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The court can enter a default if you don’t respond in a court case. If your landlord gets a default judgment in an eviction case, you can be evicted without going to court. You can also have a judgment for money entered against you.
How Eviction Starts
You can only be evicted by a sheriff, a sheriff's deputy, or court officer. Your landlord must have an order of eviction before you can be legally evicted. Read the articles Eviction: What Is It and How Does It Start? and Going to Court in an Eviction Case to learn about the eviction process.
An eviction case starts when a landlord files a complaint for eviction in the district court. If you get a summons and complaint for eviction, you have to show up for your court date. If you don’t show up to court, the court can enter a default.
How You Can Be Defaulted
If you don’t go to court, your landlord may ask the judge to find you in default. At your first court date, the judge can only enter a default in the following situations:
- If you were personally served the summons and complaint (someone gave it to you);
- If you got the summons and complaint in the mail and the court mailed you a second copy and it was either given to someone at your home or it was posted on your home; or
- If your landlord argues, and proves to the judge, that there is illegal drug activity in the home, a serious health hazard or extensive damage to the home, that you are causing injury or threatening to hurt someone, or that you are a trespasser.
If none of these situations apply to you, the judge should not enter a default against you if you do not show up for your first court date. Instead, the judge should schedule another hearing for at least seven days later. If you do not show up for that second court date, the judge can enter a default against you.
If the judge enters a default, your landlord can then ask for a default judgment. A default judgment means that you lose because you did not show up. This means that a landlord can get a judgment saying you need to pay them money, or that you need to move out, or both.
In order to get a default judgment, your landlord needs to show there is a reason for you to be evicted or for you to pay the landlord money. If the landlord does that, the judgment can enter a default judgment against you.
If a judgment awards possession of the property to your landlord (meaning that you need to move out), you will be given some time to move out – usually 10 days. If the case is for nonpayment of rent, that is also the amount of time you have to pay the judgment amount to avoid eviction. After that time, your landlord can ask the judge for an Order of Eviction against you. To learn more about this process, read Eviction after Court is Over.
After the judge enters a default judgment against you, you can’t do anything in your case until you have the judgment set aside. You can ask the judge to set it aside and schedule a new hearing by filing either a Motion to Set Aside Default Possession Judgment or a Motion and Affidavit to Set Aside Default Money Judgment. You can use the Do-It-Yourself Motion to Set Aside Default (Eviction) tool to create your motion(s). You must file these motions within 10 days of when the judge signed the judgment.
Money Judgment
A judge can only set aside a money judgment if:
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You weren't served with a copy of the summons and complaint; or
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You have a good reason for not going to the hearing and a meritorious (good) defense to the claims your landlord is making against you.
It can be difficult to prove these things. You may want to talk to a lawyer to get help with your motion to set aside the default judgment. If you have a low income, you may qualify for free legal services. Whether you have a low income or not, you can use the Guide to Legal Help to find lawyers in your area. If you are not able to get free legal services but can’t afford high legal fees, consider hiring a lawyer for part of your case instead of the whole thing. This is called limited scope representation. To learn more, read Limited Scope Representation (LSR): A More Affordable Way to Hire a Lawyer. To find a limited scope lawyer, follow this link to the State Bar of Michigan lawyer directory. This link lists lawyers who offer limited scope representation. You can narrow the results to lawyers in your area by typing in your county, city, or zip code at the top of the page. You can also narrow the results by topic by entering the kind of lawyer you need (divorce, estate, etc.) at the top of the page.
Failure to Serve
If you were not served with the summons and complaint, the money judgment should be set aside. Your landlord or landlord’s lawyer’s failure to serve the forms on you may be accidental or on purpose. Either way, it may be hard to prove that you did not get the summons and complaint. One thing you can check is to see if the papers were served at the wrong address.
Good Cause
Good cause is a good reason why you didn’t go to the hearing. Good cause can be things outside of your control, like an emergency on the day of court (like being in the hospital), fraud or misconduct by your landlord (like telling you that you didn’t need to go to court), or a serious problem or mistake with the way the case was handled.
Meritorious Defense
A meritorious (good) defense is a good argument for why your landlord should not get a money judgment against you. For example, if the money judgment is for not paying your rent, you may have a good defense if you used your rent money to make a needed repair your landlord knew about but wouldn’t make.
To learn more about defenses, read Common Defenses and Counterclaims in Eviction Cases.
Possession Judgment
Staying (Pausing) Your Case
Filing a Motion to Set Aside Default Possession Judgment will not automatically stop the eviction. Your landlord can still get an Order of Eviction 10 days after the judgment unless you ask the judge to stop the case from moving forward.
A stay (pause) will be granted if you deposit one month's rent with the court. The other way to get a stay is if the judge finds that there is a good reason to stop the eviction. Examples are an emergency on the day of court (like being in the hospital), if you were never served with the summons and complaint, fraud or misconduct by your landlord (like telling you that you didn’t need to go to court), or some other reason why you being evicted would be very unfair or wrong.
