Utilities 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 § 600.2918(2) gives a tenant whose possession "has been unlawfully interfered with by the owner" the amount of actual damages or $200.00, whichever is greater, "for each occurrence".
- Subdivision (f) counts causing, by action or omission, the termination or interruption of an essential service, "including heat, running water, hot water, electric, or gas service". It reaches a service the tenant procured and one the landlord is under an existing duty to furnish.
- The limits are written into the same section. § 600.2918(3) excludes acting under a court order and a temporary interference only as necessary for needed repairs or inspection. § 600.2918(7) says the section "may not be waived", and § 554.633(1)(j) bars a lease provision that waives or alters those rights.
- Detroit City Code § 48-3-2(a) bars an owner or manager of an occupied rental unit from discontinuing or interrupting "any utility service to a rental unit", outside temporary interruption while repairs are actually being made. Under § 48-3-1 a violation may be issued for each day it continues, with a fine of up to $500.00 and up to 90 days in jail for each.
- Detroit also requires an owner to post a utility company's discontinuation notice within 24 hours of receiving it, under § 48-3-2(b). Read the current text of § 600.2918 yourself, because our copy is FindLaw's, marked current as of January 1, 2025.
Understanding the Utilities Clause
A utilities clause decides whose name is on the gas, electric and water accounts. It does not decide whether a landlord may switch any of them off, and in Detroit two texts answer that second question, one state and one city.
The state text is Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2918. A landlord who causes an essential service such as heat, running water, hot water, electric or gas service to be cut off has unlawfully interfered with the tenant's possession.
The tenant may recover actual damages or $200, whichever is greater, for each occurrence.
The city text is Detroit City Code § 48-3-2, which bars an owner or manager from discontinuing or interrupting any utility service to a rental unit. It is enforced as a misdemeanor, separate from the tenant's state law damages.
The state text behind this page was read on FindLaw's copy, marked current as of January 1, 2025, and the city text on Municode. Read both as they stand today before you rely on either.
What renters assume
A lease that puts the utilities in the tenant's name, or says the tenant pays all of them, leaves the landlord free to deal with the service however it likes once the rent is late.
What is actually true
§ 600.2918(2)(f) reaches the interruption of "a service procured by the tenant or that the landlord is under an existing duty to furnish", so both kinds of account are covered. § 600.2918(7) says the section "may not be waived", and § 554.633(1)(j) bars a lease provision that waives or alters rights under it. Who pays the bill is a lease question. Cutting an essential service is a different one.
Nine of the 18 rows carry a fixed dollar figure. They are New York City at $10,000, Denver at $5,000, Las Vegas at $2,500, Washington at $2,000, Austin at $1,000, Atlanta at $500, Chicago and Boston at $300, and Detroit at $200.
The other nine are blank, answering in rent multiples, daily amounts with no ceiling, or damages with no fixed sum.
Detroit's bar is the lowest of the nine figures, and that understates it. The Michigan $200 is a floor, not a ceiling: the tenant recovers actual damages or $200, whichever is greater.
It also repeats for each occurrence. The bar cannot show the city layer either, a misdemeanor fine of up to $500 for each violation issued under § 48-3-1, with a violation possible for each day it continues.
Plain English Version
Your lease can put the utility bills in your name, but it cannot give your landlord the right to cut an essential service. In Michigan, a landlord who causes heat, water, hot water, electric or gas service to be cut off leaves you able to recover your actual losses or $200, whichever is more, each time it happens, and that right cannot be signed away.
Detroit separately makes cutting any utility service to a rental unit a crime, outside temporary interruptions for repairs actually being made.
Utilities 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.
[t]enant shall be responsible for all utilities and services incurred in connection with the Premises.
Quoted from the published opinion in Dinh v. Raines, No. S-18262 (Alaska Feb. 23, 2024). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“[t]enant shall be responsible”
Paying for a service and controlling it are separate questions in Michigan, and the statute answers the second for both kinds of account. Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2918(2)(f) counts causing the termination or interruption of “a service procured by the tenant or that the landlord is under an existing duty to furnish” as unlawful interference with possession. A gas account in your own name is still covered, and so is service the landlord was meant to supply.
