Linked to the foreclosure crisis, and the $600 million tax over-assessments, the scourge of eviction in Detroit can be found in every corner of the city.

Colleagues have found this process, the eviction machine, to be a business model used by many nefarious actors in Detroit to generate profit. Nine in ten evictions that took place during the pandemic were at properties that were not up to code. Rental properties in Detroit have long existed in a kind of vacuum where the city was unable to consider or maintain enforcement of health and safety standards. The old axiom that “possession is none-tenths of the law” follows the legal process of eviction where the court expedites “summary proceedings,” prioritizing the landlords claim of ownership.

The Eviction Machine project catalogues data from the 35th District Court’s online Register of Actions system, which are then linked to City Assessor data and Certificate of Compliance data in Detroit’s Open Data Portal.

Use the data tools and learn more: https://www.evictionmachine.org