Michigan: Rental Application and Tenant-Screening Fee Requirements
The short answer
Michigan has no general statewide statute that caps or creates a special process for an ordinary residential application, credit-check, background-check, or tenant-screening fee. Its current landlord-tenant, truth-in-renting, and real-estate licensing schemes add no applicant-fee receipt, refund, reusable-report, application-order, or adverse-action procedure. For MSHDA-regulated Low-Income Housing Tax Credit units, current agency policy permits only a customary and reasonable application fee and bars a charge for the special paperwork used to establish program eligibility.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Michigan. Ezel applies current Michigan law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and coverage | No general statewide applicant-fee statute after audit of 1972 PA 348 (MCL §§ 554.601-.616), the Truth in Renting Act, and Occupational Code art. 25; a narrower MSHDA rule governs LIHTC units |
|---|---|
| Fees allowed or prohibited | No general-market provision specifically authorizes or prohibits an application or screening fee; MSHDA permits a customary and reasonable LIHTC application fee but bars a fee for required eligibility paperwork |
| Maximum charge and adjustment | No statewide general-market numeric, actual-cost, per-applicant, per-household, or indexed ceiling; LIHTC program rule is customary and reasonable |
| Permitted costs and charge timing | No general-market fee-component, vacancy, charge-when-considered, concurrent-application, or repeat-charge rule; LIHTC special eligibility paperwork cannot be charged to the applicant |
| Before-screening disclosures | No general statewide fee, vacancy, criteria, report-source, dispute-right, reusable-report, or application-order disclosure; LIHTC projects remain subject to program rules |
| Receipt, report copy, and refund | No general statewide application-fee receipt, landlord-obtained-report copy, unused-fee refund, or unconsidered-application refund rule |
| Applicant-supplied or reusable reports | No current statewide applicant-supplied or reusable screening-report acceptance or no-fee procedure |
| Application order and adverse action | No statewide first-in-order, first-qualified, single-application, or Michigan denial-reason notice process for ordinary rental applications |
| Remedies and stronger local rules | No application-fee-specific statutory damages or statewide fee-preemption clause in the audited general-market schemes; the LIHTC rule applies only to regulated projects |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Michigan has no general-market fee process
The current Landlord-Tenant Relationship Act, MCL §§ 554.601-.616, does not
create an ordinary rental-application or tenant-screening fee process. The
Michigan Judicial Institute's current benchbook maps that Act to security
deposits, information exchanged during the tenancy, move-in and move-out
inventories, damage claims, specified early-termination rights, and source-of-
income discrimination. Its complete Act discussion contains no application-
fee cap, applicant receipt, report-copy duty, refund deadline, reusable-report
system, application order, or state adverse-action notice.
The Truth in Renting Act, MCL §§ 554.631-.641, regulates clauses in written
rental agreements rather than establishing a pre-tenancy screening-fee system.
Article 25 of the Occupational Code reaches licensed property management, and
MCL § 339.2501 defines that work to include offering another person's real
property for rent. The current LARA licensing materials add no tenant-facing
application-fee amount, disclosure, receipt, refund, report-copy, reusable-
report, processing-order, or denial-notice rule.
Accordingly, the audited general-market schemes create no special statewide
requirement for:
- a numeric, actual-cost, per-person, or indexed maximum;
- proof that a vacancy exists or that an application will be considered;
- advance disclosure of the fee basis, criteria, or reporting agency;
- an application-fee receipt, screening-report copy, or unused-fee refund;
- acceptance of an applicant-supplied or reusable report;
- first-in-order or first-qualified processing; or
- a Michigan-format denial or conditional-approval notice.
A narrower rule applies to MSHDA-regulated LIHTC units
Michigan's April 2026 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit compliance manual states
that an application fee is permissible if customary and reasonable. It also
bars charging for the special paperwork required to establish eligibility for
a LIHTC unit, including the tenant income certification, third-party
verifications, and compliance checklist. That program rule does not establish
a statewide ceiling for an ordinary market-rate rental application.
What trips people up
The security-deposit cap is not an application-fee cap. MCL § 554.601(d)
defines a security deposit as money held during the rental agreement or other
money returnable on the condition that the unit is returned as required. An
ordinary nonrefundable screening charge should not be treated as though the
Act's security-deposit amount, inventory, or return procedures automatically
govern it.
