Evicted Tenants Call for Affordable Housing

In just about every city and town in the country, tenants at or near the bottom of the affordable housing formula are being evicted from their homes simply because they can’t afford the huge rent increase when it comes time to renew their lease.

Detroit, Michigan is a good example of what happens when good people are forced to move out of their homes due to increased rent amounts.

Detroit has been paying for recently-evicted tenants to stay in hotels.

Now, those residents will need to find other housing by June 30.

Around 50 people gathered at the Coleman A. Young Building in Downtown Detroit to protest alongside the Detroit Eviction Defense. Some of the protesters entered the building, calling on the city to help find housing for these residents.

Jai Kaiser was evicted in May with her child.

"We don’t want apologies, we want action, we want help. We want affordable housing. What’s affordable? Not $1,400 when I make $500 a month," she said.

Kaiser and others living in hotels say though many of the rooms don’t have kitchens, it’s better than being out on the street.

They don’t know where they’ll end up when they are once again evicted from their home.

Detroit Eviction Defense organizers want the city to hire more counselors to assist these tenants as they search for homes. And they want the city to continue to pay for the hotels until everyone finds a home they can afford.

Following an eviction, 276 families have lived in hotels in metro Detroit with federal American Rescue Plan Act funding that was given to the City of Detroit with 88 families still living in the hotels. Several tenants were told that they needed to be out of their homes at the hotel by June 1.

Austin says 40 of the tenants will be able to stay until June 30 when the federal aid ends.

Laqunna Smith is living in a hotel with her 3-year-old son following an eviction. She's working and trying to save, but even the $25 application fees that many apartments charge to background check her, are a financial strain for the single mother.

"It's very hard when you don't know you're next move," she said. "I feel terrible inside."

We can do better!