Pet Policy 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
- Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.601(d) counts "any other amount of money or property returnable to the tenant on condition of return of the rental unit" as security deposit. A refundable pet deposit falls inside that definition.
- § 554.602 caps all security deposit at "1 1/2 months' rent." The sections our record read name no separate category for pets and do not mention pet fees or pet rent.
- Pet damage is charged under the general rule. § 554.607 covers actual damages beyond normal habitation, unpaid rent and unpaid utility bills, and the 30-day list in § 554.609 and the double-amount penalty in § 554.613 apply to the whole deposit.
- Disability accommodations sit in a separate law. Mich. Comp. Laws § 37.1506a(1)(b) makes refusing reasonable accommodations in rules and policies unlawful where they may be necessary for equal use of a home, and § 554.633(1)(c) bars lease provisions that discriminate in violation of that act.
- Detroit City Code § 6-2-1(d) limits a single residence to two animals of the same species over four months old. § 6-5-1(b) allows no more than two dog licenses for a residence, with a notarized-statement exception.
Understanding the Pet Policy Clause
A Detroit renter with an animal meets two separate questions: what the animal may cost, and how many animals a home may hold. Michigan's deposit act answers the first in general terms, and Detroit's animal ordinance answers the second.
The state sections our record read never use the word pet. Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.601(d) defines a security deposit to include any sum returnable when the unit comes back in the condition the lease requires, and § 554.602 caps the total at one and a half months' rent.
A refundable pet deposit fits that definition, so it shares the ceiling with the ordinary deposit.
Detroit adds a count rather than a price. Detroit City Code § 6-2-1(d) bars keeping more than two animals of the same species over four months old in a single residence, whoever owns the home.
Read the current text of each section before relying on it, because both copies behind this page carry a date.
What renters assume
A pet deposit is its own bucket, so a Detroit landlord can take one on top of a full one-and-a-half-month deposit because the animal is an extra risk.
What is actually true
§ 554.601(d) counts "any other amount of money or property returnable to the tenant on condition of return of the rental unit by the tenant in condition as required by the rental agreement" as security deposit. § 554.602 caps security deposit at "1 1/2 months' rent", and neither section names a separate category for pets. Add a refundable pet deposit to the rest before you compare.
Eighteen rows sit in the comparison further down this page, and one prints a dollar figure: Denver's $300 deposit cap. Nine fold pet money into a general deposit ceiling.
Los Angeles, New York City, Boston and Washington count it within one month's rent, Portland within a one-month city cap, Phoenix and Detroit within 1.5 months, Atlanta within two months and Las Vegas within three.
The other eight show no cap figure for pet money: Austin, Miami, Chicago, Nashville, Philadelphia, Seattle, Columbus and Newark. Detroit's bar is empty because Michigan writes its ceiling in months of rent and names no pet category, while the bars draw a figure written for pet money.
A bar also has no way to show Detroit's limit of two animals of the same species in a single residence.
Plain English Version
In Detroit, treat a refundable pet deposit as part of one sum. Michigan caps everything held as security at one and a half months' rent, and the sections our record read name no pet category.
So add the pet deposit to the ordinary deposit and compare the total with that ceiling. Damage an animal causes comes out of the deposit like any other damage, through the same itemized list within 30 days.
Separately, Detroit limits a home to two animals of the same species over four months old.
Pet 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.
PETS. NO PETS ARE PERMITTED. IF THERE ARE PETS, LESSEE(S) AGREES TO PAY AN ADDITIONAL $10 PER MONTH PER CAT OR DOG UNDER 40 POUNDS AND $20 PER MONTH PER DOG OVER 40 POUNDS. ONE DOG PERMITTED, NO ADDITIONAL FEE.
Quoted from the published opinion in Oldendick v. Crocker, 2016-Ohio-5621, 70 N.E.3d 1033 (Ohio Ct. App. 8th Dist.). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“NO PETS ARE PERMITTED”
A flat ban, and the Michigan deposit sections our record read do not speak to it: they do not name pets at all. The rule on animals in a Detroit home comes from the city. Detroit City Code § 6-2-1(d) says “No person shall own, harbor, keep, or shelter more than two animals of the same species over the age of four months in a single residence.” Read the two side by side: the ordinance counts animals in any residence, whoever owns it, and the lease line is this landlord's own term.
