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al wrote:
Hello.
I have a question about late fees. I live in Detroit MI, and in my lease it says that if rent is paid after the 5th of each month, a $50 late fee will be charged, plus an additional $5 per day. Various sources say this is illegal because it is considered 'excessive'; however, my landlord says it is legal because it was in the lease.
Interestingly, previous property managers did not enforce this $5 per day fee, but the new manager insists upon it. The fee will be applied if even $5 or $10 is still owed and these fees will be charged even for weekends and holidays when the office is closed. Is this acceptable?
I have a question about late fees. I live in Detroit MI, and in my lease it says that if rent is paid after the 5th of each month, a $50 late fee will be charged, plus an additional $5 per day. Various sources say this is illegal because it is considered 'excessive'; however, my landlord says it is legal because it was in the lease.
Interestingly, previous property managers did not enforce this $5 per day fee, but the new manager insists upon it. The fee will be applied if even $5 or $10 is still owed and these fees will be charged even for weekends and holidays when the office is closed. Is this acceptable?
13/05 16:29:07
refadmin wrote:
Dear Phil:
You and your landlord are allowed to contract for longer periods than the law provides. Therefore, if you knowingly and willingly entered the contract for 60 days notice to vacate, than that is a binding term. However, if the contract is ambiguous, than any ambiguities would be resolved in your favor. Also, your landlord is required to comply with the notices of damages and other requirements, so make sure that you check all applicable time periods. (Your landlord has only 45 days within which to sue you for any damages and thereafter is prevented.)
I suggest putting your concerns / arguments in writing and going from there.
You and your landlord are allowed to contract for longer periods than the law provides. Therefore, if you knowingly and willingly entered the contract for 60 days notice to vacate, than that is a binding term. However, if the contract is ambiguous, than any ambiguities would be resolved in your favor. Also, your landlord is required to comply with the notices of damages and other requirements, so make sure that you check all applicable time periods. (Your landlord has only 45 days within which to sue you for any damages and thereafter is prevented.)
I suggest putting your concerns / arguments in writing and going from there.
07/05 03:09:20
refadmin wrote:
Dear Nic:
Your landlord cannot just throw you out. You have a lease though not written, the terms of which required a 30 day notice for eviction unless you fail to pay your rent and then Michigan law provides for a shortened notice period of 7 days. Furthermore, you can make arguments to get out of your lease including that you were induced to enter the contract by fraud in that the landlord failed to notify you of the mold. Consider notifying your landlord in writing that if the mold is not immediately remediated, you will be forced to vacate the premises. If you are forced to vacate, and the landlord sues you for early termination, you will have laid a foundation for your defense.
In order to prevail in a lawsuit, you would have to prove your landlord's fraud and would have to connect the fraud to your damages. If you want also to sue for injury from the mold, you would have to prove that the mold caused the injury.
Your landlord cannot just throw you out. You have a lease though not written, the terms of which required a 30 day notice for eviction unless you fail to pay your rent and then Michigan law provides for a shortened notice period of 7 days. Furthermore, you can make arguments to get out of your lease including that you were induced to enter the contract by fraud in that the landlord failed to notify you of the mold. Consider notifying your landlord in writing that if the mold is not immediately remediated, you will be forced to vacate the premises. If you are forced to vacate, and the landlord sues you for early termination, you will have laid a foundation for your defense.
In order to prevail in a lawsuit, you would have to prove your landlord's fraud and would have to connect the fraud to your damages. If you want also to sue for injury from the mold, you would have to prove that the mold caused the injury.
07/05 02:40:03
refadmin wrote:
Dear Frustrated Shopper:
It is not a violation of Michigan Law to not provide you with a copy of the lease, nor is it a violation to hold your driver's license. However, I would question any landlord who has such policies. Certainly any person considering entering into a contract should be given the opportunity to have their attorney review the contract on their behalf. This conduct represents a lack of candor that should make any consumer wary.
