The State of Housing in Flint

Flint is facing a serious housing crisis, shaped by decades of manufactured disinvestment and economic decline. According to the 2024 American Community Survey, just over half of Flint residents own their homes, while about 46% are renters. The median home was built in 1953, which means much of the city’s housing is over 70 years old and in need of repair. Nearly 20% of housing units are vacant. Housing instability is common. Nearly 17% of residents moved in the past year, many likely due to eviction, unsafe conditions, or rising costs. The average rent is $927, and the typical home owned in Flint is worth just $63,000. At the same time, the median household income is only $37,416. Poverty affects 34% of adults between the ages of 18 and 64, and nearly one in five seniors.

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Between 2020 and 2024, the American Community Survey estimated that Flint lost an average of 344 residents each year. As the population shrinks, vacancy spreads, and property neglect gets worse. Too often, renters are left to deal with broken homes, rising rents, and landlords who don’t take responsibility. This is not just a personal problem. It’s a city-wide issue rooted in policy failure, economic injustice, and a lack of accountability. Housing in Flint is unstable because the system is built that way. And without organized resistance, it will stay that way. The Flint Housing Union is here to change that. We believe everyone deserves safe, healthy, and affordable housing. By coming together, tenants and homeowners can build power, hold landlords and officials accountable, and fight for the future Flint deserves.

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More than a Tenants' Union

Flint Housing Union (FHU) is more than just a tenants' union. We are a collective voice for all Flint residents facing housing insecurity, whether it’s eviction, foreclosure, homelessness, or living in unsafe and substandard conditions. Our mission is to organize tenants, unhoused residents, and struggling homeowners alike. For too long, the people most impacted by poor housing conditions, displacement, and neglect have been left out of the conversation. FHU is here to help fill that gap, and we welcome collaboration with existing associations who want to stand with us.

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We organize at the neighborhood level to build power and demand safe, stable, and dignified housing across the city. Our work isn’t just about responding to crisis; it’s about transforming what housing in Flint looks like. That’s why we’re laying the groundwork for a community-led nonprofit dedicated to acquiring, fixing, and reinvesting in Flint’s aging housing stock. This effort will put people before profit, centering the leadership and needs of residents to ensure long-term neighborhood stability and equitable redevelopment. Development by the community, for the community. That’s the vision behind the Flint Neighborhood Stabilization Collaborative, a project to be led by members of the Flint Housing Union.