Security Deposit Rules
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 § 554.602 says a residential security deposit "shall not exceed 1 1/2 months' rent." That is 1.5 months, measured against your own monthly rent.
- The definition is wide. § 554.601(d) calls a security deposit "a deposit, in any amount" and includes "any required prepayment of rent other than the first full rental period" and any other returnable sum.
- Within 30 days after the termination of occupancy, a landlord claiming damages mails an itemized list with the balance under § 554.609. Under § 554.610, missing that deadline "constitutes agreement by the landlord that no damages are due".
- A landlord who disputes the balance has 45 days to sue under § 554.613(1), "and not thereafter". Under § 554.613(2), failing to comply fully means owing double the amount of the deposit retained.
- Detroit's City Code, in the chapters our record read, sets no cap of its own. The cap, the 30-day list and the double-amount penalty for a Detroit renter come from Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 554.602, 554.609 and 554.613.
Understanding the Security Deposit Rules
Michigan answers the size question with a number. Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.602 says a security deposit "shall not exceed 1 1/2 months' rent", and § 554.601(d) defines the deposit widely enough to catch prepaid rent beyond the first full rental period and any other sum returnable at move-out.
The rest of the act follows the money out of the unit. A landlord claiming damages mails an itemized list with the balance within 30 days after the termination of occupancy under § 554.609, and § 554.610 treats a missed deadline as agreement that no damages are due.
A landlord who disputes the balance has 45 days to go to court under § 554.613(1), and failing to comply fully with that section costs double the amount retained. Detroit's own code, in the chapters our record read, adds no cap.
These sections were read on archived copies of the Michigan Legislature's pages, and an enrolled 2026 bill rewrites § 554.609. Read the current text yourself before you rely on a figure here.
What renters assume
A lease line saying the deposit is forfeited settles it: once you leave, the landlord keeps the money and owes you no list and no explanation.
What is actually true
§ 554.609 requires a landlord claiming damages to mail an itemized list within 30 days after the termination of occupancy, and § 554.610 treats silence past that point as agreement that no damages are due. § 554.606 says the act's requirements "may not be waived by the parties to a rental agreement except as specifically provided herein". § 554.633(1)(b) also bars a lease provision that waives a right under the deposit act.
Detroit's bar stands at 1.5 months in the comparison further down this page, the same height as Phoenix and Newark. Of the 18 rows, ten print a figure.
Three reach higher than Michigan: Las Vegas at 3 months, then Atlanta and Philadelphia at 2 months. Four stop lower, at 1 month: Los Angeles, New York City, Boston and Washington.
The eight rows with no cap figure are Austin, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Denver, Nashville, Portland and Columbus. Each bar measures what a landlord may take at signing, and the rest of Michigan's act works after that.
The 14-day notice of where the money is held, the 30-day itemized list, the 45 days a landlord has to sue and the double amount in § 554.613(2) all sit outside what a bar can draw.
Plain English Version
Your Detroit landlord can ask for up to one and a half months' rent as a deposit, counting any prepaid rent beyond the first month. Within 14 days of your move-in they owe you a written notice of their address and where the money is held.
After you move out, give them a forwarding address in writing within 4 days. They then have 30 days to mail an itemized list with the balance, and a landlord who keeps disputed money without following the rules can owe you double.
Security Deposit Forfeiture 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.
If Tenant vacates prior to the Expiration Date (as extended, if applicable), the security deposit shall be forfeited and Tenant shall be obligated for rent payments for the remainder of the term, or until the Property has been re-rented whichever is less.
Quoted from the published opinion in Cromar v. TAG Realty, LLC, No. 87780-1-I (Wash. Ct. App. Div. I, 2026). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“If Tenant vacates prior to the Expiration Date”
The trigger is your move-out date set against the date the lease ends. Michigan's deposit clocks start from another event. § 554.609 counts its 30 days for the itemized list from “the termination of occupancy”, and § 554.613(1) counts the landlord's 45 days to sue from the same point. Write down the day you hand back possession, because both counts turn on it.
