City cracks down on red-tagged properties; some residents ordered out

(This story has been updated to include a clarification by city spokesperson Scott Bean explaining when residents of red-tagged properties may be subject to penalties.)

In a sweep of 47 red-tagged properties in the city’s 1st Ward, Lansing code officials and law enforcement have identified 13 red-tagged properties where people were living in violation of the housing code. 

The city began the crackdown last week on houses considered too unsafe to be inhabited. City code compliance officers and Lansing Police Department officials visited the red-tagged homes. The City Attorney’s Office directed them to notify anyone living in a hazardous property to vacate. Police were directed to initiate criminal investigations on both property owners and people living in the properties. 

Property owners who allowed people to live in the dangerous buildings could face a misdemeanor charge that, if convicted, could land them in jail for 93 days and hit them with up to $500 in fines. Individuals living in a red-tagged property could also face the same charge under Lansing’s housing ordinance. 

City spokesperson Scott Bean offered a clarification today (March 7) on when residents might be penalized for living in a red-tagged residence.

“If the person is in the property unknowingly that it is red-tagged property, they can get the ticket waived administratively,” Bean said. “However, if they are in there and know it is red-tagged then they could be ticketed.” 

The move comes after 1st Ward Councilman Ryan Kost said he had identified 47 red-tagged properties with evidence of people living in them. That evidence, he said, included lights on in the property. 

City officials used a map of the red-tagged properties Kost had created as the basis for their sweep,  Bean said. 

During last week’s sweep, city officials also used similar indicators to determine if a place was illegally inhabited. Their sweep also found four properties that were removed from the list because the property owner had addressed the hazardous issues. In another property, city officials worked with the resident to get water service restored to the home. Once that was done, the red tag was removed. 

In one instance, a stand-along garage had been rag-tagged, not the residence. Bean said the garage was originally tagged and the property owner was sent a letter about the dangerous condition of the garage. He acknowledged that which building was tagged should be available in the city’s public property records, which it was not.

“It should be noted on the BS&A,” he wrote in response to an inquiry. “The BS&A information should reflect whether a housing unit or an accessory building is tagged, so the answer is yes, the information shown on BS&A should reflect this, and we’ll talk to code and work to make it is noted there moving forward.”

In addition to identifying illegally inhabited red tags, the city officials also took additional actions on red-tagged property. 

“They retagged any property where a red tag was illegally removed and talked to residents or left behind information,” Bean said. “In some cases, it was a matter of scheduling follow-up inspections to check that work was done and the house was brought back up to code. Either way, all residents are being informed of their rights and given information on the process. We will work with the City Attorney’s office on the next steps and keep Human Relations and Community Services staff looped in on any future decisions with these dwellings.”

Kost said he is “glad” the administration is taking the situation seriously but questioned the accuracy of the numbers. 

“I don’t believe that number is accurate,” he said, adding he had spoken with Barb Kimmel, the interim director of the Planning and Development Department, which oversees code compliance. He said she had told him some of the properties he’d identified were not included in the city’s sweep.

“At the end of the day, one occupied red tag is too many,” Kost said.

He said that his list, including the map he made, was based on data compiled on Jan. 18 and sent to him by Council President Carol Wood on Jan. 23. Bean said it was unclear how old the list provided to Kost was, but he noted, “The status of red-tagged properties changes practically every day.”

City Pulse first reported on the issue on Feb. 9. In that story, the plight of Madi Mahamet Ibrahim was highlighted. He lives at 1135 Farrand St., which he rented for nearly two years before signing a land contract to purchase the home. Neither he nor property owner Zaheih Atrash and his property manager, Mohammad Abduljaber, were aware the property was red-tagged, they said. They had filed for permits for upgrading both the mechanical and electrical in the home on Jan. 17. 

But the red tag — first issued in 2017 — was not there when city officials visited last week. The property was re-tagged and Ibrahim, his wife and six children were notified they could not remain in the residence. They were provided information and referrals to services to assist them in finding housing while the necessary repairs are done. The same assistance is being offered to all residents who must vacate, Bean said. 

On Feb. 16, Lansing City Attorney Jim Smiertka confirmed a crackdown on occupied red-tagged housing was coming. He noted that in Ibrahim’s case, while there was a land contract until it was paid off, Zaheih was the legal property owner and could face criminal prosecution under the housing code.