There are other, more complicated reasons a stay can be granted. When you’re trying to stop an eviction, you may want to have a lawyer to help you raise these other reasons an eviction should be stopped. If you have a low income, you may qualify for free legal services. Whether you have a low income or not, you can use the Guide to Legal Help to find lawyers in your area. If you are not able to get free legal services but can’t afford high legal fees, consider hiring a lawyer for part of your case instead of the whole thing. This is called limited scope representation. To learn more, read Limited Scope Representation (LSR): A More Affordable Way to Hire a Lawyer. To find a limited scope lawyer, follow this link to the State Bar of Michigan lawyer directory. This link lists lawyers who offer limited scope representation. You can narrow the results to lawyers in your area by typing in your county, city, or zip code at the top of the page. You can also narrow the results by topic by entering the kind of lawyer you need (divorce, estate, etc.) at the top of the page.
When you file your motion, be prepared to talk with the judge about why your stay should be granted. A judge could make a decision based on what is written in your motion alone, but you should be ready to explain to the judge in person why your stay should be granted.
If the stay is granted, a hearing will still be set for your Motion to Set Aside Default Possession Judgment. The hearing will happen within 14 days after the stay is issued. Your eviction case will be stopped until the hearing on your motion is done.
If the stay is not granted, the eviction timeline may continue and you may be evicted. A hearing for your Motion to Set Aside Default Possession Judgment will still be scheduled, but it might not happen until after the date your landlord can evict you.
Setting Aside the Possession Judgment
A judge can set aside a possession judgment if:
- You weren't served with a copy of the summons and complaint; or
- You have a good reason for not going to the hearing and a meritorious (good) defense to the claims your landlord is making against you.
It can be difficult to prove these things. You may want to talk to a lawyer to get help with your motion to set aside the default judgment. If you have a low income, you may qualify for free legal services. Whether you have a low income or not, you can use the Guide to Legal Help to find lawyers in your area. If you are not able to get free legal services but can’t afford high legal fees, consider hiring a lawyer for part of your case instead of the whole thing. This is called limited scope representation. To learn more, read Limited Scope Representation (LSR): A More Affordable Way to Hire a Lawyer. To find a limited scope lawyer, follow this link to the State Bar of Michigan lawyer directory. This link lists lawyers who offer limited scope representation. You can narrow the results to lawyers in your area by typing in your county, city, or zip code at the top of the page. You can also narrow the results by topic by entering the kind of lawyer you need (divorce, estate, etc.) at the top of the page.
Failure to Serve
If you were not served with the summons and complaint, the money judgment should be set aside. Your landlord or landlord’s lawyer’s failure to serve the forms on you may be accidental or on purpose. Either way, it may be hard to prove that you did not get the summons and complaint. One thing you can check is to see if the papers were served at the wrong address.
Good Cause
Good cause is a good reason why you didn’t go to the hearing. Good cause can be things outside of your control, like an emergency on the day of court (like being in the hospital), fraud or misconduct by your landlord (like telling you that you didn’t need to go to court), or a serious problem or mistake with the way the case was handled.
Meritorious Defense
A meritorious (good) defense is a good argument for why your landlord should not get a money judgment against you. For example, if the money judgment is for not paying your rent, you may have a good defense if you used your rent money to make a needed repair your landlord knew about but wouldn’t make. Another example is if your landlord gave you a notice to quit after you asked for repairs or complained to the local building inspector about the repair problems in your home.
To learn more about defenses, read Common Defenses and Counterclaims in Eviction Cases.
Filing Deadline
Whether you are asking a judge to set aside a judgment for possession, money, or both, you must file your motion within 10 days after the judge signed the default judgment.
If you missed the deadline, you can't file your motion. You may be able to request relief using a Motion for Relief from Judgment. There is not a form for this. You may want to talk to a lawyer if you want to file this motion. If you file a Motion for Relief from a Judgment, you must show it would be improper to let the judgment stand.
Filing Your Motion
Use the Do-It-Yourself Motion to Set Aside Default (Eviction) tool to complete your motion(s). After you complete the forms, file them with the court and serve them on your landlord or your landlord’s lawyer. There are several ways you can file your motion. You can contact the court to see what filing methods are available for that court. To learn more about e-filing, review the E-filing Court Documents.
Once you file your forms, the court clerk will schedule a hearing. Read the instructions that came with your motion for more information about how to complete the process.
Going to Court
At the hearing, each side has a chance to tell the judge its side of the story. Since this is your motion, you go first. Tell the judge why the default should be set aside. Answer any questions the judge asks you as completely as possible. Then your landlord (or your landlord’s lawyer) will get to tell the judge why the default should not be set aside. It is very important to follow the rules and not interrupt the other side during its turn.
After both of you tell the judge your side and answer any questions the judge has, the judge will make a decision. The judge might rule on the motion later in writing.
Watch the video Going to Court to learn more about what to expect.
After the Hearing
If the judge grants your motion(s), the default(s) will be set aside. You can then file an answer that gives your defense(s) to your landlord’s complaint, and the case will go from there. There will be another hearing on the issues in your landlord’s complaint. You can use the Do-It-Yourself Answer to Eviction Complaint tool to create your answer. You can also read the Going to Court in an Eviction Case to learn more.
If the judge does not set aside the possession judgment, your landlord can request an Order of Eviction. If the judge does not set aside the money judgment, you will owe the money awarded to your landlord in the judgment. A judge could grant one of your motions and deny the other. To learn more about what to expect after the hearing, read Eviction after Court is Over.
Last Updated: November 6, 2023