A state representative from Lansing says they plan to introduce legislation to provide greater support to tenants who’ve been displaced due to unsafe living conditions.
The package of bills would expand protections for those living in rental properties. That includes a proposal to require that landlords provide financial assistance to renters who are kicked out of their homes due to housing code violations.
Democratic Representative Emily Dievendorf is the vice chair of the Housing committee. They say that change could help residents in Lansing, where hundreds of housing units have been red-tagged due to unsafe conditions.
"We recognize that we are struggling to the point of breakdown with aging, housing stock that has reached the point of unlivability.” said Dievendorf.
Other proposed measures would allow tenants to make repairs themselves and then charge property owners for the fixes. Dievendorf says the bills will be introduced within the next month.