When asked what issues matter most ahead of the 2025 municipal elections, Detroiters named housing as a top concern.
That’s nothing new. Housing problems – from property tax foreclosure to the home repair crisis – have hit Detroiters hard for years. Finding affordable, safe housing and maintaining that home remain key priorities. It’s a topic we’ll continue to report on here at BridgeDetroit.
Here are the top housing-related questions we’re asking in 2026:
How important is housing to the new mayor?
Come January, Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield will take the helm as the city’s new leader. She’s highlighted housing – including homeownership, property tax reform and home repair – as a pillar of her campaign, but will these promises come to fruition? We’ll be watching.
Sheffield has pitched creating an office of homeownership and housing rights in her first 100 days. The outgoing Detroit City Council president has also identified affordable housing and homeownership priorities and assembled committees on housing development and homelessness as part of her transition plan, tapping a wide contingent of nonprofit leaders and real estate experts to lead the charge.
The incoming Sheffield administration is hiring for roles such as chief of health, human services and homelessness prevention and a director to lead a new department of human, homeless and family services.
In past years, Sheffield has spearheaded a housing trust fund and other efforts around housing affordability.
What does the affordable housing landscape look like?
The city of Detroit has more than 21,000 existing units of affordable housing, with rents between 30% to 80% of the area median income, or AMI, according to estimates from the city of Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department (HRD. AMI is a regional measure set by the federal government to determine affordability and eligibility for government-subsidized programs.
There are 21 affordable housing developments slated to wrap up next year, according to HRD. Among them:
- 100 units, with AMI between 30% to 80%, at the Higginbotham, an old school located at 20119 Wisconsin St., by the URGE development firm.
- The Russell Woods Senior Center, at 11421 Dexter Ave., includes 77 units, with AMI at 30% and 60%. The developer is Icon Heritage Partners.
- The Brush Watson Midblock project on 432 Watson St. includes 184 affordable and market rate units. American Community Developers is behind the project.
Will this meet the need for affordable housing in Detroit, for longtime Detroiters and newcomers? And how will a new mayoral administration and reconfigured City Council prioritize affordable housing development? We’ll be watching.
How well is the city’s eviction prevention program operating?
The city of Detroit’s Right to Counsel program launched in 2023 and provides free legal help for low-income tenants facing eviction.
In 2024, 77% of eligible tenants who appeared in 36th District Court received legal representation through the Right to Counsel program, compared to 4% in 2022, before the ordinance took effect, according to a 2024 city report.
Longtime housing advocates we spoke to earlier this year pointed to a decline in eviction cases and more legal representation for tenants in court, but emphasized the need for sustainable funding.
Sheffield led the effort, alongside a coalition of nonprofit and grassroots organizations, to get a right to counsel ordinance off the ground. During a September Free Press editorial board interview, when asked by a reporter how she plans to continue funding right to counsel, she didn’t write off using a portion of the general fund if needed. However, the goal, she said, would be to rely heavily on foundation support and the city could supplement the work.
Is rental compliance better, worse or about the same?
In late 2024, the Detroit City Council approved an overhaul of the city’s rental ordinance. The city, in an effort to crack down on negligent landlords and boost inspections, had proposed an amendment to revamp its rules for regulating rental properties. In Detroit — where a majority of the housing stock is older and many are in need of maintenance and repairs — only 10% of rental homes had passed inspections that the city requires.
Where does rental compliance stand now since the ordinance passed in the fall of 2024? We want to find out in the new year.
Is more money coming for home repair?
A new report found that Detroit organizations spent $63 million to tackle the city’s home repair crisis in 2024, but a big funding source – American Rescue Plan Act dollars – expires next year. The looming loss is a major concern, Heather Zygmontowicz, senior housing advisor for the city’s housing department, recently told BridgeDetroit.
The federal pandemic-era funding backed several housing programs in the city, from roof and window repair to down payment assistance, but that money is fast drying up.
For such a big issue – a multi-billion dollar problem by some estimates – where will the money come for future home repair in Detroit? How will organizations continue to try and chip away at this?