Detroit — Ch. 8 Art. XV Div. 3 Requirements for Rental Property (Registration + Lead) § 8-15-82

(a) In order to secure a Certificate of Compliance for rental property, the Building Official shall cause an inspection to be made of all rental property required to have a Certificate of Registration of Rental Property under Section 8-15-81 of this Code according to the schedule for registration renewal in Subsection (c) of the section. Each inspection shall strictly conform to Section 8-15-34 (b) of this Code.
(b) The Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department shall issue a Certificate of Compliance for a rental property where the Department determines that the owner and the rental property, its units, accessory structures and the premises, including exterior areas, comply with the standards and requirements of this article, and
(c) The Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department shall maintain a registry of all rental properties for which a Certificate of Compliance has been issued, and shall make the registry available on the City's website. The Department may combine this registry with the registry required by Section 8-15-81 (d) of the City Code.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 8-15-35 (d) of this Code, and subject to Subsections (e) and (f) of this section, it shall be unlawful for an owner to allow any unoccupied rental property to be occupied, or to collect rent from a tenant for occupancy of a rental property, during or for any time in which there is not a valid Certificate of Compliance for the rental property. Tenants of an occupied rental property that lacks a Certificate of Compliance shall pay the rent that would otherwise have been due into an escrow account, which is established by the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department with a third-party financial institution. If the owner of the rental property obtains a Certificate of Compliance within the first 90 days in which payments are made into the escrow account, the rent in the escrow account shall be paid to the owner, less the actual administrative fee charged by the third-party financial institution. If the owner fails to obtain a Certificate of Compliance within those first 90 days, the rent in the escrow account shall be paid, at the end of those 90 days, to the tenant, less the actual administrative fee charged by the third-party financial institution. Thereafter, the tenant shall continue paying rent into the escrow account until the owner obtains a Certificate of Compliance. At the end of every 60 days in which the owner fails to obtain a Certificate of Compliance, the rent in the escrow account shall be paid to the tenant, less the actual administrative fee charged by the third-party financial institution. If the owner of the rental property obtains a Certificate of Compliance, all rent accrued in the escrow account shall be paid to the owner, less the actual administrative fee charged by the third-party financial institution. Nothing in this article shall be construed to permit eviction of an existing tenant from a rental property or to deprive existing tenants of their rights to possession of a rental property under the laws of this state and this Code, and such existing tenants shall have a right under this Code to retain possession of a rental property notwithstanding an owner's inability to collect rent from such tenants pursuant to this subsection.
(e) A tenant who retains possession of a rental property under Subsection (d) of this section, notwithstanding an owner's inability to collect rent, may nevertheless be evicted if an owner establishes that the tenant is subject to eviction for reasons other than nonpayment of rent.
(f) Section 8-15-35 (d) of this Code shall not be construed to penalize the tenant or occupant of a rental property for occupancy of a rental property that does not have a valid Certificate of Compliance except as set forth in this subsection. Notwithstanding Subsection (d) of this section, where an inspection of a rental property or a notice of suspension or denial of a Certificate of Compliance states that there is an immediate danger due to a violation or violations of this article or other applicable laws, codes or regulations, the dwelling may be ordered immediately vacated by the Building Official, or his or her designee, and any occupancy shall thereafter be unlawful.
(g) It shall be unlawful for the owner of a rental property on which the original construction was completed prior to January 1, 1978 and required to be registered pursuant to Section 8-15-81 of this Code to allow the rental property to be occupied without a lead-clearance report being obtained and provided to the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department in accordance with Subdivision B of this division.
(h) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as limiting or controlling the amount of rent an owner may charge to a tenant pursuant to a lawful agreement with the tenant.
(i) Subsection (d) of this section shall take effect by ZIP Code according to a schedule promulgated by the Director of the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department and posted on the City's website. Such schedule shall be promulgated no later than 60 days following the effective date of this subsection, which was November 24, 2017, and may thereafter be amended periodically at the discretion of the Director of the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department.
(j) In each of the five years following the effective date of this subsection, which was November 24, 2017, the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department shall provide the City Council with a report outlining the state of rental housing in the City. The report shall include, by ZIP Code, the number and percentage of registered rental properties that are currently occupied, the percentage of residents who are renters, the average monthly income and average household size of renters, and the number and percentage of registered rental properties that lack a Certificate of Compliance. In addition, the report shall include, by ZIP Code, the median income of rental property owners who are individuals, the average percentage of individual rental-property owner's income that is attributable to the owner's rental-property portfolio, the average number of rental properties in each owner's rental-property portfolio, and the average yearly profit on rental properties that are one-family dwellings, two family dwellings, and multi-family dwellings. Further, the report shall include the average costs during the preceding year that rental-property owners expended to bring their properties into compliance with this article. Where practicable, the report shall break down such repair costs according to the type of repair made, and according to the type of rental property: one-family, two-family, and multi-family. Any report issued pursuant to this subsection shall include United States Census data regarding the demographics of each ZIP Code subject to the report. When preparing reports pursuant to this subsection, the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department may use any data source, including, but not limited to, surveys of property owners and tenants, The first report under this subsection shall be made no later than one year following the effective date of this subsection, which was November 24, 2017.