Michigan Roommate Agreement
The Michigan rules that shape the document: no lodger law and no self-eviction between roommates, a default right to sublet without landlord consent, and the Ann Arbor nondiscrimination overlay.
Find out where you stand in Michigan
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Introduction
A roommate agreement is a private contract between co-tenants, not a lease, and it does not bind the landlord or change what the lease says. In Michigan, a handful of state rules sit on top of the national template: Michigan has no lodger statute, and because eviction under Michigan law runs only in favor of a landlord, roommates generally cannot evict one another at all; Michigan common law presumes a tenant may sublet or assign the leasehold to a roommate without the landlord's consent unless the written lease says otherwise; and Michigan's civil rights law exempts an owner-occupant renting a room or a unit of a duplex from the entire nondiscrimination section, including its advertising ban, which Ann Arbor's local ordinance narrows back down. Everything else, the rent split, chores, guests, and quiet hours, is covered by the national template.
Key Things to Know
- 1
Michigan has no lodger law, and roommates generally cannot evict one another at all: eviction under MCL 600.5714 is available only to a landlord, a person entitled to possession, not to one co-tenant against another. Removing an unwanted roommate is not a self-help matter in Michigan; the options are asking the landlord to modify or split the lease, mediation, or, where there is abuse or a threat of violence, a personal protection order.
- 2
Michigan's default runs the opposite way from what most tenants expect. Under 1928 Michigan Supreme Court precedent, Patterson v Butterfield, still cited in the state's own landlord-tenant benchbook, a tenant may sublet or assign the leasehold to a roommate without the landlord's consent unless the written lease itself restricts it. Most modern leases do restrict subletting, so check the lease rather than relying on this default.
- 3
No Michigan statute gives a tenant an affirmative right to add a roommate over the landlord's objection, unlike New York's Roommate Law. Whether a new roommate can move in depends on the lease and on Michigan's default sublease rule above.
- 4
No Michigan statute sets a default rule on joint-and-several rent liability among roommates. It is a matter of the lease itself, not state law, so state each roommate's payment share explicitly rather than assuming Michigan law fills the gap.
- 5
No Michigan statute addresses how roommates split a security deposit refund. MCL 554.602 governs only the landlord's collection of the deposit and caps it at one and one half months' rent; it says nothing about dividing it among co-tenants. Put the split in writing in this agreement.
- 6
Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act adds sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and marital status to the federal list of protected classes, but MCL 37.2503(1)(a) exempts an owner-occupant of a single-family home, or of one unit in an owner-occupied two-family building, from the entire nondiscrimination section, including the ban on discriminatory advertising, when renting a room or the other unit.
- 7
Ann Arbor's Non-Discrimination Ordinance (City Code ch. 112) protects a much longer list of traits than state or federal law, including source of income, arrest record, and domestic-violence-victim status. This local rule applies only inside Ann Arbor.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Roommate Agreement in Michigan, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Roommate Agreement guide walks through them.
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Michigan Requirements for Roommate Agreement
Michigan Default Right to Sublet Without Landlord Consent
Michigan common law (Patterson v Butterfield, 244 Mich 330 (1928)) presumes a tenant may sublet or assign the leasehold to a roommate without the landlord's consent unless the written lease itself restricts it. Add a clause directing the parties to check the lease before relying on this default.
Michigan No Self-Help Removal Between Roommates
Michigan has no lodger law, and MCL 600.5714 lets only a person entitled to possession, ordinarily the landlord, remove an occupant. A co-tenant has no standing to evict another co-tenant. Include a clause barring lockouts or forced removal and directing disputes to the landlord, mediation, or a personal protection order where there is abuse.
Michigan Rent Liability Allocation
No Michigan statute sets a default rule on joint-and-several rent liability among roommates. Draft the payment clause to state each roommate's share explicitly rather than relying on an assumed Michigan default.
Michigan Security Deposit Division Clause
MCL 554.602 regulates only the landlord's collection and cap on the security deposit; it does not address dividing a deposit among roommates. Add a clause stating how deposit contributions and move-out reimbursement are handled among the roommates.
Michigan Owner-Occupant Exemption for Roommate Selection
MCL 37.2503(1)(a) exempts an owner-occupant of a single-family home or of one unit in an owner-occupied two-family building from Michigan's entire civil rights section, including the discriminatory-advertising ban, when selecting a roommate for a room or the other unit.
Ann Arbor Nondiscrimination Overlay
Inside Ann Arbor, the city's Non-Discrimination Ordinance (City Code ch. 112) protects a longer list of traits than state or federal law, including source of income, arrest record, and domestic-violence-victim status. Note this local rule for units located in Ann Arbor.