Eviction Process in Michigan

If you are being evicted in the state of Michigan, you may not know how to proceed. Learning about the eviction process in Michigan can help you understand your rights and options under the law. After reading this guide, you will understand the steps involved in the eviction process in Michigan and how long each step will take.

Getting Notice

Before your landlord can begin the eviction process in Michigan courts, he or she must give you the proper amount of notice based on the reason for discontinuing your tenancy. If you have created a health hazard on your property or have failed to pay rent, your landlord will give you seven days of notice.

If you have violated some tenet of your lease (for instance, keeping an unauthorized pet) you will be given a thirty day notice. Typically, for both rent and lease violation related evictions, your landlord will give you the opportunity to correct the problem in a specified time period. If you pay your rent or comply with the terms of your rent, your tenancy will be restored and your lease will continue.

Court Filings and Hearings

If you do not respond to the notice in the time allotted, or if you cannot make the rent payment requested or changes to your living situation, your landlord can begin the part of the eviction process in Michigan that takes place in court.

Your landlord will file a complaint with your local courthouse, and you will be served by your landlord or a process server with the complaint (which details why you are being evicted) and the summons (which tells you when your eviction hearing will be held).

You are not required to attend the eviction hearing, but if you do not attend, your landlord will win by default. If you were given improper notice, if your landlord has violated the terms of your lease, or if your landlord is discriminating or retaliating against you, you may be able to win the eviction suit. If this happens, you will not be evicted, the eviction process in Michigan will come to an end, and you may even be entitled to damages from your landlord.

Writ of Restitution

If your landlord wins at the hearing, the court will issue a judgment that gives you ten days to vacate the premises or face forcible removal by the sheriff. If you do not vacate during this ten-day period, a writ of restitution will be issued that allows the sheriff to remove you from the residence by any means necessary.

Your landlord is not permitted at any time to forcibly remove you. Your landlord must wait for the legal eviction process in Michigan to take its course, rather than changing your locks, shutting off your utilities, or otherwise harassing or intimidating you into leaving. If your landlord attempts to forcibly evict you by himself or herself, you may be able to sue your landlord for damages.