Rep. Kristian Grant wants to make it easier for developers, but says nothing about tenants in her interview on WOODTV8

One of the most pressing issues facing thousands of people in the Greater Grand Rapids area is housing. Rep. Kristian Grant is the Chair of the Housing subcommittee and she was recently interviewed by Rick Albin for his show on WOODTV8, To the Point.

In many ways the interview with Rep. Grant was rushed and Rick Albin talked entirely too much. The first issue they talked about was housing, but instead of talking about the current crisis in housing, Rep. Grant chose to frame the issue as a shortage of housing.

A couple of other key points that were discussed by Rep. Grant were:

• The need to cut the red tape around new housing and zoning
• Planning Commissions should have people who have experience with housing
• Relax regulations to benefit builders, developers and non-profits

In other words, the perspective that Rep. Grant chose to focus on was the perspective of those who build houses, particularly developers. Rep. Grant suggested if there was less red tape there would be fewer costs to developers and that cost would then not be added to the cost of housing. 

What I found somewhat astounding is that this narrative is rather marginal in the larger scheme of things. What Rep. Grant did not talk about were things like:

• How families are being priced out of the housing market, because housing is a commodity and not a human right.
• How being are being displaced because of the market driven housing market or because of gentrification.
• The cost of rent has also skyrocketed, making it impossible for many people to be able to afford even the average rent.
• How the issue is not so much affordability, but the fact that the cost of housing has drastically increased while the income of most people has been fairly stagnant. 

There is a statewide movement in Michigan that is being lead by tenants. Tenants are organizing and creating tenant unions to challenge the power of developers, landlords, property management companies and Rental Property Owners Associations. Two weeks ago, there was the first ever Tenant Assembly held in Grand Rapids, an event hosted by the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union and the Community Owned Safety Coalition.

This statewide tenant movement is organizing under the slogan, The Rent is Too Damn High. This coalition of renters from across the state has a very robust list of demands, which are listed below.

Rent Control – Remove the state-wide ban on rent control so municipalities can take action to stabilize rents and protect tenants. Rent control is any policy that directly regulates or limits landlords’ ability to raise rents on an annual basis. For instance, a city may limit increases to a certain percentage, or according to some other formula. Rent control provides tenants with the security of knowing they won’t be priced out due to arbitrary and excessive increases in rent. These types of local policies were banned by the state legislature in 1988. We support a repeal of this ban on rent control.

Social Housing – $4 billion for social housing in FY25 state budget. “Social housing is a public option for housing that is permanently affordable, protected from the private market, and publicly owned by the government or under democratic community control by non-profit and cooperative entities. Around the world, robust social housing programs have ended affordable housing shortages; expanded democratic accountability and equitable housing access; and raised populations out of poverty and into prosperity.” Social housing is built to house people well, rather than deliver a profit to developers & managers. States and municipalities in the US are initiating social housing programs anchored by a new generation of public-sector housing development agencies. We support a $4 billion state infusion into social housing, to be administered regionally by public developers. This amount could directly support approximately 40-50,000 new social housing units, which would make significant progress towards the state-established goal of building 75,000 total new homes over the next 5 years.

Housing First – $1 billion for people experiencing and at risk of homelessness in FY25 state budget. Housing First is a successful and evidence-based approach to reducing homelessness that focuses on providing housing to people, rather than criminalizing or pathologizing them. We support a $1 billion state infusion into programs of direct service, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing, with a housing first lens. These funds should be distributed and administered regionally.

A Renter’s Bill of Rights – Renters around the country are insisting on more protections against landlord abuse and empowerment of renters as a class. Michigan renters need these rights and protections as much as any. A Renters Bill of Rights may include fair chance housing for returning citizens, tenants’ right to organize and have counsel, relocation assistance in case of red tagging, increased safety inspection standards, legal protection against discrimination based on housing status, just cause eviction, renter agency for repairs, a ban on hidden rental fees, and other such policies.

These are the issues that politicians like Rep. Grant need to be talking about. However, we know that most politicians would prefer to avoid these types of discussions and demands coming from renters working in coalition with The Rent is Too Damn High. The only way that politicians will talk about these issues and take action is if we pressure them to do so.

Rep. Kristian Grant is having a “community conversation” this coming Monday, April 29th from 9 – 10am at the Last Mile Cafe. Details are in the image here below. If you want to see housing be de-commodified and embraced as a human right, then this is an excellent opportunity to engage Rep. Grant. You could also ask her about the rental properties that she owns and why she takes money from the Realtor industry and the Rental Property Owners Association.