Rental Property Rules in Michigan (2026)
39 rules on the books across Michigan, 16 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Rent Control
Local limits on how much landlords can raise rent each year, including which properties are covered and exemptions for newer buildings.
Michigan: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsMichigan has no statewide rent control and no cap on rent increases. A 1988 state law, MCL 123.411, bars every local…
Read full rule →Oakland County
Few RestrictionsOakland County has no rent control or rent stabilization. Michigan law (MCL 123.411) explicitly bars every county…
Read full rule →Just Cause Eviction
Protections requiring landlords to have a valid reason to evict tenants, such as nonpayment of rent, lease violations, or owner move-in.
Michigan: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsMichigan eviction procedure is governed uniformly by the Summary Proceedings Act. Landlords must follow statutory…
Read full rule →Oakland County
Some RestrictionsOakland County has no county-wide just-cause eviction ordinance. Landlord-tenant disputes in Royal Oak, Troy…
Read full rule →Rental Registration
Requirements for landlords to register rental properties with the city, including inspection programs, fees, and occupancy standards.
Ann Arbor
Significant RestrictionsEvery owner of a rental dwelling or rooming unit in Ann Arbor must register with the Building Department before leasing…
Read full rule →Clinton Township
Significant RestrictionsClinton Township requires every landlord to register a rental leasehold with the Building Department and hold a valid…
Read full rule →Detroit
Significant RestrictionsDetroit landlords must register every rental dwelling with the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental…
Read full rule →Farmington Hills
Significant RestrictionsOwners of single-family rental homes in Farmington Hills must register every rental with the Planning and Community…
Read full rule →Grand Rapids
Significant RestrictionsEvery rental dwelling in Grand Rapids, any unit not occupied by its owner, must be registered with the City annually…
Read full rule →Lansing
Significant RestrictionsEvery Lansing rental except owner-occupied single-family homes must register with the Office of Code Compliance, and…
Read full rule →Livonia
Significant RestrictionsEvery non-owner-occupied rental dwelling in Livonia must be on the city's rental registry and hold a current license…
Read full rule →Sterling Heights
Significant RestrictionsSterling Heights enrolls non-homestead (rental-type) single-family residences in a two-year registration program…
Read full rule →Troy
Significant RestrictionsOwners of a multiple family dwelling or rooming house in Troy that is rented for more than six months a year must…
Read full rule →Westland
Significant RestrictionsEvery rental dwelling in Westland, Michigan must be registered with the building department, and owners who don't live…
Read full rule →Wyoming
Significant RestrictionsEvery residential rental unit in Wyoming, Michigan must be registered with the city before it's rented, leased, or…
Read full rule →Dearborn
Some RestrictionsDearborn requires every non-owner-occupied residential property to carry a current certificate of occupancy, with…
Read full rule →Shelby Village
Some RestrictionsEvery rental dwelling in the Village of Shelby must register with the Village under Chapter 358, with new rentals…
Read full rule →Warren
Some RestrictionsWarren requires every landlord to obtain a rental license from the Rental Inspections Division before renting, leasing…
Read full rule →Security Deposit Rules
Caps on how much landlords may collect as security deposits, return deadlines, itemized-deduction requirements, and tenant remedies for wrongfully withheld deposits.
Landlord Entry & Notice
How much advance notice a landlord must give before entering an occupied unit, the permitted reasons (repairs, showings, inspections), allowed hours, and the emergency exceptions under state law.
Repairs & Habitability
The implied warranty of habitability, how long a landlord has to fix essential services (heat, water, plumbing, mold), and tenant remedies such as repair-and-deduct, rent withholding, or breaking the lease.
Michigan: statewide
StatewideHeavy RestrictionsEvery residential lease in Michigan includes a statutory covenant by the landlord that the premises and common areas…
Read full rule →Clinton Township
Significant RestrictionsClinton Township won't let a residential rental unit be occupied unless the owner has registered it and holds a current…
Read full rule →Lansing
Significant RestrictionsLansing, Michigan (Ingham County) bars occupancy of a registered rental unit unless the Office of Code Compliance has…
Read full rule →Livonia
Significant RestrictionsLivonia enforces habitability through its Property Maintenance Code, Chapter 15.32, which adopts the ICC International…
Read full rule →Warren
Significant RestrictionsWarren can condemn and post any dwelling unit or rooming unit, rented or owner-occupied, as unfit for human habitation…
Read full rule →Ann Arbor
Some RestrictionsAnn Arbor's Housing Code bars landlords from letting a vacant unit to new tenants unless it is clean, sanitary, and fit…
Read full rule →Dearborn
Some RestrictionsEvery Dearborn rental unit must have a private bathroom with a toilet, tub or shower, sink, and ventilation, plus a…
Read full rule →Detroit
Some RestrictionsDetroit's Property Maintenance Code makes it unlawful for an owner to occupy or rent out a building not maintained in a…
Read full rule →Farmington Hills
Some RestrictionsFarmington Hills holds every single-family rental to the Property Maintenance Code it adopted in Chapter 7, and City…
Read full rule →Flint
Some RestrictionsThe City of Flint adopts the International Property Maintenance Code by reference and fixes local weed-height…
Read full rule →Grand Rapids
Some RestrictionsNo rental dwelling in Grand Rapids may be occupied until the Code Compliance Department issues a Certificate of…
Read full rule →Shelby Village
Some RestrictionsRental dwellings in the Village of Shelby must meet the maintenance standards of the 2021 International Property…
Read full rule →Sterling Heights
Some RestrictionsSterling Heights' local Property Maintenance Code amendments in § 11-87 set minimum habitability standards for every…
Read full rule →Troy
Some RestrictionsTroy landlords who supply heat under a lease must keep habitable rooms at 68 degrees from September 1 through June 1…
Read full rule →Westland
Some RestrictionsWestland's housing code requires every dwelling, owner-occupied or rented, to be weathertight and rodentproof…
Read full rule →Wyoming
Some RestrictionsWyoming, Michigan landlords must supply heating capable of holding habitable rooms, bathrooms, and toilet rooms at 68°F…
Read full rule →Lease Termination & Notice to Vacate
Notice required to end a month-to-month tenancy, the rules and penalties for breaking a fixed-term lease early, and early-termination protections for active-duty military, domestic-violence survivors, and medical hardships.
Eviction Notice & Process
The notice a landlord must give before filing to evict, pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit periods, no-cause termination notice, how long the court eviction process takes in this state, and the tenant's options to respond or cure.
Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession
When an occupant without a lease gains legal protections, the line between a trespasser and a squatter, how many years of continuous possession adverse possession requires in this state, and how an owner lawfully removes a squatter.