Michigan residential lease agreement

State form

• Michigan’s Truth in Renting Act requires every written rental agreement to give the address for notices to the landlord and to print a notice, in type of at least 12 points, that the agreement must comply with the act.²
• A Michigan lease may not require the tenant to give the landlord a power of attorney, and it may not put an extra charge on every allowed way of paying rent.²
• Michigan Compiled Laws Section 554.638 bars commercial sellers from offering printed rental agreement forms that omit the Truth in Renting notice or contain a clearly prohibited clause.²
• Michigan Compiled Laws Section 566.108 makes a lease for longer than one year void unless it, or a note or memorandum of it, is in writing and signed.³
• The Michigan Legislature’s tenant-landlord guide reproduces Form DC 100c, the Notice to Quit to Recover Possession of Property approved by the State Court Administrative Office.⁴

Signing

• For a Michigan lease of more than one year, the signature the statute of frauds calls for is that of the party making the lease, or of someone that party authorized in writing.³

Deadlines

• Within 14 days after the tenant moves in, a Michigan landlord who takes a deposit must give written notice of the landlord’s address, the bank or surety holding the money and the tenant’s duty to send a forwarding address.¹
• A Michigan landlord hands the tenant two blank copies of a move-in inventory checklist, and the tenant returns one within 7 days unless they agree on less.¹
• A Michigan tenant must give the landlord a forwarding address in writing within 4 days after moving out, or the landlord no longer has to send a notice of damages.¹
• A Michigan landlord who claims damages must mail an itemized notice, with repair estimates and the deposit balance, within 30 days after the tenant’s occupancy ends.¹
• Since a 2026 amendment, a Michigan landlord may send the deposit balance by direct deposit or electronic transfer instead of a check, within 10 days after mailing the notice of damages.¹
• A Michigan tenant who disagrees with the damage list answers by ordinary mail within 7 days, or forfeits the amount claimed.¹
• Under Michigan Compiled Laws Section 554.134, a tenancy at will ends on one month’s notice, or on notice equal to the interval between rent payments when rent is due more often than every 3 months.⁵
• When a Michigan tenant does not pay rent, the landlord may end the tenancy with a written 7-day notice to quit.⁵
• Michigan leases must let a tenant of more than 13 months leave on 60 days’ written notice after becoming eligible for subsidized senior housing or, per a physician’s notarized statement, unable to live independently.¹

Where it is filed

• A Michigan landlord must keep security deposits in a regulated financial institution, unless the landlord files a cash or surety bond with the Secretary of State to use the money otherwise.¹
• Michigan Consumer Protection tells landlords who use deposit money for other purposes to secure a security deposit bond and file annual certifications with the Department of Attorney General.⁶

Taxes and fees

• Michigan Compiled Laws Section 554.602 caps a security deposit at one and one-half months’ rent.¹
• The Michigan Legislature’s guide says a late fee is allowed but must be reasonable and proportionate to the landlord’s actual damages from the late payment.⁴
• A Michigan lease can pass along mid-term rent increases for higher property taxes, utilities or insurance only if it says so, and only on at least 30 days’ written notice.²

Law

• A Michigan landlord who misses the 30-day notice of damages is treated as agreeing that no damages are due and must return the full deposit immediately.¹
• Michigan gives a landlord 45 days after the tenancy ends to sue for claimed damages, and a landlord who does not fully follow the deposit-retention rule owes the tenant double the amount withheld.¹
• A clause that breaks Michigan’s Truth in Renting Act is void, and if the landlord does not cure it, the tenant can recover $250 for a prohibited clause or $500 for a missing required provision, or actual damages if higher.⁴

• Property address and what is included (parking, storage, appliances)
• Start date, end date or month-to-month term
• Monthly rent, due date and security deposit amount
• Rules on pets, smoking, repairs and utilities

It is not a roommate agreement between tenants, and it is not a commercial lease for a store or office.