The policy failures of rental housing: Plumbing poverty in Detroit, Michigan

Abstract

ABSTRACT The lack of access to in-home running water from inadequate plumbing is a critical water insecurity challenge in the U.S. Using the concept of plumbing poverty, this paper investigates why housing policies in Detroit, Michigan, have failed to ensure adequate plumbing and water security for renters using interviews with city employees, community groups, renters, and property managers. We find that unresponsive landlords enabled by historical housing mismanagement and ineffective rental ordinance design and implementation perpetuate inadequate plumbing for Detroit renters. While we identify three tools to address inadequate plumbing, several barriers prevent their use. For renters, barriers include social power dynamics, structural inequalities in the legal system, and a lack of capacity. Meanwhile, the city faces financial, personnel, and knowledge constraints that prevent adequate enforcement. Our findings provide new insight into the connections between historical housing dynamics, policy implementation, and the precarity of landlord-tenant relations in perpetuating water insecurity.