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After Leland House evacuation, Detroit council orders nuisance-abatement steps and presses for tenant access to belongings
Summary
Residents displaced from the Leland House told council they lost belongings and medical supplies after a power outage and evacuation; the council directed the law department to pursue nuisance abatement and asked HRD to present an expedited budget and plan to allow tenants to retrieve property safely.
Dozens of displaced tenants of the Leland House told the Detroit City Council on Feb. 17 they were evacuated after a power failure and have been unable to retrieve essential belongings, including medical supplies and family heirlooms.
Residents described hurried evacuations and months of uncertainty about the whereabouts and condition of their property. "I just want my stuff. I need my stuff," said Catherine Guyton, a Leland resident, urging the Council to act so tenants can regain personal effects and restore stability.
Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett and Building and Safety (BC) briefed the Council on a three-year enforcement history: a court-approved consent agreement with the owner; recurring code violations; standing water and a failed transformer; DTE involvement that initially delayed power disconnection; and then a fire marshal order that forced tenant relocation after the transformer failed. The owner later filed for bankruptcy, and the city asked a judge to allow restricted owner funds to be used to pack and move residents' belongings into storage.
Jason Harrison (Law Department) and HRD Chief of Housing Solutions Chelsea Niblett reported that roughly 20 of 31 tenants had signed permissions to allow city-arranged packing and storage pending the next hearing on Feb. 24. They described safety constraints — no elevator service and dark stairwells — that led the fire marshal to insist on professional movers to mitigate risk.
Council members pressed for quicker, creative options: using city relocation funds or DTE cooperation to temporarily restore power so tenants could supervise retrieval themselves; ordering the owner to fix the transformer; or initiating nuisance-abatement litigation. Member Mary Waters moved that the Law Department initiate a nuisance-abatement suit to cure the property at 400 Bagley (the Leland House); the motion passed.
HRD committed to provide a budgeted proposal within 48 hours outlining costs and next steps and to coordinate with the law department and fire marshal on a safe retrieval plan that may include tenant representatives on-site.
What happens next: The case returns to court on Feb. 24. Council directed the law department to pursue nuisance abatement and asked HRD to deliver an expedited costed plan for allowing tenants to reclaim belongings safely.