“ADDITIONAL $10 PER MONTH PER CAT OR DOG UNDER 40”
A monthly charge, and the sections our record read do not mention pet fees or pet rent, which leaves the lease you signed as the document that prices a charge like this one. What those sections do define is a deposit: under § 554.601(d), money “returnable to the tenant on condition of return of the rental unit” counts as security deposit, and § 554.602 caps the total at 1 1/2 months' rent.
“AND $20 PER MONTH PER DOG OVER 40”
Whatever the monthly charge buys, damage is a separate claim against the deposit. § 554.607 allows a deposit to cover actual damages “that are the direct result of conduct not reasonably expected in the normal course of habitation of a dwelling”, unpaid rent and unpaid utility bills. Oldendick turned on actual loss under Ohio's statute: the next tenant had no pet, so the landlord had no business keeping the pet money out of the deposit.
“ONE DOG PERMITTED, NO ADDITIONAL FEE”
A free allowance after a ban and a price list, and in Detroit a dog allowance meets a licence rule. Detroit City Code § 6-5-1(b) says no more than two dog licenses will be issued for a residence unless the applicant gives a signed notarized statement. That statement must say a dog previously licensed there has died, been permanently transferred, or been missing for at least two months.
The court called it what it is - an “internally inconsistent pet clause”. It bans pets and prices them in the same breath, so the court refused to read the rent out of it at all and used the parties' own stipulation instead. The tenant then won the part that matters: because the pet fee paid for pet-related risk, and the next tenant had no pet, the landlord suffered no actual loss and had no business keeping that money out of her deposit. She recovered the $640 balance plus $640 more in statutory double damages - $1,280 - under Ohio's deposit statute.
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 Pet Policy Clause
- A refundable pet deposit falls inside the state cap by definition. Section 554.601(d) defines a security deposit as "a deposit, in any amount" and includes "any other amount of money or property returnable to the tenant on condition of return of the rental unit by the tenant in condition as required by the rental agreement." Section 554.602 says a security deposit "shall not exceed 1 1/2 months' rent." Neither section names a separate category for pets.
- Pet damage is charged against the deposit under the general rule. Section 554.607 allows a deposit to be used only for actual damages "that are the direct result of conduct not reasonably expected in the normal course of habitation of a dwelling", for unpaid rent and for unpaid utility bills. The 30-day itemized list in § 554.609 and the double-amount penalty in § 554.613 apply to the whole deposit.
- Disability accommodations are a separate body of law. Mich. Comp. Laws § 37.1506a(1)(b) makes it unlawful to "Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when the accommodations may be necessary to afford the person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy residential real property." Section 554.633(1)(c) bars a lease provision that excludes or discriminates against a person in violation of the persons with disabilities civil rights act. The sections we read do not mention animals, and we did not read the federal Fair Housing Act.
- Detroit limits the number of animals in a home, whoever owns it. Detroit City Code § 6-2-1(d) caps a single residence at two animals of the same species over four months old. Section 6-5-1(b) says no more than two dog licenses will be issued for a residence unless the applicant gives a signed notarized statement that a dog previously licensed there has died, been permanently transferred, or been missing for at least two months.
Sources include Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.601(d); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.602; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.607; Mich. Comp. Laws § 37.1506a(1)(b); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.633(1)(c); Detroit City Code § 6-2-1(d); Detroit City Code § 6-5-1(b) - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
In the Michigan sections our record read, pet money meets the general deposit act rather than a pet rule. Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.601(d) defines a security deposit as "a deposit, in any amount".
It includes "any other amount of money or property returnable to the tenant on condition of return of the rental unit by the tenant in condition as required by the rental agreement."
A refundable pet deposit fits those words: it is money returned when the unit comes back in the condition the lease requires. § 554.602 then caps security deposit at "1 1/2 months' rent", and neither section names a separate category for pets.
The practical step is addition. Put the ordinary deposit and any refundable pet deposit together, and compare the total with 1.5 months of your rent.
