The recent flooding in the Detroit area has raised many issues for residents. Homes that were already in need of repairs were damaged even further. Detroiters don't want to move, but restricted government funds for home repairs are making that option look better each day. Alexa Eisenberg, a doctoral candidate and researcher with Poverty Solutions, explained just how many residents were in need of home repair funds.
"The scale is immense. And in many ways, overwhelming," she told the Detroit Free Press. "It's beyond the capacity of the city to address with its own revenues."
Detroit is also struggling to support its residents who rent homes. According to Eisenberg, the city's best way to protect tenants is code enforcement. Yet she said Detroit has failed to keep up with landlords.
"Without enforcement, it's essentially on the tenants to call Detroit's Buildings, Safety, Engineering and Environmental Department," she said. "Tenants should not have that responsibility, and most people have no idea how to navigate this. Technically there are laws in place to protect tenants in that situation, but in reality there are almost zero protections."
Read the news items featuring Eisenberg here:
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Detroiters want to fix up their homes. The path to do that isn't easy, Detroit Free Press, July 15, 2021
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Renters swamped in Detroit's policylimbo, Detroit Free Press, July 18, 2021