“the security deposit shall be forfeited”
Set the word forfeited beside § 554.607, which allows a deposit to cover actual damage “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. Each of those is a sum to be counted and claimed. § 554.609 wants the claim itemized and mailed with any balance.
“and Tenant shall be obligated for rent payments for the remainder of”
This is the rent half of the clause. § 554.607 lets a deposit pay unpaid rent, so a rent claim can come out of it, on the same itemized list as anything else. § 554.613(1) also lets a landlord keep money without a judgment where the claim is just for unpaid rent, which makes the rent line the first one on the list to check against your own records.
“re-rented whichever is less”
The closing words limit the rent claim, and Michigan limits the time a landlord has to press a disputed one. Under § 554.613(1) a suit for damages comes within 45 days after the termination of occupancy “and not thereafter”. § 554.613(2) says failing to comply fully “constitutes waiver of all claimed damages and makes him liable to the tenant for double the amount of the security deposit retained.”
Held unlawful, and the tenants were awarded double damages. They broke the lease early to buy a home. The landlord issued a move-out statement headed “EARLY TERMINATION SECURITY DEPOSIT FORFEIT” and told them no refund was due. The court held the forfeiture clause could not override the statute governing what a landlord may actually keep.
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 Security Deposit Rules
- The cap is one and a half months' rent, and the definition is wide. Section 554.602 says a deposit "shall not exceed 1 1/2 months' rent." Section 554.601(d) defines a security deposit as "a deposit, in any amount" held for the lease term, including "any required prepayment of rent other than the first full rental period" and "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."
- Paperwork runs both ways. Under § 554.603 a landlord may not require a deposit without giving written notice, no later than 14 days after the tenant takes possession, of the landlord's address and the financial institution or surety holding the money. Under § 554.611 the tenant must give a forwarding address in writing within 4 days after moving out; missing it relieves the landlord of the notice of damages but "does not prejudice a tenant's subsequent claim for the security deposit."
- Deductions are limited and must be listed within 30 days. Section 554.607 allows a deposit to cover actual damage "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. Section 554.609 requires an itemized list, with the balance, within 30 days after the termination of occupancy, and § 554.610 says missing that deadline "constitutes agreement by the landlord that no damages are due". The text of enrolled Senate Bill 22 of 2026, ordered to take immediate effect, rewrites § 554.609 to allow the balance by direct deposit or electronic transfer within 10 days after mailing the notice, so check the current text of § 554.609.
- A landlord who disputes the balance has 45 days to go to court. Section 554.613(1) says a landlord may sue for damages within 45 days after the termination of occupancy "and not thereafter", and may not keep disputed money without a judgment unless the tenant gave no forwarding address, did not respond to the notice of damages within 7 days, agreed in writing, or the claim is only for unpaid rent. Section 554.613(2) says failure to comply fully "constitutes waiver of all claimed damages and makes him liable to the tenant for double the amount of the security deposit retained."
- The rules cannot be signed away. Section 554.606 says the act's requirements "may not be waived by the parties to a rental agreement except as specifically provided herein", and § 554.633(1)(b) of the Truth in Renting Act bars a lease provision that waives a right under the security deposit act. Section 554.616 applies the act to deposits held under leases "entered into, renewed or renegotiated after April 1, 1973."
Sources include Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.602; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.601(d); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.603; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.607; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.609; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.610; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.611; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.613; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.616 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
The ceiling is in Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.602, which says a deposit "shall not exceed 1 1/2 months' rent." That is 1.5 months, written as a multiple of your own rent.
§ 554.601(d) decides what counts toward it. A security deposit is "a deposit, in any amount" held for the lease term, including "any required prepayment of rent other than the first full rental period".
It also covers any other money or property returnable to the tenant on condition of returning the unit as the rental agreement requires.
Paperwork starts at move-in. Under § 554.603 a landlord may not require a deposit without a written notice, no later than 14 days after you take possession, of the landlord's address and the financial institution or surety holding the money.
