Detroit honored federal CDC and Michigan state eviction moratoriums from March 2020 through October 2021. The 36th District Court paused most non-emergency dockets, while the Detroit Eviction Defense partnership channeled $79M in rental assistance.
Although Detroit lacked a standalone local moratorium, the 36th District Court suspended non-emergency eviction proceedings under Michigan Supreme Court Administrative Order 2020-17 from March 2020 through July 2020, and again under various state extensions through October 2021 when the federal CDC moratorium was struck down by Alabama Realtors v. HHS. Detroit's COVID Eviction Defense Project, a partnership of United Community Housing Coalition, Michigan Legal Services, and the city, distributed $79 million in COVID Emergency Rental Assistance through 2023. The experience seeded political support for the 2022 Right to Counsel Ordinance, making Detroit one of the first Midwest cities with universal tenant counsel in eviction defense.
Filing eviction during active moratorium: case dismissed with prejudice, $1,000 sanction, possible referral to State Bar disciplinary counsel for landlord attorneys.
Detroit, MI
Detroit Ord. 2022-006, the Right to Counsel framework, paired with Title 18 amendments, requires landlords to state a just cause when refusing to renew an ex...
Detroit, MI
Detroit does not have a just-cause eviction ordinance. Michigan law allows landlords to terminate month-to-month tenancies without providing a reason, with p...
See how Detroit's eviction moratorium history rules stack up against other locations.
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