As Michigan looks to make the state more attractive for both young people to remain in and transplants to move to, its legislature may play a role in one of the core components of that effort: housing.
But a recent study from the National Low Income Housing Coalition indicates that task may be harder than it seems, ranking Michigan middle of the road for rental affordability nationwide.
And, given part of the equation deals with zoning ordinances – which are mostly set by local municipalities – lawmakers will likely have their work cut out for them.
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At the top of the legislative session, Democrats announced affordable housing would be among their main policy focuses alongside repealing “right-to-work,” codifying LGBTQ protections in Michigan’s civil rights act and doing away with the state’s pension tax.
Now, with many of those efforts signed into law, Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, said he anticipates movement on further housing- and rental-related bills “relatively soon after we get back” from their summer break.
This could potentially include legislation to prevent a landlord from discriminating against a tenant based on their source of income, such as using a housing voucher, and requiring landlords alert residents if the building they live in has been condemned or is an imminent or serious hazard to their health.
The latter of those two bills passed out of the House in June with bipartisan approval...
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