A Detroit renter who relies on oxygen says she has been living on sunlight and plug-in lamps for months because the overhead lights in her apartment simply will not turn on. Cawana Kemp says ceiling fixtures in her kitchen, bathroom and living room stay dark every time she flips the switches, so she races to get chores done before sunset and lives the rest of the evening in a patchwork of lamp light. On top of that, she says she is also dealing with pests and plumbing problems, all of which have fueled a long-running fight with building management.
As reported by ClickOnDetroit, Kemp stopped paying rent in March 2025 after she says repeated maintenance requests went unanswered. She later signed a court agreement that required her to resume rent payments while management agreed to make repairs. Kemp says only some of the electrical work was actually finished and that multiple rooms are still without working overhead lights. The building’s front office told the station that a new management company has been in place for about two months, that staff are tackling a large backlog of work orders, and that an electrician and a plumber are now scheduled to visit her unit…