The reusable-report and fee-cap rules are proposals, not current law. SB
372 has advanced to the Senate order of third reading, but it has not passed
the Senate or become law. HB 4995, HB 4770, and the fair-chance companion bills
also remain in committee. The Legislature's current calendar showed both
chambers returning July 29, 2026, so these measures remain live rather than
dead after adjournment.
The LIHTC rule is program-specific. A customary-and-reasonable limit in a
MSHDA compliance manual for regulated affordable units is not a general rule
for every Michigan landlord.
Common questions
Is there a statewide maximum rental application fee? No general-market
numeric or cost-based ceiling appears in the current audited schemes. A MSHDA-
regulated LIHTC project must follow the narrower customary-and-reasonable rule.
Must a landlord refund the fee after denial? Current general Michigan law
does not create a special denial-refund deadline for an ordinary application.
HB 4770 would require one if enacted.
Must a landlord accept a reusable screening report? Not under current
statewide law. SB 372 and HB 4995 would create elective acceptance systems if
enacted.
Must the landlord give me the report or written reasons? The audited
general state statutes create no special report-copy or Michigan-format denial
notice tied to an application fee. Separate federal duties can still apply.
Statutes and sources
- 1972 PA 348; MCL §§ 554.601-.616 — current official judicial audit of
the Landlord-Tenant Relationship Act.The LTRA details the parties’ duties and obligations with regard to the
amount of a tenant’s security deposit, its use, the transmission of
information between the landlord and the tenant, and the settlement of
disputes. The LTRA also briefly addresses special circumstances of early
lease termination.
Official source: https://www.courts.michigan.gov/4a4eb6/siteassets/publications/benchbooks/lltbb/lltbbresponsivehtml5.zip/LLTBB/Ch_2_Specific_Acts/Chapter_2__58__Specific_Landlord-Tenant_Laws.htm (accessed 2026-07-21)
- 1972 PA 348 title and MCL § 554.601(d) — current baseline recited in
official Legislative Service Bureau bill text.
An act to regulate relationships between landlords and tenants relative to
rental agreements for rental units; to regulate the payment, repayment,
use and investment of security deposits; to provide for commencement and
termination inventories of rental units; to provide for termination
arrangements relative to rental units; to provide for legal remedies; and
to provide penalties.
Official sources: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2025-2026/billintroduced/Senate/htm/2025-SIB-0372.htm and https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2025-2026/billintroduced/House/htm/2025-HIB-4770.htm (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Truth in Renting Act, MCL §§ 554.631-.641 — current judicial audit of
prohibited clauses, required clauses, and remedies for written rental
agreements.
2.2 Truth in Renting Act ... A. Specifically Prohibited Clauses ... B.
Specifically Required Clauses ... C. Remedies and Actions for TRA
Violations.
Official source: https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/publications/benchbooks/lltbb/lltbb.pdf?r=1 (accessed 2026-07-21)
- MCL § 339.2501 — Article 25 property-management definition reproduced by
LARA.
“Property management” means the leasing or renting, or the offering to
lease or rent, of real property of others for a fee, commission,
compensation, or other valuable consideration pursuant to a property
management employment contract.
Official source: https://www.michigan.gov/lara/-/media/Project/Websites/lara/bpl/Real-Estate-Brokers-and-Salespersons/Licensing-Information/Real-Estate-Broker-Company-and-Branch-Office-Licensing-Guide-and-FAQ.pdf (accessed 2026-07-21)
- MSHDA LIHTC Compliance Manual, chapter 4, part 432 — application-fee rule
for regulated LIHTC units.
Application Fee. Permissible if customary and reasonable. However, no fee
can be charged for the special paperwork ... that is required to establish
a tenant's eligibility to reside in a LIHTC unit.
Official source: https://www.michigan.gov/mshda/-/media/Project/Websites/mshda/rental/Property-Managers/Compliance-for-Rental-Housing/Manuals-Policies-and-Codes/LIHTC-Compliance-Manual/CM-Chapter-4-Income-Rent-and-Utility-Allowances.pdf (accessed 2026-07-21)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
Get the answer for your situation
You just read how Michigan handles this in general. Ezel applies current Michigan law to your facts and answers your specific question, with citations.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.