What can be done to stop slumlords in Detroit?

[tranquildreamer95]

Originally Posted by djmilf

One issue with your proposal is that, as has been pointed out by another on this thread, corporations are people in the eyes of the law. If we started saying that people can only purchase residential real estate if they've owned residential real estate for a certain length of time or must show a proven track record, then it not only is unworkable, but would also be successfully challenged in court. And a limitation upon renting housing would probably also not pass legal muster.

The only possible solution is to criminalize the actions of bad landlords, but then the shield of shell corporations protect such landlords. Shell corporations aren't going away.

you pretty much nailed what I was about to say.

[keraT]

Our city mayors facebook page got a post this weekend from a resident saying something like "I have a slumlord here. He is bullying me to pay the water bill and keeps saying racist things like "you people" to me. " Several people commented saying if your lease agreement says to pay water bill, you need to pay the bill regardless of your personal issue. that does not make the landlord a slumlord.

In Detroit, we have lot of poor tenants who can only afford houses that are under these so call slumlord. I don't have a solution and I feel like at this point Detroit has bigger fish to fry than fix the slumlord issue. I know the city requires rental property to have yearly inspection. I don't know how the slumlords are getting away without the inspection. But I can also see the city is too big to follow up on all the properties and do proper inspection. This will need to be addressed but only when the city has extra time/money