I suggest sitting down with the landlord to negotiate the terms of the contract and when the time comes to execute the contract, take it in hand and let the landlord know that you will return it signed once your attorney has an opportunity for review. If the landlord does not allow this, then tell him/her that you will be reporting their conduct to the Attorney General's office.
Furthermore, Michigan law does provide in MCL 554.634, that a rental agreement shall state in a prominent place in type not smaller than the size of 12-point type, or in legible print with letters not smaller than 1/8 inch, a notice in substantially the following form:
“NOTICE: Michigan law establishes rights and obligations for parties to rental agreements. This agreement is required to comply with the Truth in Renting Act. If you have a question about the interpretation or legality of a provision of this agreement, you may want to seek assistance from a lawyer or other qualified person.”
You should look for this provision in the lease and point to it when speaking with the landlord in support of your desire to have an attorney look at the contract. However, again, if you have to take this position with the landlord, this is a red flag that future negotiations with the landlord are ominous.
It is not a violation of Michigan Law to not provide you with a copy of the lease, nor is it a violation to hold your driver's license. However, I would question any landlord who has such policies. Certainly any person considering entering into a contract should be given the opportunity to have their attorney review the contract on their behalf. This conduct represents a lack of candor that should make any consumer wary.
I suggest sitting down with the landlord to negotiate the terms of the contract and when the time comes to execute the contract, take it in hand and let the landlord know that you will return it signed once your attorney has an opportunity for review. If the landlord does not allow this, then tell him/her that you will be reporting their conduct to the Attorney General's office.
Furthermore, Michigan law does provide in MCL 554.634, that a rental agreement shall state in a prominent place in type not smaller than the size of 12-point type, or in legible print with letters not smaller than 1/8 inch, a notice in substantially the following form:
“NOTICE: Michigan law establishes rights and obligations for parties to rental agreements. This agreement is required to comply with the Truth in Renting Act. If you have a question about the interpretation or legality of a provision of this agreement, you may want to seek assistance from a lawyer or other qualified person.”
You should look for this provision in the lease and point to it when speaking with the landlord in support of your desire to have an attorney look at the contract. However, again, if you have to take this position with the landlord, this is a red flag that future negotiations with the landlord are ominous.
07/05 02:30:56
Phil wrote:
Hi, I have a Lease in Michigan which was for 6 months, and expires on 5/31/08. I turned in a hand written notice of intent to vacate at the end of May on 5/1/08. The complex stated I must give them a 60 day written notice not 30 day, so I must pay for an additional month. My lease states a 60 day notice is required but there isn't a penalty attached to that statement, rather the penalty is attached to a statement about my not being out of the apartment on 5/31/08 I incur double penalties or 2 months rent. So in Michigan is 30 days sufficient since the lease is at an end or am I stuck for another 30 days rent even though the apartment will be vacant?
Thank you in advance for your insight.
Thank you in advance for your insight.
06/05 17:55:16
Nic wrote:
Hi I Recently moved here. I am renting and have been for 3 months, the house is 500 a month and is a verbal agreement . when asked if theres anything wrong with the house before moving the answer was no. Three months later we find out that basements are not supposed to have mold as great as what we have, not told of the mold and all the problems of health issues of my family; asthma, severe weak immune systems, baby under 1 year old. We are currently having problems health wise that cannot be ignored. My problem is were poor right now and since the landlord gave no written lease can she throw us out and can we sue? Please Help I dont know what to do.
04/05 19:17:49
Frustrated Shopper wrote:
I have been looking at apartments to rent in the April 2008. During visits to inspect several apartment complexes, I have asked the apartment manager/representative to provide a copy of the lease so I could review the terms. Three out of the five mger/reps told me they would not provide a lease copy because it was there policy. One mgr/rep said they would have to check and get back with me and one provided a lease but it seemed she had to think about it first. All of these apartments that I have viewed were in Canton, MI. My questions are:
1. Is refusing to provide a copy of the lease when I am in the "shopping" stage a violation of any MI laws?
2. Is it a violation of any MI laws to ask for my Driver's license to hold temporarily while I am touring their apartment model?
I want to be an informed customer, protect myself from signing contracts, and I don't wish to provide my personal information in such a unsecure manner; yet it seems this is common practice. What suggestions might you have?
1. Is refusing to provide a copy of the lease when I am in the "shopping" stage a violation of any MI laws?
2. Is it a violation of any MI laws to ask for my Driver's license to hold temporarily while I am touring their apartment model?
I want to be an informed customer, protect myself from signing contracts, and I don't wish to provide my personal information in such a unsecure manner; yet it seems this is common practice. What suggestions might you have?
03/05 00:36:52
refadmin wrote:
Dear Jennifer:
Michigan law MCL 554.134 provides that if the rent reserved in a lease is payable at periods of less than 3 months, the time of notice is sufficient if it is equal to the interval between the times of payment. Notice is not void because it states a day for the termination of the tenancy that does not correspond to the conclusion or commencement of a rental period. The notice terminates the tenancy at the end of a period equal in length to the interval between times of payment.
You must abide by your promises in the lease and by the law. Therefore, you must pay rent for 12 months and provide one month notice. The landlord has the duty to mitigate his damages.
The fact that the landlord may take the security deposit plus one and 1/2 months rent to receive a windfall would be frowned upon in a court of law. Therefore, I suggest that you send a certified letter to the landlord indicating your position and your intent to dispute the damages if he does attempt to collect a windfall.
Make sure you provide notice of your forwarding address within 4 days of vacating the unit. Furthermore, when you get your notice of damages to be taken from the security deposit, make sure you provide your written objection to them in a timely manner.
I am not aware of a law providing for an exception related to a job transfer. I do not believe there is one. I did find, MCL 554.601a which sets forth conditions for termination of the lease, however a job transfer is not one of them and this statute is the place in which I would expect to find such an exception. MCL 554.601a provides that:
(1) A rental agreement shall provide that a tenant who has occupied a rental unit for more than 13 months may terminate a lease by a 60-day written notice to the landlord if 1 of the following occurs:
(a) The tenant becomes eligible during the lease term to take possession of a subsidized rental unit in senior citizen housing and provides the landlord with written proof of that eligibility.
(b) The tenant becomes incapable during the lease term of living independently, as certified by a physician in a notarized statement.
(2) This section applies only to leases entered into, renewed, or renegotiated after the effective date of this section, in accordance with the constitutional prohibition against impairment of contracts provided by section 10 of article I of the state constitution of 1963.
There is no harm in putting your request in writing to the landlord however. Furthermore, your logic and arguments make sense and are persuasive. These are arguments an attorney would make on your behalf in arguing why the landlord has no right to your security deposit. A certified letter with these arguments will do you well to provide the history to the court should the need to defend or prosecute on the security deposit arise.
Michigan law MCL 554.134 provides that if the rent reserved in a lease is payable at periods of less than 3 months, the time of notice is sufficient if it is equal to the interval between the times of payment. Notice is not void because it states a day for the termination of the tenancy that does not correspond to the conclusion or commencement of a rental period. The notice terminates the tenancy at the end of a period equal in length to the interval between times of payment.
You must abide by your promises in the lease and by the law. Therefore, you must pay rent for 12 months and provide one month notice. The landlord has the duty to mitigate his damages.
The fact that the landlord may take the security deposit plus one and 1/2 months rent to receive a windfall would be frowned upon in a court of law. Therefore, I suggest that you send a certified letter to the landlord indicating your position and your intent to dispute the damages if he does attempt to collect a windfall.
Make sure you provide notice of your forwarding address within 4 days of vacating the unit. Furthermore, when you get your notice of damages to be taken from the security deposit, make sure you provide your written objection to them in a timely manner.
I am not aware of a law providing for an exception related to a job transfer. I do not believe there is one. I did find, MCL 554.601a which sets forth conditions for termination of the lease, however a job transfer is not one of them and this statute is the place in which I would expect to find such an exception. MCL 554.601a provides that:
(1) A rental agreement shall provide that a tenant who has occupied a rental unit for more than 13 months may terminate a lease by a 60-day written notice to the landlord if 1 of the following occurs:
(a) The tenant becomes eligible during the lease term to take possession of a subsidized rental unit in senior citizen housing and provides the landlord with written proof of that eligibility.
(b) The tenant becomes incapable during the lease term of living independently, as certified by a physician in a notarized statement.
(2) This section applies only to leases entered into, renewed, or renegotiated after the effective date of this section, in accordance with the constitutional prohibition against impairment of contracts provided by section 10 of article I of the state constitution of 1963.
There is no harm in putting your request in writing to the landlord however. Furthermore, your logic and arguments make sense and are persuasive. These are arguments an attorney would make on your behalf in arguing why the landlord has no right to your security deposit. A certified letter with these arguments will do you well to provide the history to the court should the need to defend or prosecute on the security deposit arise.
28/04 15:54:43
Jennifer wrote:
Me and my fiance signed a 12-month lease of an apartment in January 2008. We now have plans to move out of state at the end of October. Our lease agreement states that we forfeit our security deposit and pay 1 1/2 months rent in the event of early termination. Wouldn't giving a 5-month notice be plenty of time for the landlord to get a new tenant and be aware of our move so that we do not have to pay or lose our security deposit? This complex DOES have 6-month leases, but unfortunately we did sign a 12-month lease. When I was single, and lived in a subsidized apt, I broke my lease to move out of state, and the landlord I had there told me that was a legal reason to break a lease, and I got every penny back. Is moving out of state, with proof of a new address in that state, a legal way to break a lease without losing out of your pocket?
25/04 23:27:37
refadmin wrote:
Dear Jason, it is only legal for them to bill you for water if that is what was agreed upon in your lease. Certainly you can dispute the bill and ask for an explanation in writing of how the bill is calculated.
15/04 21:59:39
Jason W wrote:
Is legal for the property management company of my apartment complex to send me a bill from them for water. There are no water meters on or around the building. I have no clue as to how they come up with the amount. When we first moved in, we had major leaks and the bill is still about the same even after they were fixed. The leaks lasted almost a month and there had to be a lot more water used that month than there has been after.
15/04 13:59:16
refadmin wrote:
Statutory law in Michigan addresses year-to-year periodic tenancies only, requiring one-year notice to terminate year to year tenancy. Common law defines month-to-month tenancies and requires notice equal to the interval of payment. Notice is not void because it gives a termination date other than the date of the start or end of rental period. Notice terminates the tenancy at end of a period equal to the interval of payment.
10/04 14:09:49
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21/09: Lease Law - Michigan
It is important for both the landlord and the tenant to be aware of the numerous laws that govern all aspects of the landlord-tenant relationship. The most important of these laws are:The Truth in Renting Act, MCL 554.631 to 641;
The Landlord Tenant Act, MCL 554.601 to 616;
The Summary Proceedings Act, MCL 600.5701 to 600.5759;
The Elliott-Larson Civil Rights Act, MCL 37.2101 to 37.2804;
The Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act, MCL 37.1101 to 37.1607;
Lease or license of residential premises / covenants / modifications, MCL 554.139; and
Damages for forcible entry and detainer / unlawful interference with possessory interest, MCL 600.2918.
Tenants who are having difficulties with their landlords can and should refer to these laws to hold their landlords accountable. For example, according to the Truth in Renting Act, landlords must EXCLUDE certain provisions from their leases and if included, they are automatically considered void. The tenant can make the landlord fix a lease with these illegal provisions and if the landlord does not, the tenant can take the landlord to court and win statutory damages and fees. Landlords are likewise required to INCLUDE certain provisions such as the name and address at which notice shall be given to the lessor and a very specific statement regarding the fact that the agreement must comply with applicable Michigan laws.
For those who are interested in knowing the landlord's obligation to maintain the premises, reference should be made to MCL 554.139. This law requires that landlords must keep the premises and all common areas fit for the use intended. They must also be kept in reasonable repair and in compliance with applicable health and safety laws of the state and of the local unit of government.
