Michigan tenant screening and landlord-tenant law guide

No Michigan statute caps or prohibits application or tenant-screening fees; landlords are generally free to charge a reasonable amount to recover the cost of a screening report. Screening rules can change, so check the Michigan Compiled Laws and the state's official legislature site for the current requirements before setting a fee policy.

No Michigan statute specifically restricts a landlord's use of criminal history in tenant screening. Landlords should still apply criminal-history criteria consistently, since an inconsistent or overly broad practice can create disparate-impact exposure under Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (commonly cited as MCL 37.2502) and the federal Fair Housing Act. No Michigan-specific lookback-period law (limiting how far back a criminal record can be considered) was found.

Source of income is generally not a protected category under Michigan's state civil rights law, which extends protection beyond the federal categories to include height, weight, and marital status but does not add source of income. Individual Michigan cities or townships may have local ordinances protecting housing-voucher holders from discrimination; confirm local ordinances for the property's exact location before relying on this.

Federal FCRA §615 sets the baseline. Michigan has no state-specific addition to the federal adverse-action notice requirement.

Michigan landlords generally may not charge more than one and one-half months' rent as a security deposit (commonly cited as MCL 554.602). Deposits generally must be placed in a regulated Michigan financial institution, or the landlord may instead post a surety bond with the Secretary of State covering the full amount held (MCL 554.604). Landlords must give tenants a move-in inventory checklist, which the tenant generally has seven days to review and return (MCL 554.608). At move-out, a tenant must generally provide a forwarding address within four days (MCL 554.611); if the landlord claims damages, an itemized list must generally be mailed within 30 days of the tenancy ending, or the landlord forfeits the right to any deduction and must return the full deposit immediately (MCL 554.609–554.610).

Michigan is commonly reported to preempt local rent control statewide (frequently cited as MCL 123.411), meaning individual cities generally cannot enact their own rent-control ordinances — confirm this citation against current primary legal text before relying on it. Notice periods for ending a tenancy generally depend on the reason: a 24-hour notice for documented illegal drug activity, a 7-day notice for nonpayment of rent or certain lease violations/health hazards, and a 30-day notice for other lease violations; ending a month-to-month tenancy without cause generally requires one month's notice. Self-help evictions (changing locks, removing belongings, shutting off utilities without a court order) are generally illegal. Confirm current Michigan law before relying on eviction-case reporting practices or any statewide eviction-record-sealing program, particularly as this area of law is changing nationally.

Michigan organizes non-city land into townships, which can adopt their own local ordinances. The surrounding county generally does not layer a separate landlord-tenant ordinance on top of a city or township. For cities like Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and Lansing, landlords should confirm whether any local tenant-screening, application-fee, or source-of-income ordinances exist. Some Michigan municipalities may have adopted local source-of-income protections; confirm local ordinances for any specific city before finalizing a screening policy.

Does Michigan cap tenant screening or application fees? No statewide cap or ban was found; landlords are generally free to charge a reasonable fee, though this should be confirmed against the Michigan Compiled Laws directly and checked against any local ordinance.

What is Michigan's security deposit limit? Generally one and one-half months' rent, with specific rules on how the deposit must be held, itemized, and returned.

Is source of income a protected class in Michigan? Generally not at the state level, though individual cities or townships may have their own local protections — check the specific location.

How much notice is required to end a tenancy in Michigan? It depends on the reason: shorter notices (24 hours to 7 days) generally apply for cause-based terminations like nonpayment or drug activity, while ending a month-to-month tenancy without cause generally requires one month's notice.

Checkr can help Michigan landlords and property managers run FCRA-compliant tenant screening while keeping an eye on state-specific requirements like security deposit rules and local fair-housing ordinances. Get started at tenant.checkr.com/signup to set up compliant screening for your next applicant.

The resources and information provided here are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Always consult your own counsel for up-to-date legal advice and guidance related to your practices, needs, and compliance with applicable laws.