What are squatters’ rights in Michigan?
In Michigan, an action to recover or take possession of land must be brought within 15 years after the right first accrued. Shorter periods apply when the person in possession claims under certain deeds: 5 years for a deed from an executor, administrator, guardian or testamentary trustee, a court-ordered sale or a mortgage foreclosure sale, and 10 years for a tax deed. Michigan’s summary proceedings to recover possession may be used when a person takes possession by forcible entry, holds possession by force after a peaceable entry, or comes into possession by trespass without color of title or other possessory interest. In those cases the owner may also enter the premises, and the owner’s actions do not count as unlawful interference with the occupant’s possession. Occupying a single-family home, or a unit in a two-family home, without ever having occupied it with the owner’s consent for an agreed payment is a crime: a misdemeanor for a first offense and a felony for a second. Until that period has run, a person occupying property without permission has no claim to its title. This is MCL 600.5801; MCL 600.5714, 600.5711, 600.2918, 750.553.
| What | Michigan |
|---|---|
| Adverse possession period | 15 years |
| Removing an unauthorized occupant | Through a court proceeding, after notice |
Source
MCL 600.5801; MCL 600.5714, 600.5711, 600.2918, 750.553
Read the statute in the Michigan Compiled Laws (Michigan Legislature): legislature.mi.gov.
Checked against the statute on November 13, 2026.
This is a summary of the published procedure, not legal advice. Courts, local rules and the facts of a tenancy change what applies, and a defect in a notice or a filing can end a case. Have a lawyer review anything before it is served or filed.
How Seayora uses this rule
Seayora does not file, serve or appear in an eviction, and is not anybody’s lawyer. When a tenant has stopped paying, it lays out these steps for the property’s own state and city with the statute beside each one, holds back any step that would come too early, keeps an append-only record of the case — and shows the resident what would end it, legal-aid links included.
Guides on this rule
- Squatters’ Rights by State: Adverse Possession and Removal — How long adverse possession takes in 51 states, what the statutes require, and which states let law enforcement remove a squatter without an eviction case.
Compare this rule in every state
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The same question in other states
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- District of Columbia
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