Skip to content
PayByTown

Breaking a lease in Michigan

Source: MCL 554.134; MCL 554.601a; MCL 554.601b · Checked against the statute

Tenant notice, month-to-month
1 month
Landlord must try to re-rent
Yes
State early-termination rights
Domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking; Age, illness or disability

When can I move out in Michigan?

Choose your state, your situation and the date your landlord will receive notice.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

If you are the tenant

  • Tenant or landlord: Either party may end a tenancy at will with one month's notice; when rent is paid more often than every 3 months, notice equal to the rent interval is enough. A notice is not void because its date does not match a rental period: it ends the tenancy one rent interval after notice (MCL 554.134(1)).

Written notice required: Not stated. MCL 554.134(1) does not say whether a tenant's notice to end a tenancy at will must be written; the 7-day nonpayment notice must be written (MCL 554.134(2)).

Week-to-week and other periodic tenancies

  • year-to-year, both: Varies (see rule). A year-to-year tenancy may be ended by notice to quit at any time; it ends one year after the notice is served (MCL 554.134(3)).

Leaving a fixed-term lease early

Michigan Legal Help says a tenant who moves out before a lease ends will probably have to pay rent through the end of the lease, subject to the landlord's duty to mitigate.

Landlord's duty to re-rent: Yes. Michigan Court of Appeals decisions hold that when a tenant wrongfully abandons the premises the landlord must use reasonable efforts to mitigate damages, with the tenant bearing the burden to prove unreasonableness (Jefferson Dev. Co. v. Heritage Cleaners, 109 Mich App 606 (1981), citing Froling v. Bischoff, 73 Mich App 496 (1977)).

Lease-break fees: No statutory cap on lease-break fees; the lease controls (subject to mitigation).

When Michigan law lets you leave early

  • Domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking (MCL 554.601b)

    A tenant with a reasonable apprehension of present danger to the tenant or the tenant's child from domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking can be released from future rent.

    Proof:
    A valid personal protection order or similar court order, a probation/parole order with no-contact conditions, a police report that led to charges, or other documents listed in MCL 554.601b(3); written notice sent by certified mail.
    What you still owe:
    Released from rent no later than the first day of the second month that rent is due after notice (and not before moving out); prepaid amounts are not refunded.

  • Age, illness or disability (MCL 554.601a)

    A tenant who has lived in the unit more than 13 months may end the lease with 60 days' written notice on becoming eligible for subsidized senior housing or becoming unable to live independently; leases must include this right.

    Notice:
    60 days, in writing
    Proof:
    Written proof of eligibility for subsidized senior housing, or a physician's notarized statement that the tenant can no longer live independently.
    What you still owe:
    Not stated beyond the 60-day notice.

Military orders, every state: the federal SCRA lets servicemembers with orders (permanent change of station or deployment of 90+ days) end a lease with written notice and a copy of the orders. How the SCRA date is counted.

Also good to know

  • MCL 554.601a applies to leases entered into, renewed or renegotiated after June 15, 1995.
  • MCL 554.601b applies only to leases entered into, renewed or renegotiated after it took effect (Oct. 5, 2010); other tenants on the same lease remain bound by it (MCL 554.601b(5), (6)).

Next steps

Sources

Laws change. This page was checked against the sources above on October 13, 2026. It is legal information, not legal advice; see our methodology.