay, thank you. Happy holidays to you too.

    Hello. My name is Patrice Jones. We moved three times last year, and this to be our fourth. It was I went to a therapy state, and they were offering housing, so they helped. It was a new development, so it took me a while to be able to get approved, because it said, how surf. I mean, couch surfing wasn't home. So after a while, it took me all until when it got built. I was, she was more than 2015 and it was 217 when it when I got able to, you know, get in. So they had me doing like a speech at the river cutting ceremony and going on, let me have to do like, get funding, or, you know, just speaking. So I was good until I started having problems in my heart. I mean, the house and they had to get the system that handles the water, that goes to the second bathroom, that supposed to control the flow of certain things was missed in there. So we ran through the vent. We turned them like in bathroom. Water would come down, always the second floor. So we had

    that the vent in for the the driver would wasn't it

    was up on the wall, but it was not vented outside, so all the carbon was coming in the house. So then here we are. This is where our home, store and the gym and everything we do was in the basement. So we all down there, and I put something low and go down the basement. So then we had the crumbling foundation to start raining in the house. Then it's starting to build mold. And you know, we had those big rain days where people basically got here so they wouldn't take down. It was like a tufted installation on boards you could just easily take down. So they they had software solutions at the town in the mixture was combined. They would do inspections, they would spare themselves, and then they come out. They never come out. So next thing, when we be out, then it went about, like, three years of leaving like this. So at this time, we started having breathing trouble. My daughter has this business as well as me, and I can't breathe. We have in. We wear a mask in the house. It's in 23 they came, and they did invade. And then it was like, you know, get out there and fix it, or they get paid. They didn't ever come. Five minutes, five months, nobody. So when we finally leave, first of all, they was letting people move in with the substance abuse project based. But then after a while, you started, they started leaving people out, just taking them out because they were putting in family, because it is the waiting list. How did your family at the top stuff like that? So it's really to draw you out, out the space. So when I moved to the next house, we have probably low lead paint, you mean ventilation system in the house. Hand didn't have a certificate of compliance, so they told them to clean the bid election system and to remove all the stuff the city study. They said, we don't work with the city. So they didn't do it. So on the hot we had a real heat wave last summer. The house started sweat, still, man, we couldn't breathe. The Windows was finished. We ended up everything we had to leave, everything when we we had with um, we were moved there through of our activism organization and therefore called access. So all this is happening um, court case and office at one time, but they know that because I requested to move because we didn't feel stable. We were even when this stuff was going on. So once we were found,

    okay, right? This fact, score the three Imma get all the way to the end. They were getting more time. Can we? Can you hear me? More time? Sure. One minute. Okay, one minute. Give all the manipulation, all the moves, right? Yeah, we get to the end where they telling people not to rent to me now, because we we move, but they not telling. Why and what, how, the horrors of what we've been through. So I was just about to move two weeks ago. They did an inspection after they just passed one two days before, for somebody else, they said it was an inspection. We had meet new laws, and it wasn't true, so they can fail it. And they thought of the biggest thing to stop me from moving in, which would be the driveway, which they don't care about, because, you see, they pass all the house. So now they call, because he had 30 properties that they deal with with him. So he got a relationship with him where he called and he actually makes home. But she moved two times before she does this. She's like a headache. She got a lot to stop him from renting me. Yes, we can't read, and we're going through all this, and then hospital three times. So now it's like I'm being, you know, retaliated against the media, violating when I actually do the ADA, you know, to do all the, you know, complaints, and do all the things for us to be there. They don't do this. So now you find that that that law, and if you stopping us, you're violating our father rights, so you're you're retaliating against us

    and stopping us, you have a major minute. And so what we want to do is like, this is, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. You're going through this. Like, literally, we all think it's just happening to us, but it's happening to everyone. But we need your voice. We need your story, and we need to follow you getting into adequate housing. So if you just leave your information, let's talk. And, and you know, you got a great group, you know, Commissioner, city council member right here. And it's like, let's see what, what? What can happen. And I'm just so sorry too.

    Yeah, and, and so she talked about compliances quite a bit, and I just want to say to her, you know that that compliance ordinance that we passed was certainly help with that. I almost also want to let this commission know that we just approved about four contracts or so, so that all of the homes in the city will be inspected. We have contractors to go in and do like, 1000s and 1000s of inspections, and that's all due to them with the new ordinance that we passed, the rental ordinance, Richard, what do you know so? But yes, we've made it stronger and a lot better. People having issues like that, we've able to put their dollars in escrow. Our team, our contracts, is going to be going out to inspect all of these homes, we know because we just approved the money this week. So And for her, yeah, the ordinance also talks about no retaliation, and so if there's some proof of that, we can go after them as well. So I wanted to arm you all with that, and I know you have a lot of things you have to catch up on, but, but certainly situation like hers, we can, we can help, and the new ordinances will help with that as well. Alright, so, so you, you guys all done for today? Okay, alright, any closing remarks from anybody? Okay, alright, go ahead. Madam Chair,

    alright. So thank you guys so much for coming out and joining us in our inaugural tennis Rights Commission meeting for today. Please stay tuned. However you found out about today's meeting, keep watching for more upcoming meetings to be announced. We'll be doing some more marketing and outreach. Of course, if you need to leave your information, do we have a list

    recommend? To us that we get somebody in our IT department to create an email for you. For this commission will be Detroit MI, whatever that is, we're going to make sure that they create an email for you, and we want to get them busy working on your website as well. Okay, yeah, alright. Just want to share that. Okay, if you've

    left your information, thank you guys so much for coming out. We'll be here for a few minutes meeting amongst ourselves, but we look forward to meeting with and working with all of

    them. Thank you. Alright, so Laura now

    adjourned.