DETROIT – Mayor Mary Sheffield announced a new city initiative to improve living conditions for seniors and disabled residents in Detroit apartment buildings, focusing on stronger enforcement against noncompliant property owners and more consistent communication with tenants.
City officials say the plan comes in response to a growing number of complaints from older and disabled residents—ranging from elevator outages to delayed maintenance and failures by property owners to report conditions required under city ordinance.
“Over the past several months, we’ve heard far too many reports of elevator outages, delayed maintenance, and property owners who failed to report conditions as required by the ordinance,” said David Bell with Detroit’s Building Safety, Engineering, and Environmental Department (BSEED).
At senior living apartments across the city, residents say their experiences can vary.
Some describe stable and quiet communities.
“I enjoy living here. It’s peaceful, it’s no crime here, nothing,” said Albetha Dorr, a resident.
Others say long-standing issues need more attention and transparency.
“We want to get it out there in the open,” said resident Nina Burgess.
Dorr said elevator failures can be especially disruptive for residents with mobility challenges.
“If the elevators don’t work, I am literally stuck upstairs,” Dorr said.
On Monday (Jan. 26), Sheffield joined BSEED staff to announce what the city is calling a renewed focus on compliance across senior living buildings.
“Today is a new day!” Sheffield said during the announcement.
Under the plan, city leaders say tenants can expect:
- Monthly inspections of every senior apartment building
- An increase in annual inspections to four per year (doubling current annual inspections, according to the city)
- Stronger enforcement, including fines up to $2,000 for noncompliance
- Targeted legal action against select properties, including court-ordered compliance when necessary
One resident also urged the city to conduct inspections without advance notice.
“When y’all send somebody in here to inspect the building, I don’t want y’all to call. I just want y’all to show up,” Dorr said.
Alongside the enforcement efforts, Sheffield announced the launch of a new Senior Advocate Program intended to strengthen communication between residents and the city.
“In all of our senior buildings throughout the city of Detroit, you can expect to see a senior advocate in your building, at least twice a month,” Sheffield said.
Some residents welcomed the added oversight.
“I think it’s a win,” one neighbor said.
Sheffield said the initiative grew out of resident feedback gathered during her campaign listening tours.
According to the city, there are about 104 senior living buildings in Detroit.
Currently, 46 have certificates of compliance.
The city’s goal is to raise that number to at least 65 by the end of August.