Lease Acceleration Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Michigan law says, what's specific to Detroit - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- § 554.633(1)(k) of the Truth in Renting Act bars a residential lease from including a provision that releases a party from a duty to mitigate damages.
- § 554.633(1)(i) lets a lease accelerate rent on a condition. The clause must also say that the tenant may not be liable for the total accelerated amount because of the landlord's obligation to minimize damages, and that either party may have a court determine the actual amount owed.
- A clause that breaks either rule is void under § 554.633(3), and § 554.639 says the act's requirements "may not be waived."
- § 600.5714(1)(a) keeps acceleration out of a nonpayment eviction. For the 7-day written demand for possession, "rent due does not include any accelerated indebtedness because of a breach of the lease under which the premises are held."
- The tenant's remedy starts with a written notice. Under § 554.636(1), a landlord who does not cure a prohibited provision within 20 days can be sued for $250 or actual damages, whichever is greater, among other relief. Read the current text of these sections yourself.
Understanding the Lease Acceleration Clause
An acceleration clause is the lease paragraph that turns the rest of your term into one bill. Fall behind or leave early, and every month still to run is written up as payable now.
In Michigan that paragraph has to meet the Truth in Renting Act. Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.633(1)(i) lets a residential lease accelerate rent if the same clause tells you two things.
One is that you may not be liable for the total accelerated amount because of the landlord's obligation to minimize damages. The other is that either party may have a court determine the actual amount owed.
§ 554.633(1)(k) separately bars any provision releasing a party from a duty to mitigate damages. This page reads those sections, the eviction rule that keeps accelerated rent out of a nonpayment case, and the remedy a tenant has against a clause that breaks them.
What renters assume
An acceleration paragraph you signed makes the whole remaining term a debt, and whether the landlord tries to re-rent is the landlord's own business.
What is actually true
Michigan writes the landlord's obligation into the clause itself. Under § 554.633(1)(i) an acceleration provision must say the tenant may not be liable for the total accelerated amount because of the landlord's obligation to minimize damages, and that either party may have a court determine the actual amount owed. § 554.633(1)(k) bars a release from the duty to mitigate, and § 554.633(3) makes a violating provision void.
None of the 18 rows in the comparison on this page carries a figure; each is a short label. Detroit's reads Non-waivable by lease.
Eleven of the 18 labels open with Mandatory: Austin, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Phoenix, Nashville, Portland, Las Vegas, Washington and Newark. Miami and Philadelphia read No duty to re-rent, Atlanta reads Likely no duty, Denver and Columbus read No statute; case law, and Boston reads No statute; 93A limits.
Two other labels share Detroit's key word: Austin and New York City read Mandatory, non-waivable. Detroit's label describes what the lease cannot do.
The Michigan sections our record read bar a lease from releasing a party from the duty to mitigate. They also tie an acceleration clause to the landlord's obligation to minimize damages, and our record holds no Michigan court decision on what re-renting effort a landlord must make.
Plain English Version
In Michigan a lease can make the rest of your rent due at once, but the clause has to say two things in its own words. It must tell you that you may not owe the whole accelerated amount, because the landlord has an obligation to minimize damages.
It must also say that either side can have a court decide what is actually owed. A clause that breaks either rule is void, and no lease provision may release a party from the duty to mitigate.
Accelerated rent also does not count as rent due for a 7-day nonpayment demand.
Rent Acceleration Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Detroit, MI
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
The court set out the lease paragraph in full, and this extract stops a sentence before the end. The missing sentence is about late charges and interest running on an amount once it has been accelerated:
If any monthly installment under this agreement is not paid when due and remains unpaid after a date specified by a notice to Tenant, the entire principal rent amount owed for the full lease term shall at once become due and payable at the option of the Landlord and judgment may be had for all said amounts due. The foregoing provision shall not relieve the Landlord of its obligation to mitigate damages. In the event the rental premises is re-rented to another for full value prior to expiration of the lease term, Landlord shall file Notice of Partial Satisfaction of any judgment entered to the extent of the third party rental agreement.
[…]
Quoted from the published opinion in Summers v. Crestview Apartments, 2010 MT 164, 357 Mont. 123, 236 P.3d 586 (No. DA 09-0489). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“notice to Tenant, the entire principal rent”
This is where a missed month becomes the whole term. Michigan's eviction statute refuses to let that larger figure drive a nonpayment case. § 600.5714(1)(a) lets a landlord recover possession when a tenant fails to pay rent due within 7 days after a written demand for possession. It adds that for this purpose “rent due does not include any accelerated indebtedness because of a breach of the lease under which the premises are held.”
