Michigan Tenant Screening Laws: What Landlords Can and Cannot Do
Michigan does not cap screening fees, caps deposits at one and one-half months, and has one of the broadest fair-housing class lists in the country. Here is how to screen legally in 2026.
Tenant screening in Michigan combines a permissive fee regime with a firm deposit cap and an unusually broad fair-housing law. The security deposit act sets the deposit rules, while the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act govern the report and who you may approve.
This guide walks through what you may screen, the deposit cap, Michigan’s wide protected-class list, and adverse action. If you are new to the mechanics, our overview of how to screen tenants step by step pairs well with the Michigan-specific points below.
Video: a plain-language walkthrough of Michigan tenant screening, application fees, deposits, and adverse action.
Key Takeaways: Michigan Tenant Screening Laws
- No application-fee cap. Michigan does not limit screening fees, but they must be reasonable and tied to the actual cost of the report.
- Deposits are capped at one and one-half months’ rent under MCL 554.602, returned within thirty days.
- You must disclose where the deposit is held. Within fourteen days of move-in, give the tenant the name and address of the bank or bond holding it.
- Michigan’s protected classes are broad. Elliott-Larsen now covers source of income, plus height, weight, marital status, and sexual orientation and gender identity.
What Michigan Law Lets You Screen
Michigan gives landlords broad authority to evaluate an applicant. With written permission you may obtain a consumer report covering credit, rental and payment history, employment and income, and public records such as criminal convictions and civil judgments, and you may decline applicants who fail your written standards.
Consistency matters more in Michigan than almost anywhere, because its fair-housing law protects an unusually long list of characteristics. Our guide to the minimum credit score for renting explains how to set a threshold that screens for risk without screening out a protected class.
Application Fees in Michigan: No Cap
Michigan does not set a statutory maximum on a tenant application or screening fee. The practical limits are reasonableness and consistency: tie the fee to the actual cost of the report and charge the same amount to every applicant.
Uneven fees, or fees collected without genuine screening, draw fair housing scrutiny – and in Michigan, with its broad protected-class list, the scrutiny is real. Treat the fee as part of a documented, even-handed process.
Watch the broad class list
Michigan protects characteristics most states do not – including height, weight, marital status, and source of income. A screening rule that incidentally filters on any of these can create liability even if it was not your intent.
Security Deposits Under MCL 554.602
Michigan caps the security deposit at one and one-half months’ rent under MCL 554.602. The deposit must be held at a regulated financial institution or secured by a bond, and within fourteen days of the tenant moving in, the landlord must give the tenant the name and address of where the deposit is held.
After the tenancy ends, the landlord has thirty days to return the deposit with an itemized list of any deductions. Mishandling the deposit can expose the landlord to double damages. Our deeper look at Michigan security deposit laws covers the move-out inspection and itemization rules.
Michigan’s Broad Protected Classes (Elliott-Larsen)
This is where Michigan stands apart. The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status, marital status, and even height and weight. In 2025, Michigan added source of income to that list.
For a landlord, that breadth changes screening. You cannot reject an applicant because their income comes from public assistance, a housing voucher, Social Security, or another lawful source, and you must be careful that criteria do not operate as a proxy for marital status or the other protected traits. For the federal baseline that stacks on top, see our Fair Housing Act guide for landlords.
Criminal History, Credit, and Eviction Records
A criminal record can be a lawful basis to decline in Michigan, but a blanket no-record policy is the most common fair housing trap. HUD’s 2016 guidance treats criminal-records screening under a disparate-impact lens, so a flat ban can violate the federal Fair Housing Act even without intent. Use an individualized assessment tied to the offense, how recent it is, and safety.
Credit history and prior evictions are cleaner when your standard is objective and consistently applied – and applied without becoming a proxy for source of income now that it is protected. You can read how eviction filings arise on our Michigan eviction notice laws page.
The FCRA: Consent and Adverse Action
When you pull a screening report through a consumer reporting agency, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act governs the transaction. You need a permissible purpose and written authorization before ordering the report, and you must send an adverse action notice if the report drives a denial, a higher deposit, or a co-signer demand.
The notice must name the reporting agency, state that it did not make the decision, and explain the applicant’s right to a free copy and to dispute it. Our FCRA compliance guide and the companion walkthrough of the adverse action notice spell out the requirements.
Fair Housing Compliance for Michigan Landlords
Elliott-Larsen and the federal Fair Housing Act demand the same discipline, but Michigan’s longer class list raises the stakes: uniform criteria, uniform application, and documentation showing you treated every applicant by the same yardstick across a wider set of protected traits.
Publish your criteria before you advertise, screen every applicant against the identical standard, and keep the file. In a state this protective, an inconsistent process is the fastest route to a complaint.
A Compliant Michigan Screening Process
Turn the rules into one repeatable sequence. First, publish objective criteria that do not single out any Elliott-Larsen trait. Second, collect a reasonable, uniform screening fee. Third, get written consent and order the report. Fourth, evaluate every applicant against the identical standard, including those paying with assistance. Fifth, if you decline based on a report, send the adverse action notice promptly – and give the fourteen-day deposit-location notice.
Income verification is the step landlords most often shortcut; our guide to verifying tenant income shows how to confirm ability to pay without singling anyone out. Run the same steps for every applicant and your file will tell a clean, consistent story.
Common Mistakes That Create Liability
The recurring Michigan errors are over-collecting on the deposit above one and one-half months, skipping the fourteen-day notice of where the deposit is held, missing the thirty-day return, and – increasingly – running afoul of the broad protected-class list by rejecting voucher income or letting criteria proxy for marital status. Denying an applicant on a report without the FCRA notice rounds out the list.
