Renters across Michigan are living in properties with mold, rodents, broken furnaces, and collapsing ceilings—yet many have no legal protection when landlords ignore urgent repair requests. That reality is what prompted a new set of bills in the Michigan Legislature designed to give tenants more power and hold negligent landlords accountable.
The Tenant Empowerment Package, made up of four bills, aims to confront Michigan’s rental housing crisis by establishing clear rights for renters and setting enforcement timelines when safety is at risk. It’s a legislative effort rooted in the lived conditions of families whose homes have been red-tagged, apartments that threaten public health, and communities that have long been silenced in housing policy.
Senate Bills 19 and 20 propose that if a landlord fails to address safety-related repair requests within 48 hours, tenants would have the right to withhold rent or pay for repairs themselves and deduct the cost from their rent. These bills are designed to give renters a path to action when their calls, emails, and formal complaints go unanswered.
“This bill is really making sure that we are targeting and holding accountable those who are bad actors,” said Remy Gelderloos, deputy chief of staff for state Senator Sarah Anthony of Lansing, who co-sponsored the package.
The legislation responds to a pattern seen across the state. In Lansing, hundreds of rental homes have been red-tagged—deemed legally uninhabitable—due to serious health and safety violations. These properties often remain occupied, with tenants trapped by poverty, lack of access to legal help, or fear of retaliation. Similar stories surface from Detroit to Flint, where low-income Black residents are disproportionately impacted by dangerous housing conditions and have historically been denied consistent legal recourse.
“We’re seeing similar things across the state,” Gelderloos said. “And we want to try to nip away at the overall housing crisis. This is one direct way that makes sense.”
Senate Bill 21 focuses on financial protection. It would require landlords to provide 90 days’ written notice before raising the rent when renewing a lease. Currently, many tenants receive little or no notice before facing increased housing costs. This bill gives renters time to prepare, relocate, or explore legal options before being priced out of their homes.
That added time could be life-changing for Detroit seniors living on fixed incomes or single mothers working hourly jobs to keep their families stable.
Senate Bill 22 proposes that security deposits be returned electronically. Though seemingly administrative, this change directly addresses the way many tenants lose access to hundreds—or thousands—of dollars. When landlords delay returns or claim damages without proof, tenants are left with little ability to recover funds. Digital returns introduce transparency, prevent excuses, and ease the transition for those moving under stress or duress.
Together, the bills also add a critical requirement: if mold or pest infestations are reported, landlords must fix the problem within 72 hours. In many Black households across Michigan, pest infestations and toxic mold have gone unresolved for months, even years. The impact of those conditions isn’t cosmetic—it’s about respiratory illness, mental distress, and unsafe living environments.
“This is critical to someone’s life and safety,” Gelderloos emphasized. “But we also need to understand and work with landlords, property owners, and others in the industry because sometimes it takes time.”
Lawmakers have built these timelines—48 hours for safety-related repairs, 72 hours for mold or pest removal—to reflect both tenant urgency and property maintenance logistics. They are not designed to be punitive. They are built to protect.
“At the end of the day, this solution is good for tenants, it’s good for those responsible landlords, and it’s good for the health of our housing market overall,” Gelderloos said.
That distinction is important. Not every landlord opposes tenant protections. Many already comply with maintenance standards, offer fair lease renewals, and support timely communication. But these bills name what has too often been protected in silence: there are landlords in Michigan who collect rent while leaving tenants in unsafe, unsanitary, and illegal conditions.
This legislative package gives the state a formal tool to distinguish the responsible property owners from those who profit off neglect.
The Tenant Empowerment Package has passed through committee and is now moving to the full Senate for a vote. If passed, it would shift the legal framework around renting in Michigan—placing enforceable accountability on landlords while giving tenants clear, actionable rights.
The push for statewide reform connects directly to the work already happening on the ground in cities like Detroit, where organizers successfully fought to establish a Right to Counsel ordinance in 2022. Detroit’s Right‑to‑Counsel ordinance was spearheaded by Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, who introduced the ordinance in May 2022, with unanimous Council approval. But this legislative victory was built on persistent community organizing. The Detroit Right to Counsel Coalition, comprised of over 20 organizations and hundreds of residents, drove the push through advocacy, meetings, and public mobilization over several years. That policy provides free legal representation to low-income tenants facing eviction—an initiative born out of decades of displacement, landlord intimidation, and courtrooms where renters stood alone while management companies arrived with attorneys.
But Detroit’s Right to Counsel only addresses one part of the crisis: the end stage, when tenants are already at risk of being removed from their homes. The Tenant Empowerment Package complements that local fight by stepping in much earlier—before tenants are forced to choose between silence and retaliation, before families are pushed into unsafe living conditions without legal leverage.
Michigan has already proven that policy can respond to people power. Detroit’s ordinance didn’t pass because leadership suddenly prioritized poor tenants. It passed because the community organized, protested, lobbied, and refused to be dismissed. This statewide legislation follows that same path—designed not for headlines, but for the families whose lives hang in the balance when lawmakers delay action.
Tenants are not asking for a handout. They are demanding the right to live in homes that won’t harm them. The Senate vote on this package will reveal which leaders understand that housing is a human right—and which ones remain comfortable protecting a system where survival depends on silence.
For Detroiters who have long been navigating power outages, burst pipes, or infestations without recourse, these bills could represent more than reform. They would affirm dignity in housing—not through charity or short-term relief, but through law.
And that matters. Black renters have historically been the most vulnerable to housing injustice in Michigan, from redlining and eviction targeting to lead poisoning and housing court disparities. The weight of bad housing policy doesn’t just rest on infrastructure. It rests on people. It stunts development. It harms health. It strips stability.
That’s why this legislative moment demands attention.
The 90-day rent increase notice isn’t just about logistics—it’s about giving families time to stay housed. The 48-hour repair mandate doesn’t just address broken property—it ensures no child sleeps under a collapsing ceiling. The electronic deposit return isn’t just about modern convenience—it’s about economic justice for people already living with less.
These are the layers of housing policy too often overlooked when lawmakers only speak to homeowners. But renters, particularly Black renters, are the backbone of Michigan’s urban centers—and their lives deserve legal protections that reflect their humanity.
Now the question moves to the Senate floor: will Michigan’s leadership meet this moment?
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