Free Michigan Rent Increase Notice

▶ Watch overview

Michigan has no rent control and no cap on how much you can raise the rent – state law (MCL 123.411) even bars cities from imposing rent control – but a month-to-month increase is a change of terms: you end the old tenancy with written notice equal to the rent interval (one month, about 30 days) under MCL 554.134 and offer the new rent, and you cannot raise rent in retaliation (MCL 600.5720). Generate a clean notice below.

30-day (month-to-month) MCL 554.134 / 123.411 / 600.5720 Michigan Free PDF

This Michigan Rent Increase Notice raises the rent on a residential tenancy. Michigan sets no rent control and no cap on the amount – MCL 123.411 preempts local rent control statewide – and there is no rent-increase-specific notice statute. Instead, an increase on a month-to-month tenancy is a change of terms: you terminate the tenancy with MCL 554.134 notice equal to the rent interval (one month, about 30 days) and offer the new rent. Keep the increase out of the retaliation bar in MCL 600.5720. Our how to raise rent guide covers the timing, and the tenant screening laws by state hub helps you place reliable tenants in the first place.

Complete the fields below to generate a Michigan rent increase notice. The new rent and effective date must give the tenant the full statutory notice period. Service should comply with applicable Michigan law; retain proof of service.

A Michigan rent increase notice is the written notice a landlord gives to raise the rent on a residential tenancy. Michigan is a market-rate state: there is no statewide rent control and no statutory cap on how much the rent can go up. State law goes further than simply staying silent – MCL 123.411 (Act 226 of 1988) provides that a local governmental unit shall not enact, maintain, or enforce an ordinance or resolution that would have the effect of controlling the amount of rent charged for leasing private residential property. That means no Michigan city or county can impose a rent cap or rent-stabilization ordinance, so for private residential rentals there is no cap on the amount of an increase anywhere in the state. What the law regulates instead is how an increase is timed and why it is being made.

The first thing to understand is that Michigan has no statute that sets a notice period specifically for a rent increase. A rent increase is treated as a change in the terms of the tenancy. On a fixed-term written lease, the rent is locked for the term and cannot be raised mid-lease unless the lease itself contains an escalation clause; any increase takes effect at renewal. On a month-to-month or other at-will tenancy, the landlord changes the rent prospectively by ending the existing tenancy and offering a new one at the higher rent. The notice for that termination comes from MCL 554.134, which provides that an estate at will or by sufferance may be terminated by either party by giving one month’s notice, and that if the rent is payable at periods of less than three months, the time of notice is sufficient if it is equal to the interval between the times of payment. In practice that means a month-to-month tenancy – where rent is paid monthly – requires one month’s written notice, commonly stated as about 30 days, and a week-to-week tenancy requires one week. This is the termination-of-tenancy mechanism, not a dedicated rent-increase statute, but it is the rule landlords follow to change the rent on a periodic tenancy.

It is worth being clear about what the law does not say, because misinformation circulates. There is no 90-day rent-increase notice rule in Michigan. The only 90-day figure in this area is the presumption window in the retaliation statute – acts by a tenant within 90 days before a landlord begins summary proceedings raise a presumption that an eviction is retaliatory – and that has nothing to do with how much notice a rent increase requires. The notice period for a periodic-tenancy increase is the MCL 554.134 interval: one month for month-to-month, one week for week-to-week. Any written lease that specifies its own notice terms controls over the default.

Even with proper timing and notice, an increase can still be unlawful because of its motive. MCL 600.5720 prohibits retaliatory eviction: a court may not enter a judgment for possession that was intended primarily as a penalty for a tenant’s lawful attempt to secure or enforce rights under the lease or the law, the tenant’s complaint to a governmental authority reporting a health or safety code violation, or the tenant’s membership in or lawful activity of a tenant organization. The statute also reaches a landlord who attempted to increase a tenant’s obligations under the lease as a penalty for those protected acts. A tenant who shows a protected act within 90 days before the proceedings gets a presumption in favor of the retaliation defense, which the landlord must rebut. Federal fair housing law and Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act independently bar an increase aimed at a tenant because of a protected characteristic. Separately, the Truth in Renting Act (Act 454 of 1978, MCL 554.631 and following) governs what a written lease may and may not contain, though it does not set a rent-increase notice period.

Because Michigan sets no required method to serve a rent-increase or change-of-terms notice, the practical standard is provable written delivery within the notice period. Personal delivery to the tenant, delivery left at the premises when the tenant is absent, certified mail with a return receipt, or first-class mail all work; email or text is fine only when the lease or tenant authorizes electronic notice and you document it. Whatever the method, the notice should state the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date, and the landlord should keep a signed, dated copy with proof of delivery. Our how to raise rent guide walks through the timing, and screening applicants with verified reports keeps tenancies stable so the increases you serve actually stick.

Put together, a clean Michigan increase is simple but exact: confirm the tenancy is month-to-month or at renewal, give the MCL 554.134 notice equal to the rent interval (about 30 days for month-to-month) or follow the lease’s own notice terms, never raise the rent mid-term on a fixed lease that does not allow it, keep the timing outside the MCL 600.5720 retaliation bar, deliver the notice in writing with proof, and never let the increase track a tenant’s protected complaint. None of this replaces the screening you do at move-in – a tenant chosen for steady income and a clean payment history is the one most likely to absorb a lawful increase without a dispute.

• No rent control and no cap on the amount of an increase – MCL 123.411 bars local governments from controlling the amount of rent charged for private residential property.
• No rent-increase-specific notice statute; an increase is a change of terms – under MCL 554.134 give written notice equal to the rent interval (one month / about 30 days for a month-to-month tenancy, one week for week-to-week).
• No mid-term increase on a written-lease fixed term unless the lease expressly allows it; the increase applies at renewal.
• No retaliatory increase or eviction after a tenant’s protected action (MCL 600.5720).
• No discriminatory increase based on a protected class (federal Fair Housing Act and the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act).

• Michigan fixes no required method to serve a rent-increase / change-of-terms notice, but the MCL 554.134 notice must be written – a verbal notice does not satisfy it.
• Personal delivery to the tenant, or delivery left at the rental premises if the tenant is absent.
• Certified mail with a return receipt, or U.S. first-class mail, gives a dated paper trail; allow added days for receipt when you mail.
• Email or text works only if the lease or tenant authorizes electronic notice and you document it; keep the send record either way.

• Giving less than one full rent interval of written notice on a month-to-month tenancy (MCL 554.134 requires notice equal to the interval between rent payments – about 30 days).
• Raising the rent mid-term on a written-lease fixed term that does not allow it.
• Assuming a 90-day rule applies – Michigan has no 90-day rent-increase notice; the only 90-day figure is the MCL 600.5720 retaliation-defense presumption window, which is not a notice period.
• Raising the rent or moving to evict right after a tenant’s habitability complaint or tenant-organization activity – MCL 600.5720 treats that as retaliation.
• Relying on a verbal notice with no written record or proof of delivery.

• Read the lease first – a written lease’s notice terms control; with a month-to-month tenancy, give one full rent interval (about 30 days) of written notice under MCL 554.134.
• State the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date plainly, and set the effective date after the notice period runs.
• Deliver by a method you can prove, and avoid timing an increase right after a tenant complaint.
• Keep a signed, dated copy with proof of delivery in case the increase is later disputed.

Published by Tenant Screening Background Check

Established 2004 · 20+ Years · All U.S. States & Territories · Statute-Based · Attorney-Reviewed

A Private Eye Reports™ service trusted by landlords, property managers, and attorneys.