DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – The Detroit City Council prepared a resolution that demanded Wayne County Treasurer extend the moratorium on property tax foreclosures on homes with a market value under $50,000, calling foreclosures “an act of extreme legal violence.”

That was the language used in a resolution that asked for a one-year reprieve and is expected to be voted on at the March 25 meeting. The resolution stated: “the Detroit City Council demands that the Wayne County Treasurer extend the moratorium on property tax foreclosures of owner-occupied homes in the City of Detroit assessed under $25,000 (equivalent to market value under $50,000) …”

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The city said Wayne County has foreclosed on more than 100,000 Detroit homes since 2009.

The Wayne County Treasurer didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

The Detroit City Council said the city has a history of inflating property tax assessments that has led to a “tax foreclosure crisis.”

There were two University of Chicago studies about the city of Detroit and its practice of inflating property tax assessments.

The resolution cited a 2024 University of Chicago report that stated 65% of lowest-value homes – those sold for up to $34,700 – were accessed at over 50% of their market value.

A 2018 University of Chicago study stated the average home that sold for $8,000 to $10,000 was valued at almost $50,000 by the assessor.

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The report also found properties in the bottom 10% of sale price were assessed at more than 10 times their sale price.

That 2018 study claimed that 10% of the foreclosures between 2010 and 2015 were illegal based on illegally inflated tax assessments. That study said about 10,000 of the city’s foreclosures over that time period violated the state Constitution. The study stated that the city failed to properly assess properties and go on mandated annual site visits which led to the violations.