Judge Orders Detroit, Leland Landlord to Hand Over Lease Records Before Ruling on Tenant Payouts

Nearly four months after tenants were forced out of the Leland apartment building in downtown Detroit, the question of whether they'll be paid anything for their trouble remains unanswered. Federal bankruptcy Judge Maria Oxholm has not ruled on compensation. Instead, she's ordered the city of Detroit and the Leland's landlord to hand over tenant lease agreements and rental cost records so she can calculate what the court calls "adequate protection" for the displaced residents.

The order came during a hearing last Thursday, August 27, after mediation between the Detroit Tenant Union, the city and the landlord collapsed without an agreement. Oxholm had appeared ready to issue a ruling on her own before instead directing both sides to compile the records.

The dispute traces back to December 10, 2025, when tenants were evacuated from the Leland in an emergency after building conditions deteriorated. The city has said it stepped in to cover costs tied to that evacuation and the building's subsequent handling, including electricity restoration, elevator repairs and tenant relocation. In a separate ruling the same day, Oxholm granted the city's motion to claim nearly $724,000 in expenses from the bankruptcy proceeding, including roughly $435,000 the city says it spent directly on tenant assistance such as temporary housing, moving costs and food.

Oxholm denied a separate request from the Detroit Tenant Union asking that $16,000 be set aside for each displaced tenant, saying the group hadn't presented enough evidence to support that figure. The Leland and the city have argued that the tenants' month-to-month leases were terminated properly with 30-day notices, and that any damages tenants might be owed should be offset against the nearly $435,000 the city already spent on their behalf. The Leland has also argued that because tenants were already out of the building due to the December evacuation, they can't claim a loss of possession tied to the building's later sale and therefore aren't owed anything further.

The tenant union rejects that framing. Union president Stephen Rimmer said after last week's hearing that the union was "disappointed the Court indicated it would not consider the financial harm tenants suffered in calculating adequate protection," but added that "the important thing is that the Court is taking these tenants seriously." Rimmer said the union would continue pressing the city for accountability regardless of the bankruptcy court's outcome.

Matthew Erard, an attorney who lived in the Leland for 17 years, said the building was unlike anywhere else downtown. "The Leland was a really special place. It was unique among all the residences downtown," Erard said. "It certainly had by far the lowest rents. It had an extraordinary history, a great deal of culture, and a great sense of community." Erard said he wants former tenants compensated for the loss of their homes and what he described as harm to their constitutional rights, and said he's frustrated the case has dragged on this long without resolution.

The records Oxholm has requested, tenant lease terms and the rental costs residents were paying before the evacuation, are meant to give the court a concrete basis for calculating what tenants are owed, if anything, beyond what the city says it already covered. Attorneys for the city and the landlord will need to compile that documentation before the case resumes.

Both sides are due back in bankruptcy court on Thursday, October 15.