Detroit City Council votes unanimously to demand inspections of Munoz Realty's full property portfolio

The Detroit City Council unanimously approved a resolution asking the city's building department to inspect every residential and commercial property owned, managed, or operated by Munoz Realty and its owner, Gaston Munoz.

Council Member Mary Waters introduced the resolution. It directs the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department to review the landlord's entire portfolio, including properties outside the 299 covered by a July legal settlement. Waters said the council needs to determine whether the properties comply with city rental, health, and safety rules.

"The guy has a lot of properties. We cannot continue to allow landlords like that to put our people in deplorable conditions," Waters said. "We can't tolerate that anymore."

The council approved the settlement with Munoz in July after a lawsuit over poor conditions and unpaid blight tickets. Under that agreement, Munoz must repair 299 properties on a monthly schedule and have them re-inspected and certified by the city. If the properties are brought into compliance, the city will reduce roughly $460,000 in blight ticket fines by half. Munoz must still pay outstanding water bills, taxes, and inspection fees.

When the lawsuit was filed, only 34 percent of the more than 453 properties owned or managed by Munoz had a required certificate of compliance from the city, according to the legal complaint. That left 299 properties in violation of city and state law.

Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett said in a written statement that 50 properties listed in the court order have been inspected by a third-party inspector using city protocols. The department has issued 33 certificates of compliance. Mallett said the city "does not believe Mr. Munoz has complied with the order."

The city filed a motion this month asking the circuit court to require Munoz and his corporate entities to consistently repair 10 properties per month. The city is also asking the court to order Munoz to pay all outstanding fees owed to the building department, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, and the city Treasury for properties that have already received certificates of compliance. A hearing is scheduled for October 7, 2026.

The resolution asks the building department to give special attention to occupied properties, particularly those housing children or seniors. It also calls for verification that repairs under the settlement are completed properly and within a reasonable timeframe, and it seeks regular written reports to the council detailing progress on inspections, repairs, violations, and abatements.

Waters said the council wants the inspections completed "as quickly as possible," but members said the building department may lack the resources to handle the expanded work. Waters said funding for the department will be a priority in the city's next budget talks.

"We have to find out from BSEED what it will take to get these inspections done," she said.

Munoz did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment on the resolution or the status of the settlement. In July, he said in an email that he would follow the approved settlement terms.

The council's action follows earlier reporting on tenants in Munoz-managed properties who reported difficulty obtaining repairs, strong odors, and sewage in basements. Munoz has said he had a system for tenants to report problems and dismissed some tenant complaints.

Detroit has used similar legal agreements to address large portfolios of blighted properties, including lawsuits involving developer Dennis Kefallinos and Real Token, a blockchain real estate firm that owns rental properties with hundreds of violations.