A newspaper investigation has found that squatters occupy as many as 4,300 of the 300,000 Detroit properties owned by the city's Land Bank Authority.
The Detroit Free Press reports that the Detroit Land Bank has turned only a fraction of occupants into homeowners. The newspaper's analysis also found that the land bank treats squatters inconsistently and doesn't have the money to maintain and secure all of its residential structures.
Land Bank Chair Erica Ward Gerson says the authority isn't responsible for its occupants since they aren't renters. She says the land bank doesn't have a policy on whether to allow people to live in its properties.
U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee says Detroit's land bank must find a way for its occupants to reside in their houses legally or vacate them from the premises.
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Information from: Detroit Free Press, http://www.freep.com
