DETROIT – A Detroit woman claims ongoing electrical problems in her apartment have forced her to reorganize her daily life.
Cawana Kemp, who lives at Chalmers Apartments, said she has been dealing with electrical, rat and roach problems in her unit since last year. She said she repeatedly submitted maintenance requests, but when nothing was resolved, she stopped paying rent in March 2025.
By August, the management company took her to court.
Kemp was not evicted. According to a legal agreement she provided, she agreed to resume paying rent, plus back rent, and management agreed to address the electrical issues in her unit.
Kemp said only part of the work was done.
“They fixed half the problem, and I can use some of my outlets now,” Kemp said. “But they didn’t solve the light problem.”
In a recent visit to her unit, overhead lights in her kitchen, bathroom and living room did not turn on when she flipped the switches.
“It’s nothing coming on, there’s light bulbs in it,” Kemp said, demonstrating the problem.
To see in those rooms, Kemp relies on lamps.
“It’s a big thing for me because I’m disabled and I’m on oxygen, as you can see,” Kemp said.
Because the ceiling lights still don’t work, Kemp said she rushes to complete anything requiring strong light before the sun sets.
“It made me feel like I was betrayed,” Kemp said. “In my mind, they were going to do what they were supposed to do and I was going to honor the agreement that was signed.”
When the lighting issues persisted, Kemp again withheld rent.
Local 4 went to the front office at Chalmers Apartments to get answers from management.
A person in the office, who declined to provide a name, said they are a new management company and have been in place for about two months. They’re working through a large number of work orders.
The person said an electrician is scheduled to come out next week and a plumber is coming out soon. She added they were under the impression Kemp would be gone before the beginning of March and also mentioned Kemp agreed to Cash for Keys situation.
Where Kemp would turn in her keys, leave and get some money back.
Something Kemp said she wasn’t aware of.
Kemp is not the only tenant reporting problems in the building. While Local 4 was at the complex, a few tenants told us their problems.
Local 4 reached out to the City of Detroit, which confirmed the building Kemp is in is not an approved rental with the city.
We were told the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department plans to discuss the building’s history and their compliance with their legal department.
City officials also said that if eviction proceedings move forward against tenants, staff can provide legal support if any eviction is believed to be unlawful and can assist in setting up an escrow account for rent payments while disputes are resolved.
If you have a complaint about where you are staying, you can submit a complaint here.