Dan Gilbert's philanthropic organization is calling on the state Legislature to renew a program it says is crucial to keeping low-income families in their homes.

Why it matters: A soon-to-expire state law called Pay As You Stay (PAYS) has been instrumental in "incredible outcomes" from Gilbert's Detroit Tax Relief Fund, according to the billionaire real estate mogul's philanthropy leader, Laura Grannemann.

• It erased $52 million in property tax debt and helped 13,000 families avoid foreclosure in Detroit in 2021-25.

The big picture: The $27 million tax relief fund is a foundational program to help stabilize the most vulnerable, part of Gilbert's broader $500 million commitment to Detroit's neighborhoods.

• That 10-year effort hit its halfway point this year, and its leadership is now assessing how to evolve for the next five years.

Catch up quick: The mega investment from the Gilbert Family Foundation and Rocket Community Fund was announced in 2021, with the goal of improving residents' housing, finances and community spaces.

• Gilbert funded it with proceeds from a stock sale, per Crain's.

Zoom in: The tax relief program came first. It's premised on PAYS, which erases property tax debt penalties, interest and fees for people who qualify for an income-based property tax exemption. That usually amounts to around 50% of back taxes.

• Then, Gilbert's funding pays off the rest of the back taxes, giving the person who was in debt a clean slate.
• PAYS is set to expire in June. A bill to extend the program passed the Senate in October and was last heard by a House committee in December.

What they're saying: Gilbert philanthropy is using this moment, its halfway point, to "shine a spotlight on the fact that that is important legislation that should continue," says Grannemann, executive director of both the fund and foundation.

By the numbers: Of the total commitment, the fund and foundation spent $297 million by the end of 2025, or 60%.

• The money has supported 325 partnerships with nearly as many organizations to execute various programs: $110 million in the category of housing, $104 million in employment and economic mobility, $79 million in public life and $3.5 million in other areas.
• The Gilbert organization declined to provide Axios a full list of grantees and programs.

What's next: The overall strategy is to layer investments in different areas to improve lives holistically, starting with housing and moving toward jobs and finances. To determine success, results from partners are analyzed with Data Driven Detroit — though the data are likely years from fully coming together.

• Gilbert's group will learn from what's not working and scale what works, then make bigger investments so certain programs live on after the decade mark, Grannemann says.

More programs under the $500 million umbrella

More Detroit home sellers are becoming what Zillow calls "accidental landlords."

Why it matters: The move from hopeful seller to landlord has reached its highest level since late 2022, when mortgage rates topped 7%.

Between the lines: As buyers gain leverage and homes take longer to sell, a growing share of homeowners are renting their properties instead.

Zoom in: In Metro Detroit, 2.3% of rental listings on its platform in October were previously for sale.

Zoom out: Texas and Florida had seven of the 10 metros with the highest shares of accidental landlords, while Denver led at 4.9%.

• Shares were lowest in the Northeast and Midwest markets, including Boston (0.6%), New York (0.7%) and Chicago (1.3%).

State of play: Accidental landlords are most common in softer markets, Zillow found.

• They also add homes to the rental pool, which can ease rent prices. Single-family rents rose 2.6% in February from a year earlier, the slowest annual growth in Zillow data going back to 2015.

What they're saying: "I kind of wish that I'd sold and moved on," said a Maryland condo owner, who told the Wall Street Journal he'd relocated for work and was reluctant to sell at a loss.

🚌 DDOT bus riders will soon be able to track buses better in real time. City Council approved a $1.2 million contract for a vehicle-tracking system used by SMART and the People Mover. (BridgeDetroit)

📚 The city's public library system hired a consultant to determine exact repair costs for the Main Library on Woodward Avenue and 21 branches.

• Officials believe the system doesn't has enough money to cover up to $300 million in estimated repairs. (Detroit News 🔒)

⚖️ The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Michigan yesterday, ruling that the state's lawsuit seeking to shut down Enbridge Energy's Line 5 pipeline beneath a Great Lakes channel will stay in state court. (AP)

📚 Saturday is National Independent Bookstore Day. If you're into supporting locally owned booksellers seen by many as critical third spaces, try these events:

• The Howard Family Bookstore, in a long-vacant building on the west side, hosts its grand opening at 11am with speakers and live performances. The shop is designed to be a gathering space with coffee, tea and seating areas.
• Sidetrack Bookshop in Royal Oak will have raffles, "book pong," and other "treats and surprises" from 10am-6pm, per its Instagram.
• This map shows participating bookstores nationwide — though we expect nearly every indie bookshop will have something special afoot.

Seeking something a little less bookish?

🎤 The Detroit Youth Choir will perform Michael Jackson songs in the lobbies of Emagine theater locations for the release of the movie "Michael."

More bookstore fun and other ideas