“the option of the Landlord and judgment”
The paragraph gives the choice and the judgment to one side. Michigan's subsection gives the court to both. § 554.633(1)(i) allows a provision accelerating rent on a tenant's breach if it also states that the tenant may not be liable for the total accelerated amount, and that either party may have a court determine the actual amount owed. Look for that second statement in your own lease, in those terms.
“obligation to mitigate damages. In the event”
This sentence comes close to half of what Michigan asks for. § 554.633(1)(i) wants an acceleration clause to say the tenant may not be liable for the total accelerated amount because of the landlord's obligation to minimize damages. § 554.633(1)(k) then bars any provision that releases a party from a duty to mitigate damages, anywhere in the lease.
“file Notice of Partial Satisfaction of any”
Crediting a judgment after re-renting is the lease's own accounting. Michigan adds a step the tenant can start. Under § 554.636(1), if the landlord does not cure a prohibited provision within 20 days after the tenant's written notice, the tenant may sue. The suit may seek to void the rental agreement and terminate the tenancy, an injunction, or $250 or actual damages, whichever is greater.
The Montana Supreme Court struck this paragraph down, and its conclusion is one sentence: “Thus, we conclude that the accelerated rent provision is unconscionable and therefore unenforceable.” The tenants had moved out of their apartment on October 13, 2006, and Crestview answered with a Statement of Deductions from the Security Deposit charging rent through the end of the lease in June - $6,505.75 billed against a $2,170 deposit. Two reasons carried the court. Acceleration undermines the landlord's duty to mitigate and reduces the incentive to re-rent promptly, because a landlord already holding a judgment for the whole term has little reason to fill the unit. And Crestview drafted the lease while these tenants had no meaningful choice and no opportunity to negotiate any of it. The case was reversed and remanded, and two justices wrote separately - their objection being that the majority had gone as far as treating acceleration clauses as unenforceable in themselves. So read the holding narrowly, as the majority wrote it: this provision, in this residential lease, unconscionable and unenforceable. It is a Montana decision and it binds no other state's courts. What travels is the reasoning, and the reasoning is about mitigation - which is exactly the question the statute in your own city's decode answers.
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Michigan Law on Lease Acceleration Clause
- A clause that breaks either rule is void. Section 554.633(3) says a provision that violates the section "is void", and § 554.639 says the act's requirements "may not be waived." Under § 554.632 the act reaches written rental agreements for residential premises, and leaves out hotels and motels used as temporary accommodation and a home that is the owner's principal residence rented occasionally during temporary absences.
- Accelerated rent does not count toward a nonpayment eviction. Section 600.5714(1)(a) lets a landlord recover possession when a tenant fails to pay rent due within 7 days after a written demand for possession, and says that for this purpose "rent due does not include any accelerated indebtedness because of a breach of the lease under which the premises are held."
- The tenant's remedy starts with a written notice. Under § 554.636(1), if the landlord does not cure a prohibited provision within 20 days after the tenant's written notice, the tenant may sue to void the rental agreement and terminate the tenancy, for an injunction, or for $250 or actual damages, whichever is greater. Section 554.636(2) raises the figure to $500 or actual damages for a provision explicitly and unambiguously prohibited by § 554.633, and § 554.636(4) gives the prevailing party court costs plus statutory attorney fees.
- Section 554.633(1)(g) separately bars a lease provision making a party liable for another party's legal costs or attorney fees in a dispute under the rental agreement beyond the costs or fees a statute specifically permits. These sections were read from archived copies of the Michigan Legislature's pages, so check the current text of § 554.633 and § 554.636 before relying on them.
Sources include Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.633(1)(k); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.633(1)(i); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.633(3); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.636; Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5714(1)(a) - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Michigan answers this question in a statute aimed at the lease itself. The Truth in Renting Act lists provisions a residential rental agreement may not contain, and two of them decide what an acceleration clause can do.
The first is Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.633(1)(k): a rental agreement may not include a provision that releases a party from a duty to mitigate damages. The second is § 554.633(1)(i), which allows accelerated rent on a condition.
