DETROIT – Detroit launched the pilot phase of a new rental ordinance and is encouraging landlords to get their rental properties into compliance.
The Building, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department (BSEED) is piloting the new inspection process until May 1, 2025, and will gather feedback from inspectors, property owners, tenants and stakeholders.
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Properties in the following ZIP codes are included in the pilot: 48201, 48202, 48203, 48205, 48207, 48208, 48209, 48214, 48215, 48216, 48217, 48219, 48221, 48223, 48224, 48226, 48228, 48234, 48235, 48239, 48240.
During the pilot phase, the city said property owners within the eligible ZIP code should do the following steps to get a certificate of compliance:
- Registering your property as a rental in the City of Detroit eLAPs system
- Pass a property condition inspection
- 1-2 Unit properties: Schedule with any of the approved inspection companies listed here.
- 3+ Unit properties: Schedule an inspection with BSEED by calling 313-628-245
- Upload the passed inspection report via eLAPs.
- BSEED will issue a Certificate of Compliance.
City officials said properties outside of the pilot ZIP codes should wait to apply for a certificate of compliance until the full launch.
BSEED will make a complete launch of the new rental ordinance beginning May 1, 2025.
Under Detroit law, rental properties need to have a certificate of compliance to legally rent to tenants, a process intended to ensure that rental housing meets safety standards. City Council passed a new rental ordinance in October 2024 to focus inspections on safety issues, enhance penalties for property owners unwilling to comply, and offer tenants new tools to respond when their home has safety issues.
“Every Detroit renter deserves to live in safe and quality housing,” said deputy chief operating officer Andrea Taverna. “We worked closely with tenants, landlords, and council members to develop this new process, and we believe will result in a significantly higher number of rental properties being inspected for safety and coming into compliance with city code. The new process brings Detroit into line with best practices from other cities and states on rental housing compliance and safety.”
| Old Rental Compliance Process | New Rental Compliance Process |
|---|---|
| Two separate property inspections lasing 4-8 hours: One for overall home condition & one Lead Inspection/Risk Assessment | One inspection completed in 1-2 hours, covering the most common & serious safety issues, including lead safety |
| Over $1,000 in fees, costs that landlords pass on to their tenants | $195 for single-family home inspection |
| 37 inspection components for home condition | Clear, standardized, and distilled checklist of 15 points covering all major safety issues |
| 100,000 rental violation tickets issues over the last 5 years but only 20% paid, meaning little real penalty for non-compliance | Landlords still have many opportunities to comply, but when unwilling to do so, the city can file liens for the costs of unpaid tickets to ensure non-compliance has a real cost |
| Tenants only able to escrow rent with city program in narrow circumstances after submitting extensive paperwork | Beginning this summer, rental escrow program will simplify and expand access |
