CDAD is a member of the Coalition for Property Tax Justice (CPTJ).
CDAD is a member of the Coalition for Property Tax Justice (CPTJ). Since 2008, 1 in 3 Detroit homeowners have lost their homes due to tax foreclosure—the highest number of tax foreclosures in any city since the Great Depression. Also since 2008, Detroit has been illegally inflating its property taxes in violation of the Michigan Constitution, which clearly decrees that a property’s assessed value cannot exceed 50% of its market value. Founded in 2017, the CPTJ is a collective of several long-standing Detroit grassroots and nonprofit organizations formed to accomplish three goals: 1) Stop unconstitutional property tax assessments, 2) Compensate Detroit residents who overpaid or have already lost their homes because of illegally inflated property taxes, and 3) Suspend pending property tax foreclosures on owner-occupied homes until it is confirmed that the delinquent taxpayers were not unconstitutionally assessed.
Since the Coalition’s inception, we’ve accomplished an impressive amount of victories including a groundbreaking class action lawsuit against Wayne County and the City of Detroit that resulted in a settlement providing financial relief to 300 residents at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. Moreover, the settlement made it less burdensome for residents to apply for Detroit’s Homeowner Property Tax Assistance Program. In addition to the city’s program the CPTJ has The Property Tax Appeal Project, a free legal service in collaboration with the University of Michigan Law School. The Coalition is currently in the process of working with the Detroit City Council to pass a Property Tax Reform Ordinance and draft a Compensation Ordinance. For more information about the Coalition for Property Tax Justice or to support our work please visit illegalforeclosures.org