The sections our record read do not name pets, pet fees or pet rent. Our record does not reach a non-refundable pet fee or a monthly pet charge, which leaves the lease you signed as the document that states them.
Damage an animal causes is charged under the general rule. § 554.607 allows the deposit to be used for actual damages "that are the direct result of conduct not reasonably expected in the normal course of habitation of a dwelling", for unpaid rent and for unpaid utility bills.
The deadlines apply to the whole deposit, pet money included. A landlord claiming damages mails an itemized list within 30 days under § 554.609, and § 554.613 makes a landlord who does not comply fully liable for double the amount retained.
Disability accommodations are a separate body of law. Mich. Comp. Laws § 37.1506a(1)(b) makes it unlawful to "Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when the accommodations may be necessary to afford the person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy residential real property."
§ 554.633(1)(c) bars a lease provision that excludes or discriminates against a person in violation of the persons with disabilities civil rights act. The sections our record read do not mention animals, and the federal Fair Housing Act was not read for this page, so read those laws directly on an assistance animal.
Our copy of § 554.601 is an archived Legislature page dated November 3, 2025, complete through Public Act 30 of 2025. Confirm the current text of each section before relying on it.
Michigan Tenant Protections
No section our record read in Michigan's security deposit act sets a separate dollar cap on a pet deposit. Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.601(d) defines a security deposit as a deposit in any amount, including any other money or property returnable to the tenant on return of the rental unit in the condition the rental agreement requires.
Section 554.602 caps all security deposit at one and a half months' rent.
Section 554.607 allows the deposit to be used for actual damages that are the direct result of conduct not reasonably expected in the normal course of habitation of a dwelling, for unpaid rent and for unpaid utility bills. The 30-day itemized list in § 554.609 and the double-amount penalty in § 554.613 apply to the whole deposit, pet money included. Mich. Comp.
Laws § 37.1506a(1)(b) makes it unlawful to refuse reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services when they may be necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy residential real property. Section 554.633(1)(c) bars a lease provision that excludes or discriminates against a person in violation of the persons with disabilities civil rights act.
In Detroit, City Code § 6-2-1(d) bars any person from keeping more than two animals of the same species over the age of four months in a single residence. Section 6-5-1(b) allows no more than two dog licenses for a residence unless the applicant gives a signed notarized statement that a dog previously licensed there has died, been permanently transferred, or been missing for at least two months.
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.
Our record of Detroit's City Code finds no pet deposit and no pet fee rule for rentals in the chapters it read. Those are Chapter 22 (Housing), Chapter 8, Article XV (Property Maintenance Code) and Chapter 6 (Animal Care, Control, and Regulation), read on Municode.
A text search of the code for "pet deposit" returned no results.
What Detroit does add is a household limit. Detroit City Code § 6-2-1(d) says "No person shall own, harbor, keep, or shelter more than two animals of the same species over the age of four months in a single residence." The same subsection says new licenses shall not be issued for animals over the limit of two upon death or rehoming of animals formerly licensed at that residence.
The ordinance is written about the person keeping the animals and the residence they live in, whoever owns it. Chapter 6, as our record read it, does not use the words landlord, tenant, lease or rental, so read it beside any animal count your lease allows rather than in place of it.
Dogs carry a second count. § 6-5-1(b) says no more than two dog licenses will be issued for a residence unless the applicant gives a signed notarized statement. That statement must say a dog previously licensed there has died, been permanently transferred, or been missing for at least two months.
On money, a Detroit renter works from the state sections. A refundable pet deposit sits inside the definition in Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.601(d), and § 554.602 caps the combined total at 1.5 months of rent.
Any deduction for pet damage goes through the 30-day itemized list in § 554.609.
On an outright pet ban in a Detroit rental, the ordinance chapters our record read are silent, which leaves the lease you signed as the document that answers it. A tenant asking for a disability accommodation has Mich. Comp. Laws § 37.1506a(1)(b) to read alongside it.
A workable order for a Detroit renter with a dog runs like this. Count the animals at the address against § 6-2-1(d), check the licence count under § 6-5-1(b), then add up the money against § 554.602 before you sign a pet addendum.
