Detroit, MI Rental Property Rules: Just Cause Eviction (2026)

Michigan has no statewide just-cause eviction statute, and Detroit has not enacted a local one. Residential evictions inside the City of Detroit follow the same summary proceedings framework as the rest of Michigan: a landlord may recover possession in 36th District Court for non-payment of rent (MCL 600.5714(1)(a)), for holding over after expiration of a fixed-term lease (MCL 600.5714(1)(c)), for material violation of the lease, for serious damage, for drug-related activity, for health hazards, and for other grounds enumerated in MCL 600.5714. Notice periods are statutory: typically a 7-day notice to quit for non-payment, a 30-day notice for termination of an at-will or month-to-month tenancy, and shorter notices for cause-based terminations under MCL 554.134. Detroit has, however, layered a procedural protection on top of this state framework: in May 2022, City Council enacted a Right to Counsel ordinance providing legal representation to tenants facing eviction at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, effective October 1, 2022. The program is administered by the Detroit Office of Eviction Defense within the Law Department. Right to Counsel does not change the substantive grounds for eviction or impose a just-cause requirement; it provides eligible tenants with an attorney during the 36th District Court proceedings. Council has from time to time discussed source-of-income discrimination and tenant anti-harassment ordinances codified at the Detroit City Code level, but neither converts Detroit into a 'just cause' jurisdiction. Statements that 'Detroit prohibits no-fault eviction' or 'requires good cause to terminate' should be treated as inaccurate.