(WXYZ) — At the end of June, we introduced you to The Hunter family, from Detroit. Three generations of strong women, living under one roof.
But that roof, the home they’d rented for 10 years, was horrific. It was unsafe, unstable and unacceptable for anyone to live in.
The Hunters have had one heck of a journey, since they left that house. Our Andrea Isom has followed it every step of the way.
“The house was OK the first 5 years. He let it get worse”, says tenant, Nikki Hunter.
She says, their landlord let the damage get worse, at the dwelling on West Philadelphia, in Detroit is deplorable. And the repairs he allegedly made are shotty at best, she said.
Which is very likely why the balcony came tumbling down. It collapsed in the middle of the night.
“Everything I had in that house had sentimental value. And I worked hard for that. I worked 30 years to retire. For now to have nothing. I hate to cry but it really hurts”, says Eva Hunter, tearfully.
They paid rent on time, every month for the 10 years they lived there.
What the City of Detroit is doing regarding the non-compliant landlords matter is working. It’s efforts are yielding results never seen before. As far as ticketing, collecting fines and more landlords following the rules.
But, sadly, there are still families, people like the Hunters, caught in the middle.
The City of Detroit released this statement:
“In order to avoid situations like what happened with Ms. Hunter and her daughter Eva, rental property owners must ensure their properties are properly registered with the city, up to code, and have obtained a certificate of compliance. This is necessary to guarantee property owners are being held accountable, and providing safe and livable housing options for tenants. To date, we have more certificates of compliance than we've ever had. We’ve issued 30,600 tickets, collected $1.1 million in fines and have $1.4 million pending.”