§ 554.607 sets what the deposit may pay for: actual damage "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. A landlord claiming any of it mails an itemized list, with the balance, within 30 days after the termination of occupancy under § 554.609.
Missing that deadline has a stated result. § 554.610 says it "constitutes agreement by the landlord that no damages are due", and the full deposit goes back. The text of enrolled Senate Bill 22 of 2026 rewrites § 554.609 to allow the balance by direct deposit or electronic transfer within 10 days after mailing the notice, so check the current text.
The court step belongs to the landlord. § 554.613(1) allows a suit for damages within 45 days after the termination of occupancy "and not thereafter". Without a judgment, disputed money may not be kept unless you gave no forwarding address, did not answer the notice of damages within 7 days, agreed in writing, or the claim is just for unpaid rent.
§ 554.613(2) says failure to comply fully "constitutes waiver of all claimed damages and makes him liable to the tenant for double the amount of the security deposit retained." § 554.606 bars waiving the act's requirements in a rental agreement except as the act provides, and § 554.616 applies it to leases entered into, renewed or renegotiated after April 1, 1973.
Our copy of § 554.602 is an archived Legislature page dated August 5, 2025, complete through Public Act 5 of 2025. Read each section's current text before you rely on it.
Michigan Tenant Protections
Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.602 caps a security deposit at one and a half months' rent. Section 554.601(d) counts any required prepayment of rent other than the first full rental period, and any other sum returnable on return of the unit, as part of that deposit.
Under § 554.603 a landlord may not require a deposit without a written notice, no later than 14 days after the tenant takes possession, of the landlord's address and the financial institution or surety holding the money.
Section 554.607 allows the deposit to cover actual damage beyond normal habitation, unpaid rent and unpaid utility bills. A landlord claiming damages must mail an itemized list with the balance within 30 days after the termination of occupancy under § 554.609, and § 554.610 treats a missed deadline as agreement that no damages are due.
Under § 554.613(1) a landlord who disputes the balance may sue within 45 days and not thereafter, and may not keep disputed money without a judgment except in the cases the section lists. Section 554.613(2) makes a landlord who fails to comply fully liable for double the amount of the deposit retained.
Section 554.606 and § 554.633(1)(b) of the Truth in Renting Act keep these rights from being signed away in a lease.
The tenant's own duty, under § 554.611, is a forwarding address in writing within 4 days after moving out. On the city layer, the Detroit City Code chapters our record read set no deposit cap of their own.
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.
A Detroit renter reads two layers of law, and on the deposit the city layer is quiet. Our record read Detroit's City Code on Municode: Chapter 22 (Housing) in full, and Chapter 8, Article XV, the Property Maintenance Code that holds the rental property rules. Neither sets a cap on the size of a security deposit.
A text search of the Detroit code for "security deposit" returned two sections. One is a zoning definition and the other is a public accommodation rule for service animals, and neither regulates a tenant's deposit.
Where Chapter 22 does mention a tenant's money, it is rent in a city program for abandoned dwellings, which is to be deposited in an interest bearing escrow account. That is a program rule about rent, not a limit on what a landlord may hold as security.
So the figures a Detroit renter works with are the state's. The cap, the 30-day itemized list and the double-amount penalty come from Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 554.602, 554.609 and 554.613, and they apply in Detroit as they apply across Michigan.
In practice the order runs like this. The 1.5-month ceiling applies at signing, the written notice of where the money sits is due within 14 days of move-in, and your forwarding address is due within 4 days of move-out.
After that come the 30-day list and the landlord's 45 days to sue.
The forwarding address is the step worth doing on the day you leave. Under § 554.611, missing it relieves the landlord of the notice of damages, though it "does not prejudice a tenant's subsequent claim for the security deposit." Under § 554.613(1), a missing address is also one of the cases where a landlord may keep disputed money without a judgment.
When you write to a Detroit landlord about the money, name the state sections, and send the letter to the landlord's address from the § 554.603 notice. Keep a dated copy of everything you send, since the deadlines on both sides are counted in days.
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. Municode lists later Detroit ordinances that are not yet in it.
