Pontiac officials introduce package of renter-protection ordinances, begin ordinance review process

Pontiac city council members on Tuesday introduced a comprehensive package of proposed renter-protection ordinances and said the city will begin a formal research and review process before any measures are brought back for debate and possible adoption.

Councilmember Mikhail Goodman said the package — which he described as a “landlord tenant bill of rights” — would require disclosure of application and other fees, limit late fees, require written leases and copies be provided to tenants, establish just-cause eviction standards, expand notice periods before nonpayment evictions, require move-in and move-out inspections, require receipts for cash rent and create an affordable housing preservation inventory.

Why it matters: Pontiac officials said the proposals are intended to protect the city’s large renter population and reduce surprise charges, arbitrary nonrenewals and evictions. Council leaders framed the package as building on existing local code-enforcement and rental-inspection work and as an incremental, city-level approach where state law is not sufficient.

Goodman, who identified himself as a longtime renter and “the youngest city councilperson ever elected” in Pontiac, listed the policy elements he said will be included if the ordinances move forward: disclosure of all fees on rental applications (application, pet and late fees), a cap or limit on late fees, a written-lease requirement and requirement that tenants receive a lease copy, a right to renew and fair notice, relocation assistance in displacement cases, just-cause eviction protections, humane pet requirements (including prohibiting mandatory spay/neuter as a move-in condition), extending the notice period for nonpayment from seven to 14 days, mandatory move-in and move-out inspections, prorated rent for midmonth move-ins, receipts for cash rent, restrictions on automatic lease renewals and an affordable-housing preservation inventory.

Steve Tomkowiak of the Fair Housing Center for Metro Detroit told the council the measures reflect frequent problems his office handles, including security-deposit disputes, lack of written leases and late-fee practices. Tomkowiak said the center serves Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and St. Clair counties and that Pontiac’s proposed package, if adopted, would put the city “at the leading edge of any municipality” in the state for the range of tenant protections being proposed.

Tomkowiak referenced existing legal frameworks, saying federal and state law do not fully address the protections advocates seek locally. He noted the council’s March 2023 fair-housing ordinance — which he described as broad and including source-of-income protections — and said the new package builds on that work.

Council President Mike McGinnis said the proposals will be “coming before the full city council” and emphasized the city’s recent efforts to rebuild code-enforcement and rental-inspection teams to ensure rental properties are registered and inspected. He described today’s announcement as initiating a process that will include research, drafting and full debate by the council before any ordinances are adopted.

Action taken: Council members announced they are initiating the process to pursue these ordinance changes and will circulate draft language and a press release to media; no formal vote on any ordinance language was recorded at the meeting.

What remains unclear: The council did not present ordinance text or specific fee caps, statutory citations for the proposed late-fee limits, or an implementation timeline. Tomkowiak noted that state law limits how long a judge can delay eviction after a judgment (he said judges can only go 10 days under state law), and McGinnis said the extension discussed (from seven to 14 days) would apply to the city’s notice requirement but would not override state court timelines.

Next steps: Councilmembers said staff will research and draft ordinance language, after which the measures will be scheduled for further council debate and a formal vote at a future meeting. Media materials and contact information were shared with reporters at the meeting.

Ending: Councilmembers framed the package as incremental, non-radical changes already used in other municipalities and as part of a broader effort to increase housing stability and homeownership in Pontiac.