“for all utilities”
The lease says all; the Michigan subdivision names the essentials. It covers a service “so essential that its termination or interruption would constitute constructive eviction, including heat, running water, hot water, electric, or gas service.” Detroit's own ban is worded differently: Detroit City Code § 48-3-2(a) bars an owner or manager from discontinuing or interrupting, by act or omission, “any utility service to a rental unit”, outside temporary interruption while repairs are actually being made.
“and services”
The money a Michigan tenant recovers is set by the statute, not by how the lease lists the services. Under § 600.2918(2) it is actual damages or $200.00, whichever is greater, “for each occurrence”. That makes $200 a floor rather than a ceiling, and the amount attaches to each occurrence. Nevada, by contrast, lets a court fix an amount not greater than $2,500 on top of actual damages, a ceiling where Michigan's figure is a floor.
“in connection with the Premises”
The phrase ties the bills to the premises, and some Detroit premises sit in a building whose landlord holds the utility account. For that case the city writes duties of its own. Under § 48-3-2(b) the owner or manager must post a utility company's discontinuation notice near the building entrances within 24 hours of receiving it, and notify each affected unit in writing. For a building of three or more rental units, § 48-3-25(c) lets a tenant pay rent to the city's building department once a utility posts a notice of discontinuance.
The clause survived. The landlord did not. The Alaska Supreme Court held that a “tenant pays all utilities” clause does not let a landlord shift the cost of utilities he diverts. He had housed his restaurant employees in unpermitted garage units and let them draw electricity and heating fuel through the tenants' meter and fuel tank. That was a willful diminution of essential services under AS 34.03.210, which exposes a landlord to exemplary damages of up to one and one-half times actual damages. The court affirmed that finding as to heat, hot water and electricity, and reversed as to internet and cable, which are not “essential services” under the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. The same utilities clause still carried the day on ordinary contract grounds: the tenants recovered $1,050 under AS 34.03.160 for the internet and cable, once they had given notice. Two things a renter should take from it - a broad “all utilities” clause is normal and enforceable, and it still does not make you the landlord's utility company.
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 Utilities Clause
- Section 600.2918(2) provides that a tenant "whose possessory interest has been unlawfully interfered with by the owner is entitled to recover the amount of his or her actual damages or $200.00, whichever is greater, for each occurrence". Subdivision (f) counts "Causing, by action or omission, the termination or interruption of a service procured by the tenant or that the landlord is under an existing duty to furnish, which service is so essential that its termination or interruption would constitute constructive eviction, including heat, running water, hot water, electric, or gas service."
- The limits are written into the same section. Under § 600.2918(3) there is no unlawful interference where the owner acts pursuant to court order, or "interferes temporarily with possession only as necessary to make needed repairs or inspection and only as provided by law". Section 600.2918(7) says the section "may not be waived", § 554.633(1)(j) separately bars a lease provision that waives or alters rights under § 600.2918, and § 600.2918(8) requires an action for damages to be commenced within 1 year and an action to regain possession within 90 days.
- Detroit adds notice duties. Under § 48-3-2(b) the owner or manager of an occupied rental unit must post, within 24 hours of receiving a utility company's notice of discontinuation or interruption, the notice or a copy near the building entrances and notify each affected unit in writing. Under § 48-3-2(c) a planned interruption requires notice to occupants of "the time and probable duration" as soon as practicable, and § 48-3-2(e) assigns enforcement to the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department and the Police Department.
- Detroit also has a rent escrow route for a building of three or more rental units whose landlord's utility account is delinquent. Once a utility posts a notice of discontinuance, § 48-3-25(c) lets any tenant pay rent to the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department instead of the landlord, § 48-3-27(a) treats that payment as rent and makes it unlawful to evict for nonpayment of rent so paid, and § 48-3-29 says no tenant becomes personally liable for unpaid utility bills. Section 48-3-34 states that no action is to be taken under several of those sections until a service fee is adopted under § 48-3-26 and procedural rules are promulgated under § 48-3-32; we did not check whether that has happened.
Sources include Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2918(2)(f); