How to Evict a Tenant in Michigan: Laws, Process, and Timeline
Michigan Eviction Timeline 2026: The 24-Hour Drug Notice Needs Two Things First
Michigan’s Summary Proceedings Act, MCL 600.5701 et seq., runs the eviction lawsuit through the district court (a municipal court where no district court operates, MCL 600.5704) on a faster track than an ordinary civil case.
Grounds and Notice Periods
| Ground | Notice Period | Statute | Curable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-payment of rent | 7-day written demand for possession | MCL 600.5714(1)(a) | Yes — paying within the 7 days ends the ground, and after judgment the writ cannot issue if the judgment amount plus taxed costs is paid within the 10-day window (MCL 600.5744(7)) |
| Lease violation, where the lease was terminated under a power to terminate “provided in the lease or implied by law” | Whatever the lease’s termination clause (or the law supplying the power) provides; 5714(1)(c)(i) itself sets no day count. Where the termination is by statutory notice to quit under MCL 554.134, the case runs under 5714(1)(c)(iii) instead | MCL 600.5714(1)(c)(i), (c)(iii) | Per what the lease actually provides |
| Serious and continuing health hazard, or extensive and continuing damage, discovered no earlier than 90 days before filing | 7-day demand for possession | MCL 600.5714(1)(d) | Yes — the ground only ripens if the tenant neither leaves nor substantially restores or repairs the premises within the 7 days |
| Controlled substance (schedule 1–3) manufactured, delivered, or possessed on the premises by the tenant, a household member, or someone under the tenant’s control | 24-hour written demand for possession | MCL 600.5714(1)(b) | No |
| Physical injury caused or threatened on the landlord’s property by the tenant, a household member, or someone under the tenant’s control, with police notified | 7-day written notice to quit | MCL 600.5714(1)(e) | No |
| No-cause, month-to-month | 1 month; if rent is paid at intervals shorter than 3 months, notice equal to one rent interval is enough | MCL 554.134(1); suit after the notice runs under MCL 600.5714(1)(c)(iii) | N/A |
| Holdover, lease term already ended | No separate statutory notice period — the ground runs from the end of the term itself | MCL 600.5714(1)(c)(ii) | N/A |
The 24-hour drug notice looks like a shortcut, but two conditions have to be met before a landlord can reach for it. First, a formal police report alleging the drug activity has to already be on file. Second, the lease itself has to contain a clause specifically providing for termination on these grounds — it isn’t a blanket right that exists regardless of what the lease says. Skip either piece, and the fast 24-hour track isn’t actually available.
The physical-injury ground under (1)(e) has its own limits written into it. It requires that the police department with jurisdiction was notified, and it does not apply when the person injured or threatened is the tenant or a member of the tenant’s own household, or when using it would violate federal housing regulations — so a tenant who is the victim of household violence cannot be removed on this ground.
Two groups of tenants sit outside the drug, lease-termination, holdover and notice-to-quit grounds unless there is just cause. Under MCL 600.5714(2) and (3), a tenant in housing operated by a city, village, township or other local unit of government, and a tenant of a mobile home park, is not considered to be holding over under (1)(b) or (1)(c) unless the tenancy was terminated for just cause (for a mobile home park, just cause under chapter 57a).
The Court Process
- File. Once the demand or notice period runs, the landlord files a complaint for summary proceedings in the district court for the county or district where the property sits (MCL 600.5706).
- Serve. The summons sets trial within 10 days of its issuance and has to reach the tenant at least 3 days before that date (MCL 600.5735(2)(b)). A court that has adopted a local rule under MCL 600.5735(4) uses a different clock: the summons commands the tenant to appear within 5 days after service.
- First hearing. Except as otherwise provided by court rule, the case has to be heard within 7 days after the appearance or trial date and can’t be adjourned past that unless both sides agree; a drug-ground case under (1)(b) is heard at the first appearance unless there are extraordinary reasons (MCL 600.5735(6)–(7)).
- Trial and judgment. A contested case goes to trial; a landlord who wins gets a judgment of possession, and in a rent case the judgment states the amount the tenant would have to pay to stop the writ (MCL 600.5741).
- The 10-day window. Unless 5744(3) or (4) applies, the writ must not be issued until 10 days after entry of the judgment for possession (MCL 600.5744(5)). Under 5744(3) the court may issue it immediately in a drug-ground case or where the tenant is causing a serious and continuing health hazard or extensive damage and won’t leave or repair.
- Writ and removal. Past that window, the landlord requests a writ of restitution, carried out by a court officer, bailiff, sheriff’s deputy, or local police officer.
What This Costs
Before filing a Michigan summary proceeding, confirm the current filing fee and any service or writ charges with the clerk of the district court that will hear the case.
What a Landlord Cannot Do
A Michigan landlord who skips the writ and just changes the locks without handing over keys, cuts off heat or water, or hauls out a tenant’s things is interfering with possession under MCL 600.2918(2), regardless of how much rent is owed. The tenant can recover actual damages or $200, whichever is greater, for each occurrence and, if possession has been lost, recover possession; a tenant put out by force can recover 3 times actual damages or $200, whichever is greater, in addition to possession (MCL 600.2918(1)). That protection cannot be waived (MCL 600.2918(7)). A tenant who has lost possession and does not peacefully regain it can bring an action for possession under MCL 600.5714(1)(f) or a claim for injunctive relief in the appropriate circuit court, and the damages claim can be joined with either or brought separately (MCL 600.2918(6)). The action to regain possession must be commenced within 90 days after the cause of action arises or becomes known to the tenant; the action for damages must be commenced within 1 year after the cause of action arises (MCL 600.2918(8)). Separately, MCL 600.5720 bars a judgment for possession when the tenant shows the termination was mainly a penalty for complaining to a health or code authority or for enforcing legal rights; if the tenant’s complaint or attempt to enforce rights went through a court or government agency within 90 days before the case was filed and that official action has not resulted in dismissal or denial, the law presumes retaliation and the landlord has to prove otherwise by a preponderance of the evidence. If the official action came more than 90 days before filing or ended against the tenant, the presumption runs the other way and the tenant carries the burden (MCL 600.5720(2)).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Michigan landlord use the 24-hour drug eviction notice for any drug activity? No — two things have to already be true: a formal police report documenting the activity, and a lease clause that specifically allows termination on that ground. Without both, the landlord has to use a slower track instead.
Does paying rent stop a Michigan eviction? Yes, at two points. Paying within the 7 days after the demand means the nonpayment ground never ripens. And even after a judgment for possession, MCL 600.5744(7) says the writ of restitution must not issue if the tenant pays the amount stated in the judgment plus taxed costs before the 10-day window closes.
How much time does a Michigan tenant get after losing in court? Under MCL 600.5744(5), a writ of restitution must not be issued until 10 days after the judgment for possession is entered, unless 5744(3) or (4) applies. That window is shorter in the drug-ground and health-hazard situations listed in MCL 600.5744(3), and it is paused if the tenant appeals or moves for a new trial within it and posts a bond to stay the case (MCL 600.5744(6)).