An eviction notice in Michigan is a written demand or notice to quit that a landlord must serve on a tenant before filing an eviction case in district court. The required form and waiting period depend on why you are ending the tenancy: 24 hours for certain drug activity, seven days for nonpayment of rent or serious property harm, and a full month to end a month-to-month tenancy. Skip the notice, use the wrong one, or miscalculate the days, and a judge can toss the case before looking at the underlying dispute.
Which Notice You Need and How Long It Runs
Michigan matches each ground for eviction to its own notice. Pick the one that fits your situation:
- Nonpayment of rent — 7-day Demand for Possession. The tenant has seven days to pay what is owed or move out. “Rent due” means the rent actually past due for the current period. It does not include any accelerated balance triggered by a lease breach clause.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5714 – Summary Proceedings to Recover Possession of Premises
- Drug activity — 24-hour Demand for Possession. Available when the tenant or someone under the tenant’s control manufactures, delivers, or possesses a controlled substance on the premises. The lease must contain a termination clause for drug activity, and a formal police report has to be on file.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5714 – Summary Proceedings to Recover Possession of Premises
- Health hazard or extensive property damage — 7-day Demand for Possession. Applies when the tenant willfully or negligently creates a serious, ongoing health hazard or causes extensive, continuing physical damage. The landlord must have discovered the condition no more than 90 days before starting the case.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5714 – Summary Proceedings to Recover Possession of Premises
- Physical injury or threats — 7-day Notice to Quit. Available when the tenant or someone under the tenant’s control causes or threatens physical injury to another person on the property. Police notification is required.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5714 – Summary Proceedings to Recover Possession of Premises
- End of a month-to-month tenancy — one month’s notice. Either the landlord or the tenant can end the arrangement by giving a full month of notice. If rent is paid at intervals shorter than three months, the notice period only has to match the payment interval.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 554.134 – Termination of Estate at Will or by Sufferance
- Holdover after a lease ends. Once the lease expires, the landlord can file after giving any required notice to quit.
Count the days carefully. A miscounted seven-day window or a month notice that runs a day short is one of the easiest procedural mistakes for a tenant to raise, and it can end the case before the merits.
Demand for Possession vs. Notice to Quit
The two documents are not interchangeable. A Demand for Possession, used for nonpayment, drug activity, and health hazards, gives the tenant a chance to fix the problem and stay. A Notice to Quit signals that the tenancy is ending and the tenant must leave. Serving the wrong one for your ground can invalidate the entire process.
What the Notice Must Contain
Michigan’s State Court Administrative Office publishes approved forms, and using them keeps you on safe ground. For nonpayment of rent, that form is DC 100a, “Demand for Possession Nonpayment of Rent.”3Michigan Courts. Demand for Possession Nonpayment of Rent It requires the landlord’s name, the tenant’s name, and the full address of the rental unit. It must state the exact dollar amount owed and make clear that the tenant has seven days to pay or move.4Michigan Courts. Instructions for Using Form DC 100a
A few points about the rent figure catch landlords out. Late fees cannot be included unless the lease specifically defines those fees as rent. Any accelerated balance from a lease breach clause cannot be included either — only actual past-due rent.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5714 – Summary Proceedings to Recover Possession of Premises Overstating the amount gives the tenant a clean defense.
For grounds other than nonpayment, including lease violations and end of tenancy, the SCAO publishes a separate Notice to Quit form (DC 100c). The same care with names, addresses, dates, and amounts applies. Keep a copy of the completed notice together with the lease and any payment records. All of it becomes evidence if the tenant contests the case.
How to Serve the Notice
Michigan law lists four ways to deliver a demand for possession or notice to quit under MCL 600.5718:5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.5718
- Hand it to the tenant directly. Personal delivery is the cleanest method and the hardest for a tenant to dispute later.
- Leave it with a household member of suitable age and discretion at the premises, with a request that they pass it along.
- Send it by first-class mail. Service does not count from the moment you drop it in the box. The date of service is the next regular mail delivery day after mailing, so a mailed notice effectively adds about a day to your timeline.
- Electronic service. Only valid if the tenant previously agreed in writing to accept electronic service and both parties confirmed the arrangement electronically.
Whatever method you pick, keep proof. For personal delivery, write down the date, time, and who received the notice. For mailing, hold onto the postal receipt. A court will not take your word for it. If you cannot document service, the notice may be treated as if it never happened.
What Happens If the Notice Is Wrong
Improper notice is the single most effective defense in a Michigan eviction case, and it is the first thing judges look for. A tenant can attack the notice on any of these grounds:
- Wrong notice type for the reason given (a Demand for Possession where a Notice to Quit was required, or the reverse).
- Miscounted waiting period.
- Service by a method not listed in MCL 600.5718, or a mailed notice filed too soon after mailing.
- An inflated rent figure that includes late fees or accelerated balances the lease does not treat as rent.
A related trap has nothing to do with the notice itself. If the tenant reported a code violation, tried to enforce rights under the lease, or joined a tenant organization within 90 days before you filed, the court presumes the eviction is retaliatory, and you carry the burden of proving otherwise. A perfectly drafted notice does not save a case that looks retaliatory on the timing.
One more boundary worth stating clearly: a notice does not authorize you to remove the tenant. Only a court officer, bailiff, or sheriff acting on a writ of restitution can do that. Changing locks, shutting off utilities, removing belongings, or otherwise forcing the tenant out exposes the landlord to damages of triple the actual loss or $200 per occurrence, whichever is greater, plus the tenant’s right to recover the unit.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.2918 – Damages for Forcible Entry and Detainer
After the Notice Period Ends
If the tenant neither complies nor moves out by the time the notice period runs, the landlord can file a Summons and Complaint in the district court where the property sits. The Summons is Form DC 104. The Complaint is Form DC 102a for nonpayment or Form DC 102c for other possession claims.736th District Court. Landlord-Tenant / Summary Proceedings Service of those court papers is stricter than service of the initial notice: under MCR 4.201, the summons and complaint must be mailed and served in at least one additional way, either personally, on a household member, or by posting on the main entrance after diligent attempts at personal service.8CourtRules.net. Rule 4.201 Summary Proceedings to Recover Possession of Premises
Courts generally set the first hearing within about 10 days of filing, and the tenant must receive the papers at least three days before that date.9Michigan Bar Journal. Evictions – Eviction Timeline Bring the original notice, proof of service, the lease, and any payment records. The judge will check every procedural step before turning to the substance of the case, which is exactly why the notice has to be right.