One standard, every applicant. Michigan pairs a firm deposit cap with the broadest protected-class list in the country. Build the cap, the bank-notice rule, source-of-income compliance, and a uniform screening rubric into your standard workflow.
Documentation and Recordkeeping in Michigan
Michigan’s broad protected-class list makes documentation especially important, because a complaint can arise from characteristics most landlords never think to track. Keep the signed authorization for each consumer report, a dated copy of the written criteria you applied, the screening results, and every adverse action notice, so the file shows you judged every applicant against the same income, credit, and rental-history standard and not on any Elliott-Larsen trait.
The deposit comes with its own statutory paperwork. Within fourteen days of move-in, give and keep proof of the notice telling the tenant which bank or surety holds the deposit, and use the commencement inventory checklist Michigan expects at move-in. At move-out, retain the itemized return delivered within thirty days, the move-out inventory, dated photographs, and repair invoices, since mishandling the deposit can expose you to double damages.
Set one retention policy and apply it to every file, approved or denied. A consistent multi-year record of applications, screening results, adverse action notices, bank-location notices, inventory checklists, and deposit accountings gives you the evidence to answer a civil rights inquiry or a deposit dispute. In the state with the broadest class list in the country, the record of identical treatment is as important as any single decision in it.
Do
- ✓Publish your written screening criteria before you advertise, and apply them to every applicant.
- ✓Get written authorization before pulling any report, and keep the signed consent on file.
- ✓Send an FCRA adverse action notice on every denial that rests on a consumer report.
- ✓Assess any criminal record case by case, weighing the offense, how recent it is, and safety.
- ✓Handle the security deposit and its return exactly as the state statute requires, and document it.
Avoid
- ✕Charge uneven application fees, or collect a fee with no genuine screening behind it.
- ✕Treat a permissive state as a lawless one – the FCRA and federal fair housing law always apply.
- ✕Apply a blanket ban on any criminal record, which risks a disparate-impact violation.
- ✕Improvise your standards applicant by applicant instead of following one written rubric.
- ✕Skip the deposit paperwork the statute requires, from itemization to any required notices.
Michigan Tenant Screening Laws: FAQ
Can a Michigan landlord run a background check on an applicant?
Yes. With written authorization you may obtain a consumer report covering credit, rental history, income, and criminal convictions. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a permissible purpose and consent before any screening report is pulled.
Is there a limit on application fees in Michigan?
No. Michigan does not cap tenant application or screening fees. Keep the fee reasonable, tie it to the actual cost of screening, and charge it consistently to every applicant.
What is the maximum security deposit in Michigan?
One and one-half months’ rent under MCL 554.602. The deposit must be held at a regulated financial institution or secured by a bond, and returned within thirty days with an itemized list of deductions.
Does Michigan require notice of where the deposit is held?
Yes. Within fourteen days of the tenant moving in, the landlord must give the tenant the name and address of the bank or surety company holding the deposit.
Is source of income a protected class in Michigan?
Yes. In 2025 Michigan added source of income to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, so a landlord cannot reject an applicant because their income comes from employment, public assistance, a housing voucher, Social Security, or another lawful source.
What else does the Elliott-Larsen Act protect?
Among the broadest in the country: religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status, marital status, height, weight, and source of income.
Can a Michigan landlord deny an applicant for a criminal record?
A conviction can be a lawful reason to decline, but blanket bans are risky. HUD’s 2016 guidance warns that a flat no-record policy can create a disparate-impact violation, so use an individualized assessment tied to the offense, how recent it is, and safety.
Does a Michigan landlord have to send an adverse action notice?
Yes. If a denial, a higher deposit, or a co-signer requirement rests in any part on a consumer report, the FCRA requires an adverse action notice naming the reporting agency and explaining the right to a free report and to dispute it.
How long should a Michigan landlord keep tenant screening records?
Keep applications, signed authorizations, screening results, adverse action notices, and deposit accountings for every applicant – approved or denied – for several years. In Michigan, a consistent retention policy is the evidence that you treated every applicant by the same standard if a fair housing or deposit dispute later arises.
When must a Michigan landlord send the adverse action notice?
Send it promptly whenever a consumer report contributes to an adverse decision – a denial, a higher deposit, or a co-signer requirement. The FCRA notice must name the reporting agency, state that it did not make the decision, and tell the Michigan applicant how to get a free copy of the report and dispute any error.
Related Michigan and Screening Guides
- Tenant screening laws by state – compare Michigan to the rest of the country.
- Michigan security deposit laws – deductions, itemization, and the return deadline.
- Michigan eviction notice laws – notice periods and the eviction timeline.
- Michigan rent increase laws – notice rules for raising the rent.
- Michigan late fee laws – what you can charge for late rent.
- How a tenant background check works – what a report includes.
- Michigan habitability laws – your maintenance obligations as a landlord.
Screen Michigan Applicants the Compliant Way
Order FCRA-ready credit, criminal, and eviction reports and keep your Michigan process consistent from application to decision.
Published by Tenant Screening Background Check · Editorial Team
Established 2004. Our editorial team has spent two decades helping landlords and property managers run lawful, FCRA-compliant tenant screening across all 50 states. We translate state landlord-tenant codes and federal screening rules into processes you can actually follow.
Legal Disclaimer
This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Michigan and federal laws change, and how they apply depends on your specific facts. Before acting on any screening, fee, deposit, or fair housing question, consult a licensed attorney in Michigan. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
