In Detroit, rental property owners are required by law to register their properties with the city's Building and Rental Department. Castle requires that all Detroit properties under our management comply with this law and obtain registration from the city.

Historically, the city was not strict about enforcing this requirement, and many owners chose not to register their properties. However, in mid-2016, city government stepped up enforcement. Unregistered properties are subject to fines beginning at $1,000 for a first offense.

Additionally, the city has implemented the following enforcement checks:

• City employees now scan Zillow, Craigslist, and other listing sites to find unregistered properties that are being illegally listed for rent, and use the resulting data to issue tickets and fines.
• The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department now checks the rental registration status of a property whenever a service request is created. It is not possible to start, stop, or transfer water service for an unregistered property.