» Detroit Home Repair Resource Guide Skip to main content
U-M Poverty Solutions Logo U-M Poverty Solutions Logo

Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan

Joan and Sanford Weill Hall
Suite 5100
735 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-3091
Contact Us

Projects

Detroit Home Repair Resource Guide

In a city with aging housing stock, gaining access to home repair resources is critical for Detroit residents to attain housing stability.

This guide, compiled by Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan with input from numerous partners, presents program overview pages that describe what kind of home repair support is offered and any eligibility requirements for programs that are currently accepting applications or referrals as of April 2025.

Reference tables are included to find programs based on what home repair support is offered and eligibility requirements. Programs that are currently closed to applications and referrals, or are expected to accept applications or referrals at a later time, are included in a separate reference table.

Click on the cover image to open a PDF of the guide

For Detroit Residents

This guide is meant to aid you in finding programs that provide the type of home repair support you may be looking for and that you may qualify for based on typical eligibility criteria. This guide does not provide a detailed account of all of the home repair support services offered, eligibility requirements, application requirements, or other features for each program listed. These features may also change without notice. Please contact programs directly to confirm these details.

For Administrators and Practitioners

Programs that provide subrecipient grants to other organizations or governmental units to administer home repair support programs directly to residents are included in the Appendix.  If you administer a program that provides home repair support services and would like it to be included in the next version of the guide, please complete this form: https://myumi.ch/jJZEx

Please send corrections, updates, and additions to the guide to Leonymae Aumentado at lfaument@umich.edu.

See the Detroit Home Repair Resource Guide
Ver la guía en español
عرض الدليل
বাংলায় নির্দেশিকাটি দেখুন।

Detroit’s Lead-Safe Ecosystem

Poverty Solutions partnered with the City of Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department to identify organizations involved in Detroit’s lead-safe ecosystem engaging in lead poisoning prevention efforts and to identify best practices in the city’s lead-safe ecosystem relative to Cleveland, Ohio, and Buffalo, New York. This work resulted in the following resources:

  • A Lead-Safe Ecosystem Case Study Analysis, which identifies additional actions that would further strengthen Detroit’s lead-safe ecosystem
  • A series of Detroit Lead-Safe Ecosystem Maps, which shows the system of actors engaged in reducing the risk of child lead poisoning and the conditions that influence their actions, such as laws and housing conditions, and
  • A Directory of Lead-Safe Stakeholders in Detroit, which lists key information for stakeholders involved in efforts to mitigate child lead poisoning, including governmental agencies, nonprofits, and business associations.

>> See the lead-safe ecosystem publications

Detroit Land Contract Buyer Guide

The Detroit Land Contract Buyer Guide offers step-by-step guidance for housing counselors and prospective and current buyers on how to connect with resources, identify predatory or fraudulent situations, and successfully purchase their home. Land contracts are a valuable tool to achieve homeownership, but buyers often lack the support they need to navigate the purchasing process successfully.

The City of Detroit, Enterprise Community Partners, and University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions co-authored and published the buyer guide in 2022.

>> View the land contract buyer guide

The scale of home repair needs in Detroit

Home repair programs can serve as a critical tool to support housing stability and promote racial equity, particularly in Rust Belt cities with an aging housing stock and large populations of Black residents who have consistently faced structural racism in the U.S. housing system. In Detroit, a majority Black city, old housing stock coupled with high poverty rates and an aging population intensifies demand for home repair and home accessibility modifications. A 2020 Poverty Solutions report examines the state of the home repair ecosystem in Detroit, identifies potential gaps in the system, and provides a scan of promising practices in cities across the Midwest.

>> A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair Needs in Detroit

Nearly 38,000 households in Detroit—which equates to more than 1 in 7 occupied homes—faced major issues with exposed wires or electrical problems, broken furnace or heating problems, or lack of hot or running water in their homes in the past year, according to the representative survey of Detroiters conducted by U-M’s Detroit Metro Area Communities Study in 2021.

>> See the report on inadequate housing in Detroit

More research on affordable housing

Contact