Registered to Renting · 4 min read
Service notes
- A Michigan security deposit may not exceed 1.5 months’ rent.
- A landlord who wants to keep part of a deposit must mail an itemized damage list within 30 days after you move out.
- Detroit’s Right to Counsel law gives eligible tenants facing eviction a free lawyer in 36th District Court.
Michigan has one of the more detailed security deposit laws in the country, but it only protects you if you meet your own deadlines. This guide walks through the rules in the order you will meet them, from signing the lease to getting your money back, using the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Residential Landlord-Tenant Law Benchbook, which quotes the Landlord-Tenant Relationships Act (MCL 554.601 and following). It is general information, not legal advice.
How much a landlord can ask for
The law is short: a security deposit shall not exceed 1-1/2 months’ rent. The first full rental period under the lease, usually the first month’s rent, may not be counted as part of the deposit. On a $1,100 monthly rent, the most a landlord can hold as a deposit is $1,650.
Where the money goes is regulated too. The Michigan Attorney General’s office explains that landlords must put deposits in a regulated financial institution, such as a bank or credit union. A landlord who wants to use deposit money for other purposes must post a surety bond with the state and file annual certifications.
The timeline
| When | Who | What the law requires |
|---|---|---|
| Within 14 days of move-in | Landlord | Written notice of the landlord’s name and address and of the bank or surety holding your deposit, plus your duty to give a forwarding address |
| Within 7 days of move-in | Tenant | Complete the inventory checklist, note the condition of the home and return a copy to the landlord |
| Within 4 days of move-out | Tenant | Give the landlord a forwarding address in writing |
| Within 30 days of move-out | Landlord | Mail an itemized list of claimed damages with estimated repair costs, plus a check for any undisputed balance |
| Within 45 days of move-out | Landlord | Sue for the disputed amount or return the balance |
The move-in checklist
The landlord must give you an inventory checklist, and it must carry a notice in 12-point bold type at the top telling you to complete it and return it within 7 days. It becomes your main evidence later. Note every scratch, stain and broken fixture, take dated photos and keep a copy.
The forwarding address
Your lease or the notice must tell you, in bold type, that you have to notify the landlord in writing within 4 days after you move of an address where you can be reached. Send it in a way you can prove, such as email plus certified mail.
What a deposit can be used for
Under the act, a deposit may be used solely for four things: actual damages to the rental unit, rent due under the lease, utility bills, and rent lost because a tenant ended a lease early. Courts have held that actual damages do not include ordinary cleaning costs. A grimy wall or a soiled carpet that is not itself damaged is not a deductible item.
If the landlord misses a deadline
The 30-day itemized list is the key protection. A landlord who does not comply with the requirement to sue or return the balance within 45 days waives the claimed damages and becomes liable to the tenant for double the amount of the deposit retained. When you receive a damage list, you have a short window to respond in writing; the benchbook notes that a tenant who fails to respond forfeits only the damages that were properly claimed, not money wrongfully kept.
Tip: Put every deposit-related message in writing and keep copies: the signed checklist, your forwarding address, the landlord’s damage list and your reply. In a dispute, the paper trail usually decides the outcome.
Facing eviction in Detroit: a free lawyer
Detroit adopted a Right to Counsel law in May 2022. Its Office of Eviction Defense works with local legal services so that eligible tenants in eviction cases at the 36th District Court can have a lawyer at no cost. Tenant households with gross income up to twice the federal poverty level qualify, regardless of national origin. The city has funded the office with $18 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.
- Go to your hearing on the date and time in your notice. Missing it is the most damaging mistake.
- Tell the judge you want to speak with a free lawyer.
- For in-person hearings, lawyers are available in room 417 of the courthouse; for virtual hearings, ask for the breakout room.
- For help before a court date, call the Detroit Housing Resource HelpLine at 866-313-2520.
Avoiding rental scams
The Michigan Department of Attorney General warns about two common frauds. In a hijacked ad, a scammer copies a real listing onto another site and collects deposits for a home they do not control. In a phantom rental, the listing is invented, often at a rent far below others in the area. Never pay a deposit before you have seen the inside of the home and confirmed who owns it; Detroit’s assessor records and the city’s rental map are useful checks, as described in Before You Rent in Detroit: How to Check a Home’s Certificate of Compliance.
For water service, which many Detroit leases put in the tenant’s name, see Water Service in Detroit: Starting an Account, the Drainage Charge and the Lifeline Plan.