Eviction: What Is It and How Does It Start?

Eviction is the legal process of making a tenant move out of a rental home. In Michigan, the eviction process goes faster than other types of lawsuits.

If your landlord gets an eviction order, only the sheriff or another court officer can physically remove you and your belongings from the home.

It’s illegal for a landlord to evict you without going to court and getting an eviction order first. Your landlord can’t do anything that prevents you from getting into or staying in your home without an eviction order. Your landlord must not:

• Use force or threaten to use force to make you leave or keep you out of your home
• Enter your home without your permission, unless it’s an emergency
• Remove, withhold, or destroy your property
• Change, alter, or add locks or security devices to the home without your permission
• Board up the premises to prevent entry or make it more difficult
• Cause an interruption or shut-off of water, electric, or gas service
• Cause loud noises, bad odors, or other nuisances
• Put your belongings out on the street

If your landlord does anything to remove you from your home or keep you out of your home by force without an eviction order, you may be able sue your landlord. If the court rules in your favor, you could be able to stay in the home and recover up to three times the amount of your actual damages or $200 per day, whichever is more. 

Reasons for Eviction

Here are reasons your landlord can start an eviction case:

• You haven’t paid rent;
• You didn’t move when your lease ended;
• You violated a lease term that the lease says will lead to eviction;
• You caused a lot of damage to the home;
• You created a serious health hazard in or to the home;
• You were involved in illegal drug activity on the property; or
• Your landlord believes there is “just cause” or “good cause” to evict you from a mobile home park or from federally subsidized housing. These types of evictions have special rules. To learn more, visit Eviction from Subsidized Housing or I'm Being Evicted from a Mobile Home Park.

Notice Requirements

In most cases, a landlord has to give you notice before they start an eviction case. There are two kinds of notice. Both kinds tell you why your landlord wants you to leave and how much time you have to act to avoid an eviction case being filed against you.

Your landlord must give you a demand for possession before starting an eviction for:

• Nonpayment of rent
• Illegal drug activity on the property
• Physical damage to the property or creating a health hazard
• Just cause for mobile home or subsidized housing tenants

Your landlord must give you a notice to quit before starting an eviction when:

• You violate a lease provision where the lease allows for termination
• There is no lease and your landlord wants you to move

Your landlord might not be required to give you a notice to quit or demand for possession if you’re being evicted for staying after your lease ends.

If you forced your way into the home or kept it by force (sometimes called trespassing or squatting), you are not a tenant. The landlord does not have to go to court to evict you. The landlord can remove you from the property.

If a notice to quit or demand for possession is required, your landlord can serve it in one of these ways:

• By giving it to you in person
• By leaving it at your home with a member of your family who is old enough and responsible enough to give it to you, with a request that it be given to you
• By mailing it to you
• By sending it to you electronically (by e-mail)

In order for your landlord to be able to serve you by e-mail all of these must happen:

• You must have agreed to be served by e-mail in writing (this agreement could be in your lease)
• Your landlord must have sent you the agreement or confirmation by e-mail
• You must have replied to your landlord’s e-mail

If you change your e-mail address, you must let your landlord know about your new e-mail address in writing, or go through the process listed above for your new e-mail address.

The notice to quit or demand for possession must:

• Be in writing
• Be addressed to the tenant
• Describe the rental property, usually by giving the address
• Give the reason for the eviction
• State how much time the tenant has to fix the problem, if there is one
• Include the landlord’s address and the date of the notice

After getting a notice, you have a certain amount of time to fix the problem, pay rent or take some other action, or move out of the property. If you haven’t done what the landlord asked for by the time the notice expires, your landlord can go to court and start an eviction case. The amount of time you have between when your landlord gives you the notice and when they can file an eviction case depends on the reason for the eviction.

It is important to read the notice when you get it. If you and your landlord can resolve the problem, there may be no need for a court case.

For example, Larry Landlord gave Therese Tenant a demand for possession that said she owes $500 rent. He gives it to her on September 1st. Therese could:

• Pay the money by September 8th, and stay in the home
• Move out by September 8th (Larry could still sue Therese for the amount of rent she owes)
• Talk to Larry to see if they can work something out by September 8th 
• Do nothing and wait for Larry to sue (if she chooses to do this, Therese should also get ready for the court case)

If instead Larry gives Therese a notice to quit on May 1st because he thinks she has a dog when the lease says no pets and that having one will lead to eviction, she can:

• Move out by June 1st
• Talk to Larry to see if they can work something out
• Wait for Larry to sue (if she chooses to do this, Therese should also get ready for a court case)

To learn more, read Going to Court in an Eviction Case.