The clause must also say that the tenant may not be liable for the total accelerated amount because of the landlord's obligation to minimize damages, and that either party may have a court determine the actual amount owed.
Read those two together and the acceleration paragraph becomes a starting figure rather than a final one. The clause names a total, and the statute requires the same clause to tell you that the total may not be what you owe and that a court can fix the actual amount.
A provision that breaks the section has no force. § 554.633(3) says a provision that violates the section "is void", and § 554.639 says the act's requirements "may not be waived." Under § 554.632 the act reaches written rental agreements for residential premises. It leaves out hotels and motels used as temporary accommodation, and a home that is the owner's principal residence rented occasionally during temporary absences.
The eviction statute keeps acceleration out of a nonpayment case. § 600.5714(1)(a) lets a landlord recover possession when a tenant fails to pay rent due within 7 days after a written demand for possession. It says that for this purpose "rent due does not include any accelerated indebtedness because of a breach of the lease under which the premises are held."
The tenant's remedy starts with a letter. Under § 554.636(1), if the landlord does not cure a prohibited provision within 20 days after the tenant's written notice, the tenant may sue.
The suit may seek to void the rental agreement and terminate the tenancy, an injunction, or $250 or actual damages, whichever is greater.
§ 554.636(2) raises the figure to $500 or actual damages for a provision explicitly and unambiguously prohibited by § 554.633, and § 554.636(4) gives the prevailing party court costs plus statutory attorney fees.
A fee clause can sit beside an acceleration paragraph, and the act reaches that too. § 554.633(1)(g) bars a provision making a party liable for another party's legal costs or attorney fees in a dispute under the rental agreement, beyond the costs or fees a statute specifically permits.
Our Michigan record does not include a Michigan court decision on what re-renting effort a landlord must make. The sections were read from archived copies of the Michigan Legislature's pages, so read the current text of § 554.633 and § 554.636 yourself before relying on them.
Michigan Tenant Protections
The Truth in Renting Act puts the protection inside the clause. Under § 554.633(1)(i) a residential lease may provide for accelerated rent if the provision also states two things.
One is that the tenant may not be liable for the total accelerated amount because of the landlord's obligation to minimize damages; the other is that either party may have a court determine the actual amount owed. § 554.633(1)(k) bars any provision releasing a party from a duty to mitigate damages, § 554.633(3) makes a violating provision void, and § 554.639 says the act's requirements may not be waived.
In a nonpayment eviction, § 600.5714(1)(a) excludes accelerated indebtedness from the rent due that a 7-day written demand for possession rests on. The tenant can act against a prohibited provision.
After the tenant's written notice, a landlord who does not cure it within 20 days faces a suit under § 554.636(1) to void the agreement and terminate the tenancy, for an injunction, or for $250 or actual damages, whichever is greater.
That rises to $500 or actual damages under § 554.636(2) for a provision explicitly and unambiguously prohibited. The prevailing party recovers court costs plus statutory attorney fees under § 554.636(4), and § 554.633(1)(g) bars a lease from shifting legal costs or attorney fees beyond what a statute specifically permits.
Under § 554.632 the act reaches written rental agreements for residential premises. Read the current text of these sections before relying on them.
What's Specific to Detroit
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
For this question Detroit's own code is not where the answer sits, as far as our record reaches. Our record of the Detroit City Code, read on Municode's copy codified through Ordinance No. 2024-32, covers Chapter 22 (Housing) in full and a text search of Chapter 8, Article XV, the Property Maintenance Code.
It finds no Detroit ordinance on rent acceleration or a landlord's duty to mitigate.
That leaves a Detroit renter with two documents to read side by side: the lease, and the Truth in Renting Act. The rules in our Michigan record come from state law, in § 554.633 and § 554.636 of that act and § 600.5714(1)(a) of the Revised Judicature Act.
Our record of Detroit's chapters adds no third document on this question.
The practical test for a Detroit lease is a reading exercise. Find the acceleration paragraph and look for the two statements § 554.633(1)(i) asks for.
One is that you may not be liable for the total accelerated amount because of the landlord's obligation to minimize damages; the other is that either party may have a court determine the actual amount owed. Then look elsewhere in the lease for any line releasing a party from the duty to mitigate, which § 554.633(1)(k) bars.
