Power outage at Leland House in downtown Detroit persists as the building faces access and safety hurdles
Updated Dec 11, 2025, 9:53 p.m. ET
The Leland House apartments in downtown Detroit remain without electricity or heat as of Thursday night after an outage tied to “customer-owned” equipment that could not be reached due to structural hazards, according to DTE Energy.
Last week, building management was instructed to place a deposit on overdue electric bills to keep power on; power went out on Wednesday and had not been restored by late Thursday.
DTE spokesperson Dana St. Coeur attributed the outage to “customer-owned equipment that cannot be accessed due to existing structural hazards inside the building.” She added, “We feel for the residents of the Leland House and know how challenging these past few weeks have been.”
The building houses about 40 tenants.
St. Coeur noted that DTE is “working closely with the city to ensure impacted residents are safe and have access to temporary housing,” and that the company is helping cover hotel stays until repairs to the building are completed.
City officials did not respond to inquiries about where residents have been relocated.
“We’re prepared to restore service as soon as the building owner can make the necessary repairs and ensure a safe environment,” St. Coeur said.
Previously, DTE announced it would shut off power to the building over delinquent payments; the building’s operator told residents they needed to move out before Dec. 3.
Judge Maria Oxholm of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division ordered the Leland management to pay a $57,000 deposit on its overdue bill by Monday. Oxholm is overseeing the building’s federal bankruptcy case.
Ryan Heilman, an attorney for the Leland House Limited Partnership, confirmed at a bankruptcy hearing on Thursday that the partnership had paid the DTE deposit. The News obtained a recording of the hearing from federal court records.
St. Coeur declined to confirm whether DTE had received the electric bill deposit but emphasized that absent the current equipment issues, power would be flowing at the building.
“Once the building conditions are deemed safe, and once the customer has completed those repairs, we’re happy to work side by side,” she said.
The 22-story Leland House, completed in 1927, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The city has previously cited it for code violations.
In a 2022 lawsuit, the city described the building as “unfit for human habitation” after an inspection found standing water in the basement, unreliable heating, missing smoke detectors, and only one functioning elevator.
Following the lawsuit, Leland’s management agreed to bring the building up to code.
The Leland House Limited Partnership has managed the property since the death of former owner Mike Higgins in 2023.