Tenants who are worried about the return of all or part of their security deposit should pay particular attention to the Landlord and Tenant MCL 554.601 to 616 as this act regulates security deposits. Landlords cannot collect more than 1 and 1/2 times the monthly rent as a security deposit. Furthermore, they cannot require a security deposit unless they notify the tenant no later than 14 days from the date a tenant assumes possession in a written instrument of the landlord's name and address as well as the name and address of his bank. There is also a requirement of a particular notice regarding the tenant's responsibility to forward their new mailing address to the landlord within 4 days after termination of occupancy: “You must notify your landlord in writing within 4 days after you move of a forwarding address where you can be reached and where you will receive mail; otherwise your landlord shall be relieved of sending you an itemized list of damages and the penalties adherent to that failure.” An inventory checklist is required at the commencement and termination of the tenancy. If a landlord wants to keep all or part of the security deposit for damages or other obligation, he must mail to the tenant, within 30 days after the termination of occupancy, an itemized list of damages claimed, including the estimated cost of repair of each property damaged item and the amounts and bases on which he intends to assess the tenant. The notice of damages shall include the following statement in 12 point boldface type which shall be at least 4 points larger than the body of the notice: “You must respond to this notice by mail within 7 days after receipt of same, otherwise you will forfeit the amount claimed for damages.”. Failure by the landlord to comply with the notice of damages requirement within the 30 days after the termination of occupancy, constitutes agreement by the landlord that no damages are due and he shall remit to the tenant immediately the full security deposit.
Tenants of an advanced age should be aware of MCL 554.601a, which allows early termination of a lease if the tenant becomes eligible to take possession of a subsidized rental unit in senior citizen housing or becomes incapable of living independently.
Regarding discrimination, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act provides protection from discrimination in housing accommodations on the basis of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, or marital status. There is an exemption in the law where the landlord or a member of the landlord's immediate family resides in one of the units. However, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race in ALL property transactions; and since federal law trumps state law, the federal law must be followed. Therefore, landlords can NEVER discriminate on the basis of race. Also, persons with disabilities are protected from discrimination. Landlords must accommodate disabled persons unless they demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship or that they or their immediate family resides in 1 of the units under certain circumstances.
Finally, a tenant is entitled to quiet enjoyment of the premises and landlords are prevented from interfering with that enjoyment unless they are acting pursuant to court order, or the interference is only temporary in order to make needed repairs or inspection as provided by law. Landlords are not allowed to enter a tenant's property whenever they want, nor are they allowed to eject a tenant in a forcible or unlawful manner. A tenant who is put out or held out of their rented property in a forcible and unlawful manner, is entitled to recover 3 times the amount of his actual damages or $200.00, whichever is greater, in addition to recovering possession. Furthermore, a tenant whose possession has been unlawfully interfered with by the landlord or their agents shall be entitled to recover the amount of his actual damages or $200.00, whichever is greater, for each occurrence and, where possession has been lost, to recover possession. Landlords cannot use or threaten force, nor can they remove or destroy a tenant's personal property. They cannot change the locks without immediately providing keys, nor can they board up the premises. They cannot interrupt a service procured by the tenant or which the landlord is under a duty to furnish, if that service is so essential that its interruption would constitute constructive eviction, including heat, running water, hot water, electric, or gas service. Lastly, they cannot introduce noise, odor or other nuisance.
Any person involved in a landlord-tenant relationship must be aware of these laws. Landlords must inform their staff as for example, if certain language is not included in leases and certain time frames are not met, rights can be very limited. Tenants who must breach their lease in advance pray for the landlord to miss the 30-day deadline. If the notice of damages retained from the security deposit does not go out within 30 days after the tenant terminates the tenancy, all rights to the security deposit and any other damages are waived. Also, it must be clear that deference must be made to the federal Civil Rights Act and no discrimination on the basis of race must ever occur. The landlord-tenant relationship is tenuous at best. Knowledge of the applicable law by both parties sets forth expectations, reduces unnecessary problems, and lays a foundation for a positive relationship.