What can a landlord do with a tenant’s belongings left behind in Michigan?

In Michigan, a landlord who believes in good faith that the tenant has abandoned the premises, has reason after diligent inquiry to believe the tenant does not intend to return, and has not been paid current rent may retake possession, including removing the tenant’s property, without it counting as unlawful interference, and no statute sets a notice or storage period. Otherwise, removing, keeping or destroying a tenant’s personal property is unlawful interference with possession, for which the tenant may recover actual damages or $200, whichever is greater, for each occurrence. On an eviction, the writ of restitution commands the court officer, bailiff, sheriff or police officer serving it to remove all occupants and all personal property and either leave the property in an area open to the public or in the public right-of-way or deliver it to the sheriff as the sheriff authorizes, and the officer serving the writ decides whether the premises and property have been abandoned. When a landlord believes in good faith that a tenant has been deceased for at least 18 days with no surviving tenant and current rent is unpaid, the landlord must post a notice on the door, notify the county public administrator (or, if none, the state public administrator) and, where the tenant gave contact information, make a reasonable attempt to contact the authorized person, at least 10 days before reentering to take possession and dispose of the contents. This is MCL 600.2918, 600.5744.

WhatMichigan
Belongings left behindNo hold period once the unit is truly abandoned
What the statute requires firstNo waiting period before disposal

What the statute says

“… believes in good faith that the tenant has abandoned the premises, and after diligent inquiry has reason to believe the tenant does not intend to return, and current rent is not paid …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

MCL 600.2918, 600.5744

Read the statute in the Michigan Compiled Laws (Michigan Legislature): legislature.mi.gov.

Checked against the statute on November 15, 2026.

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

How Seayora uses this rule

Seayora keeps a lease’s end date and every notice sent through it, with the date it went out, in the lease record — so the dates a rule like this one counts from are on file rather than remembered.

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