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LANDLORD AND TENANT RELATIONSHIPS - Act 348 of 1972
AN ACT to regulate relationships between landlords and tenants
relative to rental agreements for rental units; to regulate the
payment, repayment, use and investment of security deposits; to
provide for commencement and termination inventories of rental
units; to provide for termination arrangements relative to rental
units; to provide for legal remedies; and to provide penalties.
A security deposit, or
damage deposit, is money, beyond your first month’s rent, that you
have to pay your landlord when you move in. Your landlord holds this
money as long as you reside in the unit. When you move out and if you have
paid all your rent and utility bills and you have not damaged the unit,
the landlord is to return this money. The same rule for every state.
It does
not matter what the landlord calls the money, it still is a security
deposit. If you pay your first and last month’s rent when you move in,
the last month’s rent is really a security deposit. The only exception to this rule in Michigan is a non-refundable fee,
such as a cleaning fee paid at the beginning of a tenancy. In other
states, a cleaning fee may or may not be permitted, as this can be
deducted from a security deposit.
Click here for more
on the Michigan Security Deposit Law
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Michigan
Real Estate Basics