Congressman John Conyers is asking federal housing officials to issue a six-month moratorium on new foreclosures in Detroit.
The moratorium would only apply to home mortgages financed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac that were in good standing before the city filed for bankruptcy.
Conyers sent the request to the nation's new head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Melvin Watt.
"We're asking him not to be bashful in using the tools under his control as director that would help us in coming out of this mess that we're in," says Conyers.
Conyers says such moratoriums have been issued before – for instance during the farming crisis of the 1980s, and in neighborhoods affected by Hurricane Sandy.
He says helping people stay in their homes will also help the city pay its bills.
RealtyTrac says the rate of new foreclosure filings in Detroit has actually fallen since the city's bankruptcy.
