After five years and failing grades, Detroit Housing Commission head retiring

Sandra Henriquez will retire as CEO of the Detroit Housing Commission (DHC) . The agency said in a news release on Monday that her last day is April 19.

Henriquez was hired in 2019 to head the DHC. Hopes were high that her decades of experience in leadership positions in affordable and public housing would help the commission continue its upward trajectory. Five years later, the DHC is underperforming across many key areas , especially management of its two largest programs that provide thousands of affordable units to largely low-income households.

Henriquez previously led the Boston Housing Authority for 13 years and was appointed by President Barack Obama as an assistant secretary with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). When she was hired to run the DHC, the commission was four years removed from HUD receivership but had righted the ship in a number of important ways. Nearly all public housing properties that it owned or subsidized had passing grades, and multiple current and former employees told Outlier that HUD considered the DHC a “high performer” for management of its Section 8 program.

Today, the DHC is in disarray. Its public housing is deteriorating , and the voucher program is many months behind processing paperwork for tenants and landlords .

Outlier Media has reported extensively on the myriad issues at the DHC, documenting appalling conditions at properties it owns, high vacancy rates, staffing shortages and much more. Many of these problems persisted through the end of 2023.

The last time the DHC made property inspections public in 2021 , 13 of its 15 properties received failing grades. One property, The Diggs, received a score of 16.01 out of 100. Occupancy rates have fallen steadily since June 2022, and since early last year, rates have been so low the DHC required “more intense monitoring” from HUD. The federal department oversees all public housing authorities in the country. Currently only about 78% of its units are occupied , according to HUD data, well below the national average of more than 94%.

Henriquez defended her time as head of the DHC.

“My mission at each job I’ve held has been to serve people,” Henriquez said in the news release. “Despite the challenges the housing industry faces, which are prevalent across the country not just here in Detroit. I’ve tried to make good on my commitment when I arrived here. DHC now has a solid foundation upon which to build, ready to continue its positive trajectory.”

The news release describes her tenure as “dynamic and highly successful,” celebrating successes such as the start of landlord outreach fairs and an improved Resident Services Department .

It also cites the construction of new properties that use the commission’s vouchers. But owners who accept these “project-based vouchers” complained to Outlier on multiple occasions about the DHC’s inability to adequately fill their units .

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The agency additionally praised Henriquez for reducing the number of “delinquent annual recertifications to below 10%.” Recertification is the process of updating income and rental subsidies for every DHC tenant and voucher holder.

It may have gotten delinquent recertifications below 10% for tenants at properties it owns, but not for its Section 8 program, where staffing shortages have left the commission months and in some cases years behind . The DHC hired a third-party contractor in June to help catch up on recertifications for its voucher program. The agency has renewed the contract three times, but there were still 1,747 voucher holders who have not recertified — out of 5,022 total — as of earlier this month, according to a DHC Board of Commissioners meeting packet obtained by Outlier.

The lengthy delays in recertifications mean landlords don’t get paid for months; many no longer take DHC vouchers as a result. The agency is also spending more per voucher than it should, reducing the number available even though thousands of households are still on the waitlist.

The Board of Commissioners runs the DHC. It has not taken any meaningful action to reform it , but its members have been expressing greater frustration with the lack of improvement at its recent monthly meetings.

In the news release, Board President Richard Hosey described Henriquez’s tenure as “the most perilous times for the Housing Commission since returning to self-governance” but nonetheless praised her time in office.

“We cannot thank her enough for bringing so much to Detroit and laying the groundwork for the Housing Commission to launch into its next phase of expansion and revitalization of its housing,” he said in the release.

The board did not mention her impending retirement at its April 4 meeting. It scheduled a special meeting for April 18 to discuss the transition. A spokesperson for the DHC said chief operating officer Irene Tucker will take over as the agency’s interim CEO.

Outlier Media · After five years and failing grades, Detroit Housing Commission head retiring