Detroit law department outlines plan to retrieve Leland House tenants' belongings; mediation set for March 18

Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett told the Detroit City Council on March 10 that the law department has negotiated an approach to allow Leland House tenants access to their units to collect personal property and to move remaining items into storage.

Mallett said the administration has offered tenants a full day, with up to two people allowed to enter each apartment to pack personal belongings; a professional moving company would pack what remains and the city would transport and store those items. "We are prepared to offer the tenants an entire day to go into the apartments to pack their personal belongings themselves," Mallett said, adding that the moving company would then collect and store the remaining property.

He told council the city and tenants’ attorneys have scheduled mediation with Judge Popkey for March 18 and the city will appear in bankruptcy court on March 12 to press for its position in the debtor’s case. Mallett said the city believes the costs it has proposed to cover the immediate relocation and protective measures would be roughly $850,000 (a figure several members later cited as $852,000) and that the administration will ask the bankruptcy judge to classify those expenses as necessary administrative costs so the city can be treated as a secured creditor.

Mallett said the city will not assume unlimited liability for damages that occur while tenants volunteer to enter the building and asked tenants to sign standard moving waivers similar to those used by commercial movers. "We are putting it in the hands of a professional mover," he said. "Unlimited liability is not reasonable." He added the city would consider negotiating a limited amount of financial responsibility for damaged items but said it would be modest.

Council members pressed the law department about owner accountability and systemic enforcement. Councilmember Renata Miller said past failures stretched back to 2019 and called the administration’s handling "smoke and mirrors" if it did not hold owners responsible. "This is not just this incident," Miller said. "This has happened all around the city of Detroit." Mallett responded the city’s enforcement tools are primarily civil — fines, closure orders and court actions — and that criminal sanctions for property neglect are unlikely in most cases. He said the law department is working to be more forceful in litigation and will partner with Building and Safety to identify chronically troubled properties.

Tenants and advocates who spoke during the public-comment period urged faster action. Marcellus Bell, a Leland House tenant-union representative, asked whether residents could be treated as creditors and pressed for a right to return; other speakers alleged the building’s electrical systems had been tampered with and asked for investigations.

What happens next: Mallett said if the tenants’ union and debtor reach agreement prior to March 18 the city can begin ordering equipment and scheduling moving operations immediately; he estimated a generator needed for restoration would take about two weeks to arrive and roughly three weeks to be installed and tested before residents could safely access belongings under the city’s proposed timetable. Council President James Tate asked for an update at the next formal session if a settlement is reached earlier, and members pledged to continue pursuing both the immediate tenant needs and broader policy fixes to prevent similar situations.

Authorities cited: Mallett referenced ongoing bankruptcy proceedings in federal bankruptcy court and the scheduled mediation before Judge Popkey. The council discussion also referenced city code enforcement processes and civil remedies available to the municipality.

Ending: The council moved to public comment after the law-department briefing; mediation remains scheduled for March 18 and the city will report back on any agreements or procedural steps at the next formal session.