The date on the Detroit text matters. That copy of the code states it is codified through Ordinance No. 2024-17, effective March 26, 2024, and Ordinance No. 2024-32, effective June 25, 2024, and Municode lists later Detroit ordinances that are not yet in it.
Confirm the current Detroit code before relying on the absence of a rule.
§ 554.602 caps security deposit at 1 1/2 months' rent, and § 554.601(d) counts any returnable sum as deposit. Put a refundable pet deposit into the same total.
Get it in writing by name and description. Detroit City Code § 6-2-1(d) separately limits a residence to two animals of the same species over four months old.
Neither § 554.601(d) nor § 554.602 names a separate category for pets. Add the two together and compare the total with 1.5 months of rent.
The 30-day list in § 554.609 and the double-amount penalty in § 554.613 apply to the whole deposit, pet money included.
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 § 554.601(d); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.602; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.607; Mich. Comp. Laws § 37.1506a(1)(b); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.633(1)(c); Detroit City Code § 6-2-1(d); Detroit City Code § 6-5-1(b), read on web.archive.org. The Michigan Legislature's page for § 554.601, read as an archived copy dated November 3, 2025, marks the compiled laws complete through Public Act 30 of 2025; confirm the current text before relying on it.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A pet deposit stacked on a full deposit
§ 554.602 caps all security deposit at 1 1/2 months' rent, and § 554.601(d) counts any returnable sum. Add the two together and compare.
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A pet figure described as Michigan's limit
The Michigan sections our record read set no separate pet figure. Ask which section the number comes from, and read that section yourself.
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Pet damage kept with no itemized list
§ 554.609 requires a landlord claiming damages to mail an itemized list within 30 days, and § 554.613 sets the double-amount penalty for failing to comply fully.
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A lease allowance above Detroit's household limit
Detroit City Code § 6-2-1(d) bars more than two animals of the same species over four months old in a single residence. Check that count before relying on a larger lease allowance.
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An accommodation request refused out of hand
Mich. Comp. Laws § 37.1506a(1)(b) makes refusing reasonable accommodations in rules and policies unlawful where they may be necessary for equal use of a home. Read it directly, since the sections we read do not mention animals.
Your Rights as a Detroit Tenant
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One ceiling for everything held as security
§ 554.602 caps security deposit at 1 1/2 months' rent, and § 554.601(d) brings any returnable sum inside it.
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Deductions limited to real losses
§ 554.607 allows the deposit to cover actual damages beyond normal habitation, unpaid rent and unpaid utility bills, itemized within 30 days under § 554.609.
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Double the amount retained
§ 554.613 makes a landlord who does not comply fully liable for double the amount of the deposit retained, pet money included.
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Reasonable accommodations
Mich. Comp. Laws § 37.1506a(1)(b) bars refusing reasonable accommodations needed for equal use of a home, and § 554.633(1)(c) bars lease provisions that discriminate in violation of that act.
What To Do - Step by Step
Write down every pet figure on its own line
A refundable deposit, a one-time fee and a monthly charge are different obligations. Copy each amount from the lease with the heading printed above it.
Add up everything held as security
Take the ordinary deposit and any refundable pet deposit together and compare the total with 1.5 months of rent, the ceiling in § 554.602. Do it before any money changes hands.
Count the animals against Detroit's limit
Detroit City Code § 6-2-1(d) allows no more than two animals of the same species over four months old in a single residence, and § 6-5-1(b) caps dog licenses at two per residence.
Put any accommodation request in writing
If the animal is tied to a disability, ask in writing and keep a copy. Mich. Comp. Laws § 37.1506a(1)(b) is the Michigan section to read beside the request.
Photograph the unit at both ends
§ 554.607 lets the deposit cover damage beyond normal habitation, so dated photographs of every room are what separate a real pet cost from a claimed one.
Read the current text, then object in writing
Check § 554.601(d), § 554.602 and § 6-2-1(d) as they stand today. Then send a written objection naming the section you rely on, and a legal aid office is the next call if that goes nowhere.