Detroit / Inspection guide

Inspecting a Detroit rental before and after you sign

By Homzora Team · September 26, 2026

In Detroit, a good inspection pays special attention to the things that matter most in an older city with cold winters: the furnace, the windows, the basement and lead safety. The city's rental certificate system gives you a useful starting point. This guide explains what to check and how to get repairs made, with a source for every rule.

Start with the certificate

Detroit requires rental properties to be registered, inspected and issued a Certificate of Compliance.^[1] Since January 1, 2025, certificates have been valid for three years, and landlords without one cannot legally collect rent.^[2] Ask for the certificate and when it was issued. A recent certificate means the home passed an inspection, but it does not replace your own careful look, since conditions can change after an inspection.

What Michigan law requires

Michigan requires landlords to keep the home and common areas fit for the use intended, to keep them in reasonable repair during the lease and to comply with state and local health and safety laws. These duties do not cover damage caused by the tenant's willful or irresponsible conduct.^[3] Use the checks below to find problems that fall under that duty before you sign.

Furnace and heat

Heat is the most important thing to check in a Detroit home. Turn on the furnace during your viewing, even in summer, and confirm that heat reaches every room, including rooms at the end of hallways and any finished basement or attic space. Ask how old the furnace is, when it was last serviced and when the filter was changed. Look for a carbon monoxide alarm near sleeping areas if the home has a gas furnace, water heater or stove. Ask what the gas bills were last January; a very high bill can point to an inefficient furnace, drafty windows or missing insulation.

Windows, doors and drafts

Open and close every window and door, check that each one locks, and look for cracked glass, broken seals and gaps where cold air can enter. Run your hand along window frames and door edges to feel for drafts. Worn weather stripping and single pane windows raise heating bills every month of winter. Storm windows, if present, should be intact and fit properly.

Basement, water and leaks

If the home has a basement, look carefully at the walls and floor for water stains, efflorescence, a white chalky residue, or a damp smell, and ask whether the basement has ever flooded. Detroit has experienced serious flooding, including a federally declared disaster after storms in June 2021.^[4] Look for a sump pump and ask whether it works. Check the floor drain. The city's Basement Backup Protection Program is not open to renters^[5], so do not store valuables on a basement floor, and ask your insurer about sewer backup coverage.

Elsewhere in the home, run every tap and the shower, flush each toilet, look under sinks for leaks, and check ceilings below bathrooms for stains.

Lead safety

Much of Detroit's housing was built before 1978, when lead paint was common. Federal law requires landlords renting most such housing to disclose known lead based paint and lead hazards before the lease is signed.^[6] Detroit's rental ordinance adds lead safety requirements, including risk assessments every three years for properties relying on interim lead controls.^[1] Look for peeling, chipping or cracking paint, especially on window frames, sills, doors, porches and railings. If children will live in the home, ask about its lead status, read the disclosure and report deteriorating paint in writing immediately.

Kitchen and bathrooms

Turn on every burner and the oven, check that the refrigerator and freezer are cold, and look for signs of pests, such as droppings, in cabinets and behind appliances. Check the bathroom exhaust fans, since poor ventilation can lead to mold. Press on the floor around the toilet and tub; a soft floor can mean water damage underneath.

Ask about the water heater too. Look for rust, water on the floor around it and a pan beneath it, and ask how old it is. An older water heater in a cold basement may struggle to keep up in winter, and a failure can flood the floor where you might store belongings. Run the hot water for a few minutes during your viewing and note how long it takes to arrive.

Electrical and safety equipment

Switch on every light and test several outlets in each room with a phone charger. Look for scorched outlet covers, exposed wiring or an old fuse box. Press the test button on every smoke alarm and note any that do not sound. Ask where the electrical panel and water shut off valve are.

Outside, porches and snow

Walk around the outside of the home. Look at the roof from the ground for missing shingles, check gutters and downspouts, and look at porches, steps and railings for rot or damage. Ask who clears snow and ice from walkways, steps and the driveway, and how quickly. Ask about pest control and whether there have been problems with rodents, which can be common in older neighborhoods.

Frozen pipes and winter water

Ask whether pipes have ever frozen or burst. In cold snaps, pipes along outside walls, in crawl spaces or in unheated basements can freeze, and a burst pipe can damage both the home and your belongings. Find the main water shut off valve during your viewing and make sure you can turn it. Ask whether the landlord wants the heat kept at a minimum temperature when you are away in winter, and put the answer in writing. A little preparation can prevent a very expensive problem and a dispute about who caused it.

Attics, insulation and the roof

In a house or top floor unit, ask about insulation in the attic and walls. Many older Detroit homes have little insulation, which makes them expensive to heat and prone to ice dams, where melting snow refreezes at the edge of the roof and forces water under the shingles. Look at upstairs ceilings for water stains, especially near outside walls, and ask whether the roof has leaked in winter. A roof or ceiling leak is the kind of problem that Michigan's repair duty covers^[3], so note any stains on your checklist.

Parking and the street

Notice where you will park and how that works in winter. Off street parking or a garage protects a car from snow and makes mornings easier. If you will park on the street, ask how snow removal is handled on that block. Look at the lighting along the walk from your parking spot to the door, since winter evenings are long and dark.

Record everything on the checklist

Michigan requires landlords to provide an inventory checklist, and you have seven days after taking possession to complete and return it.^[7] Record every problem you found, with its location and size, and attach photographs. Keep a copy, and email it to the landlord so there is a dated record. This checklist is your best protection against being charged at move out for damage that was already there.

Questions to ask the landlord

When was the Certificate of Compliance issued?
How old is the furnace, and when was it last serviced?
What were the gas and electric bills last January?
Has the basement ever flooded, and is there a working sump pump?
What is the lead status of the property?
Who clears snow, and who handles pest control?

Write down the answers and the name of the person who gave them.

How to get repairs made

Make every repair request in writing and keep a copy. Send it to the notice address in your lease, which Michigan's Truth in Renting Act requires the lease to include^[8], describe the problem, where it is and when it started, and attach photographs.

If the landlord does not act, Detroit offers a practical tool. Tenants whose unit has no Certificate of Compliance, or has documented code violations that threaten health or safety, may be able to pay rent into the city's escrow program rather than to the landlord, as long as their rent is current. The building department usually inspects within about three business days.^[9] Property complaints can also go to the city's building department at 313 628 2451.^[10]

You are protected from retaliation. If a landlord files an eviction within 90 days after you tried to enforce your rights, Michigan law presumes retaliation, and the landlord must prove otherwise.^[11] A landlord also may not shut off heat, water, electricity or gas to force you out.^[12]

What to do with what you find

Before you sign, list every problem you found and ask the landlord in writing to repair it before move in, or to note it as existing damage on the inventory checklist. Keep the photographs and the landlord's reply. A landlord that will not put anything in writing is telling you something important about how repairs will be handled later.

Inspect again during the tenancy, not only at the start. Before each winter, check the furnace, windows and weather stripping, and after heavy rain, check the basement. Reporting problems early, in writing, keeps them small and builds a record that protects you.

Your completion record

Certificate of Compliance date
Furnace tested and serviced
Windows, doors and drafts
Basement, sump pump and flood history
Lead disclosure and paint condition
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
Inventory checklist returned

Keep this record with your move in photographs. See the evidence guide for how to document problems, and the move in guide for the steps before you sign.

Sources and official resources

Use the planning tools · All Detroit guides