Question for seasoned Detroit owners

[Saul L.]

So heres my short story: In mid Nov. the city came around and did an inspection on one of my properties. I think it was just arbitrarily chosen. Of course there were a number of rejects and we were given until mid Jan. to complete the work, -amongst the items a lead clearance, -in order to get a certificate of compliance. As of now, my PM has had all the work completed except for the lead clearance, as we cannot paint the outside at the moment due to the cold weather.

The thing is that since the inspection the tenant is withholding rental, claiming the home is not compliant and as such cannot be legally rented out. We have sent a 7 day notice and are waiting for a hearing.

The question is are they legally justified? As far as I know most of the rental properties in Detroit don't have an official city compliance. Are they all rented out illegally?

I find it hard to believe that the tenant is legally entitled to live in the house for free in this situation.

Thus far the tenant has been a good one, with regular payments so not looking to evict if I can avoid it.

As always thanks for any help and advice.

[Marvin Rice]

They cannot live there for free.  The best they could have done was put the payments in escrow and prove they had the money and only with held for some deficiency.  They would have to release it to you once remedied.  No harm no foul.

Just evict.  They are running a scam on you.  Unfortunately, once good tenants go bad in the city, they don't get better.  EVERYONE has friends/family that educate them on ways to get over in one way or another.  EVERYONE has friends/family that has done it before.  EVERYONE thinks they are a lawyer and smarter than you until they get served.

If they don't believe you have a valid lease, then they are squatters and still can be sued for eviction.

I grew up in this city.  I am very familiar with many of the ways in the city.  You should act quickly and get them out.  You need to have someone secure the property immediately or coincidentally, your furnace, HW Heater, and copper will come up missing within days of their moving.  Start all over with another tenant.