Is it Legal to raise rent with only a 2 week Notice in Michigan?

The law in Michigan is very clear with regards to a landlord’s right to raise rent. If you have a lease, your landlord can not raise your rent until the lease has expired unless there is specific language in your lease that allows for an increase in rent while under the lease terms. In the event you do not have a lease, your landlord can raise the rent provided that he gives you written notice at least one rental period in advance. So if you pay rent on a monthly basis, your landlord must give you notice a month in advance. The only way he can give you two weeks notice of an increase in rent is if you pay rent every two weeks. If you pay rent on a monthly basis and your landlord only gave you two weeks notice of a rent increase, you are not responsible for the additional amount. However, you will be responsible to pay the increased amount the following rental period. Additionally, verbal notice is not valid, only written notice is allowed.

Assuming your landlord is allowed to raise your rent in two weeks, there are still certain steps he must take to evict you. First he must serve you a Notice to Pay Rent or Quit which gives you seven days to pay the increased rental amount. If you do not pay, he must the file a complaint and have the court issue a summons for you to appear at a hearing and explain why you are not paying the additional rent. If the judge finds against you at the hearing, you then have ten days to either pay the increased rent or vacate the rental property. Only after the ten days have expired can your landlord arrange to have the sheriff’s office evict you.

As you can see, your landlord may not immediately evict you and if he attempts to evict you without following the steps described above, he exposes himself to potential liability and claims for damages. If you feel your landlord is attempting to illegally evict you by changing the locks or removing your personal property from the rental property or by intimidating and/or harassing you, you should hire an attorney to assist you in your defense of an eviction action and also to evaluate your legal remedies.