Confirm the current Detroit code before relying on the absence of a city rule. Read § 554.609 as it stands today too, since an enrolled 2026 bill rewrites how the balance may be paid.
§ 554.602 says a deposit "shall not exceed 1 1/2 months' rent." Add any prepaid rent beyond the first full rental period, which § 554.601(d) counts as deposit, then divide by your monthly rent.
§ 554.603 bars requiring a deposit without a written notice, within 14 days after you take possession, of the landlord's address and the financial institution or surety holding the money.
§ 554.607 lets the deposit cover actual damage, unpaid rent and unpaid utility bills, and § 554.609 requires those to be itemized within 30 days. A flat forfeiture skips that list.
§ 554.606 says the act's requirements "may not be waived by the parties to a rental agreement except as specifically provided herein", and § 554.633(1)(b) bars a lease provision that waives a right under it.
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 § 554.602; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.601(d); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.603; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.607; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.609; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.610; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.611; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.613; Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.616, read on web.archive.org. The Michigan Legislature's page for § 554.602, read as an archived copy dated August 5, 2025, marks the compiled laws complete through Public Act 5 of 2025; a 2026 amendment to § 554.609 is not in that copy, so confirm the current text before relying on it.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A deposit above one and a half months' rent
§ 554.602 caps the deposit at 1 1/2 months' rent. Count prepaid rent beyond the first full rental period too, since § 554.601(d) treats it as deposit.
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A cleaning or pet sum listed apart from the deposit
§ 554.601(d) includes "any other amount of money or property returnable to the tenant" on return of the unit. A refundable sum under another name belongs in the same total.
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No notice of where the money is held
§ 554.603 requires the landlord's address and the financial institution or surety in writing within 14 days after you take possession. Silence past that point is worth a written question.
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A return window longer than 30 days
§ 554.609 runs 30 days from the termination of occupancy, and § 554.610 treats a missed deadline as agreement that no damages are due. A longer window in the lease asks you to wait past it.
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A Detroit rule cited for a deposit figure
The Detroit City Code chapters our record read set no deposit cap. If a lease credits a figure to the city, ask which section it means, and read the current code, since later ordinances are not yet in the copy we read.
Your Rights as a Detroit Tenant
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A ceiling of one and a half months
§ 554.602 limits the deposit to 1 1/2 months' rent, and § 554.601(d) counts prepaid rent beyond the first full rental period toward it.
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An itemized list within 30 days
§ 554.609 requires a landlord claiming damages to mail an itemized list with the balance within 30 days after the termination of occupancy.
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No keeping disputed money without a judgment
§ 554.613(1) gives the landlord 45 days to sue "and not thereafter", and bars keeping disputed money without a judgment outside the cases the section lists.
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Double the amount retained
Under § 554.613(2), a landlord who fails to comply fully waives all claimed damages and is liable for double the amount of the deposit retained.
What To Do - Step by Step
Measure the deposit against your rent
Add the deposit and any prepaid rent beyond the first full rental period, then divide by one month's rent. Anything over 1.5 is above the ceiling in § 554.602.
Watch for the written notice
Within 14 days after you take possession, § 554.603 calls for the landlord's address and the financial institution or surety holding the money. Keep it with the lease, because the address is where your later letters go.
Photograph the unit at both ends
§ 554.607 lets the deposit cover damage beyond normal habitation, so dated photographs of every room at move-in and move-out are what an itemized list gets compared against.
Send the forwarding address within 4 days
§ 554.611 asks for it in writing within 4 days after you move out. Without it the landlord is relieved of the notice of damages, so send it the day you leave and keep proof.
Answer any list within 7 days
If an itemized list arrives, respond within 7 days. Under § 554.613(1), no response is one of the cases where a landlord may keep disputed money without a judgment.
Count 30 days, then 45, then write
No list by day 30 means § 554.610 treats the landlord as agreeing no damages are due. If disputed money is kept past 45 days with no suit, put a written demand naming § 554.613 and its double amount, and a legal aid office is the next call.