If you find a provision you believe breaks the section, the act gives you a written step before any lawsuit. Under § 554.636(1) the landlord has 20 days after your written notice to cure it.
Send that notice in a form you can prove, name the provision, and keep a dated copy. Under § 554.636(2), a provision explicitly and unambiguously prohibited by § 554.633 carries $500 or actual damages, whichever is greater.
The eviction rule bears directly on a Detroit nonpayment case. For the 7-day demand under § 600.5714(1)(a), rent due does not include accelerated indebtedness, so a demand for possession that counts the whole remaining term is one to read closely.
Our record does not include Michigan court decisions on what re-renting effort a landlord must make, and this page gives no vacancy period to count on. Municode lists Detroit ordinances adopted after that codification that are not yet in the code text, so check the current Detroit code as well.
A Detroit tenant lawyer or legal aid office can read your clause against the act before you agree to any figure.
§ 554.633(1)(i) asks the clause to say the tenant may not be liable for the total accelerated amount because of the landlord's obligation to minimize damages.
The same subsection asks for a statement that either party may have a court determine the actual amount owed.
§ 554.633(1)(k) bars a provision releasing a party from a duty to mitigate damages, and § 554.633(3) makes a violating provision void.
§ 554.633(1)(g) bars making a party liable for another party's legal costs or attorney fees beyond what a statute specifically permits.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.633(1)(k); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.633(1)(i); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.633(3); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.636; Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5714(1)(a), read on web.archive.org. The Michigan Legislature's own file of Chapter 554, rendered May 21, 2025, marks itself complete through Public Act 4 of 2025, and the § 554.633 page cited here was read from a Wayback Machine copy dated September 17, 2025; confirm the current text at legislature.mi.gov.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Acceleration with no mitigation sentence
§ 554.633(1)(i) asks an acceleration clause to say the tenant may not be liable for the total accelerated amount because of the landlord's obligation to minimize damages. A clause without it deserves a close read.
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No word on a court deciding the amount
The same subsection asks the clause to say that either party may have a court determine the actual amount owed. A clause that makes the landlord's figure final does not say that.
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A no-duty-to-re-rent line
§ 554.633(1)(k) bars a provision that releases a party from a duty to mitigate damages, and § 554.633(3) says a provision violating the section is void.
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A 7-day demand that counts the whole term
For the 7-day demand in § 600.5714(1)(a), rent due does not include any accelerated indebtedness because of a breach of the lease.
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A clause you are told you waived
§ 554.639 says the requirements of the Truth in Renting Act may not be waived, so a signature under the paragraph does not settle whether it complies.
Your Rights as a Detroit Tenant
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A clause that names the duty
Under § 554.633(1)(i) an acceleration clause must say the tenant may not be liable for the total accelerated amount because of the landlord's obligation to minimize damages.
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A court can fix the actual amount
The same subsection requires a statement that either party may have a court determine the actual amount owed, if any.
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Accelerated rent kept out of the 7-day demand
§ 600.5714(1)(a) says rent due for a nonpayment possession case does not include accelerated indebtedness because of a breach of the lease.
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A remedy after 20 days
If the landlord does not cure a prohibited provision within 20 days of your written notice, § 554.636(1) lets you sue for $250 or actual damages, whichever is greater, among other relief.
What To Do - Step by Step
Find the acceleration paragraph
Read it for the two statements § 554.633(1)(i) asks for: that you may not be liable for the total accelerated amount, and that either party may have a court determine the actual amount owed.
Search the lease for a mitigation waiver
§ 554.633(1)(k) bars any provision releasing a party from a duty to mitigate damages. Note the page and paragraph of any line that reads that way.
Write to the landlord about the provision
Under § 554.636(1) the landlord has 20 days after your written notice to cure a prohibited provision. Send it in a form you can prove and keep a dated copy.
Check any 7-day demand you receive
Under § 600.5714(1)(a), rent due for that demand does not include accelerated indebtedness. Compare the figure on the demand with the installments already past due.
Check the code and the statute text today
Our record of the Detroit City Code runs through Ordinance No. 2024-32, and later ordinances are not covered. The Michigan sections were read from archived copies, so read their current text yourself.
Get local advice before you agree to a figure
Take the lease and any demand to a Detroit tenant lawyer or legal aid office. § 554.636(4) gives the prevailing party court costs plus statutory attorney fees, which is worth knowing before you decide whether to act.