Housing Rights for Domestic Violence Victims in Michigan

Michigan law lets a tenant who is in danger from domestic violence end a lease early. A tenant who has "a reasonable apprehension of present danger to the tenant or his or her child from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking" must be released from the rental payment obligation after sending the landlord written notice and written documentation by certified mail.^[1] Separately, federal law protects people in federally assisted housing from being evicted or turned away because they are or have been victims.^[5]

If you are in danger now, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day at 1-800-799-7233, or by texting START to 88788.^[6] An advocate can help with safety planning around a move, which is a different question from the legal steps described on this page.

Who can use Michigan's lease-release law?

The statute, MCL 554.601b, applies to a tenant who has a reasonable apprehension of present danger to the tenant or the tenant's child from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking while the person is a tenant.^[1] It applies only to leases entered into, renewed, or renegotiated after the section took effect on October 5, 2010.^[4]

The law does not require that anyone has been convicted or even charged. Several of the accepted forms of proof, described below, do not involve the criminal courts at all.^[3]

How to ask for release from a lease

1. Write a notice. The tenant submits written notice of the intent to seek a release from the rental obligation.^[1] The submittal must include a written statement that the tenant or a child of the tenant has a reasonable apprehension of present danger from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.^[7]
2. Attach documentation. The notice goes with written documentation of the danger, in one of the forms the statute lists.^[1][3]
3. Send it by certified mail. The statute says submittal of the written notice "shall be made by certified mail."^[1]
4. Move out. The release does not take effect before the tenant vacates the premises.^[2]

Keep a copy of everything sent and the certified mail receipt. Because the timing of the release is counted from when notice is given, the mailing date matters.

What documents count as proof?

Any one of the following satisfies the documentation requirement:^[3]

Document	Condition
A personal protection order (PPO), a foreign protection order, or a juvenile court order removing an abusive person from the home	Must be valid and still in effect[3]
A probation order, conditional release (bond) order, or parole order	Must still be in effect and show the person is subject to conditions reasonably necessary to protect the tenant or child, such as no contact[3]
A police report that resulted in charges	Charges filed not more than 14 days before the notice[3]
An older police report that resulted in charges	Accompanied by a showing of verifiable present danger[3]
The statutory report form	Verified by a qualified third party[3]

The last option matters for people who have not gone to the police or to court. A "qualified third party" is a sexual assault or domestic violence counselor, a health professional licensed or registered under the Public Health Code, a mental health professional, or a member of the clergy affiliated with a tax-exempt religious institution listed in a telephone directory.^[8]

The second row means that an order from the criminal case can be used. A bond order with a no-contact condition is described in No-contact orders explained, and the civil alternative in How to get a PPO in Michigan.

When does the rent stop, and what is still owed?

The tenant is released from the obligation to pay rent "no later than the first day of the second month that rent is due after notice is given."^[2] In practice that means rent can still be owed for a period after the notice is mailed, so sending the notice promptly shortens the remaining obligation.

The statute sets limits on the release:

• It does not apply to prepaid amounts, including prepayment of first and last months' rent.^[2]
• It does not take effect before the tenant vacates the premises.^[2]
• The landlord may still withhold from the security deposit as the law otherwise allows.^[2]
• Co-tenants remain bound by the lease.^[2]

The last point cuts both ways. A roommate who is not involved stays responsible under the lease, and so does a co-tenant who is the source of the danger.^[2]

Will the landlord tell the abuser where I moved?

The statute forbids it. "The landlord shall not intentionally reveal forwarding address information or documentation submitted by the tenant under this section to the person that the tenant has identified as the source of the reasonable apprehension of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking."^[4]

That protection covers the landlord's conduct only. Other ways of keeping a new address private, including Michigan's Address Confidentiality Program, are described in Keeping your address confidential.

Does the landlord have to tell tenants about this right?

A lease may contain the statutory notice of the right. If it does not, the landlord must post the notice in the management office or deliver it when the lease is signed.^[4] The section does not make the release depend on the tenant having received that notice; it applies to leases entered into, renewed, or renegotiated after its effective date.^[4]

Federal protection in subsidized housing

The federal Violence Against Women Act adds protections in housing assisted under a "covered housing program." There, an applicant or tenant "may not be denied admission to, denied assistance under, terminated from participation in, or evicted from the housing on the basis that the applicant or tenant is or has been a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking," if the person otherwise qualifies.^[5]

Two further rules follow in the same section:

• An incident of actual or threatened domestic violence may not be treated as a serious or repeated violation of the lease by the victim, or as good cause to end the victim's tenancy.^[5]
• The landlord may split, or "bifurcate," the lease to evict the person who committed the violence while the victim stays.^[5]

These federal rules apply to federally assisted housing only.^[5] The list of covered programs was not captured for this guide, so a tenant should ask the housing provider or a legal aid office whether a particular building or voucher is covered. Michigan's eviction rules for private, unassisted rentals were also not researched here.

Staying in the home instead of leaving

Ending the lease is one option. Some people want to stay and have the other person kept away. That is done through court orders, not through the landlord-tenant statute: a PPO can restrain a person from entering onto premises, and a criminal court can impose a no-contact condition on bond.^[9][10] The details are in What a PPO can prohibit and Bond conditions in domestic violence cases. When a no-contact order is in place and one person needs to collect property, see Getting your belongings during a no-contact order.

Help with the cost of moving

Michigan's crime victim compensation program can pay some relocation costs. Within its overall limit, an award for relocation expenses may not exceed $3,800 per claimant, and the category covers first month's rent, a security deposit, utility start-up, moving costs, and up to 30 days of temporary lodging.^[11] Residential security can be covered up to $1,000 per residence.^[11] The eligibility conditions and the claim deadline are explained in Time off work, unemployment and victim compensation. Shelters and advocacy programs are listed in Where to get help in West Michigan.

What people get wrong

A common assumption is that the lease-release law needs a conviction or a PPO. It does not; a report verified by a counselor, health professional, mental health professional or qualifying clergy member is enough.^[3][8] A second assumption is that the rent stops the day the notice is mailed. The statute sets the outer limit at the first day of the second month that rent is due after notice, and the release never starts before the tenant has moved out.^[2]