In the News
Read how UCHC is knowledgeable about housing and involved in the community.
Can Detroit keep funding its eviction defense program?
Bridge Detroit
April 21, 2026
“Right to Counsel, since its passage in 2022, has provided massive improvements that I’ve not seen in a period of over 40 years plus that I’ve practiced in the 36th District Court,” said Ted Phillips, executive director of the United Community Housing Coalition, during a public meeting in early March.
MSU Housing Justice Clinic aims to drive systemic change
MSU Today
April 14, 2026
Donovan McCarty has always been passionate about using the law for public interest and driving positive change. Although he grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, he held the city close to his heart, recognizing and confronting the stark contrast between the suburbs and the city.
While earning his law degree, McCarty volunteered and worked for various organizations and advocacy groups focused on housing and land use in Detroit, such as the United Community Housing Coalition, Michigan Legal Services and the Detroit Land Bank Authority. Through these experiences, McCarty realized there was a major need for supporting clients facing housing injustice.
HRD budget hearing: More affordable housing construction
Outlier Media
April 3, 2026
Real Token: Chelsea Neblett said the city is working with the nonprofit United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) to reach out to residents – providing legal services and escrow support – living in Real Token properties, the blockchain real estate company the city of Detroit sued. HRD has been working with the law department and the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department (BSEED) to relocate households living in unsafe conditions.
The Challenges and Opportunities Facing Detroit’s Housing Market: A Look at the Data and Local Responses
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
April 1, 2026
Similar to Hernandez and MiSide, Ted Phillips and the United Community Housing Coalition provide several services to help renters and homeowners, including working with the City of Detroit to direct distressed single-family renters into workable payment plans on existing homes. They also work with Wayne County to help tenants purchase homes at foreclosure auctions. Another way the coalition helps tenants become homeowners is to buy out land contracts where tenants are paying high, predatory rents—a problem that’s plagued Detroit renters for decades. The coalition provides financial and relocation assistance if necessary. They also do tax foreclosure prevention work.
Town hall gathering about warranty deed fraud, a problem in Detroit
The Detroit News
March 4, 2026
Ted Phillips of United Community Housing Coalition during town hall gathering about warranty deed fraud, a growing problem in the city, sponsored by Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters, as well as Councilman Scott Benson, at Farewell Recreation in Detroit, Michigan on February 12, 2026.
Selling low-value housing to owner occupants or investors: The effect on property disinvestment in Detroit
Journal of Urban Affairs
February 13, 2026
Research on addressing vacant and disinvested properties focuses primarily on remediation, not on prevention. Increasing owner occupancy might prevent property deterioration because homeowners typically maintain properties better than landlords. Three Detroit programs sold publicly owned houses to very-low-income households in 2017. After 5 to 6 years, 86.2% maintained owner occupancy. Multinomial logit regression equations showed program properties had significantly more positive change in property condition than did comparison group properties purchased at tax auction in an expanded model but not in a model with fewer controls. Program properties were associated with less risk of properties being vacant in a model with fewer controls. Poisson regression estimates showed no relationship between program participation and property tax status. Through interviews, owner occupants stated a desire to repair their homes but had handicaps in doing so. Their homes often needed major, expensive repairs to provide safe, healthy living conditions. They lacked funds for significant repairs and had no home insurance. Such homeownership programs may help prevent property deterioration and ultimately abandonment but would be more effective if owners received financial assistance for major repairs and aid obtaining insurance. Studies using varied research designs and data should assess whether these results are replicated.
Tenants' rights become focus of renter-heavy cities in Metro Detroit
The Detroit News
January 29, 2026
[Ted] Phillips, director of the United Community Housing Coalition, a nonprofit that administers the city's Right To Counsel office, estimated that 85% of rental properties in Detroit don't meet city code.
“I don’t think we’ve had, historically, a good handle on fining people and staying after people," Phillips said.
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When tenants have counsel, it significantly improves their chances of prevailing in court, said Phillips with the United Community Housing Coalition.
“There was what I would call the two-minute hearing, or even the 60-second hearing, which would go something like this, depending on the judge: The case is called up before the judge, the judge says to enter your appearances, the attorney says who they are, the plaintiff says who they are. The plaintiff says, ‘We’re here because the defendant owes $3,000.’ The judge asks the defendant, ‘Have you paid your rent?’ The tenant says, ‘No, but —’, and that’s as far as it got sometimes," Phillips said.
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UCHC's Phillips said the city could help small landlords achieve compliance, too.
"I do think there’s also a need, particularly for some of the small landlords, you know, for some repair money to do some of these things," he said.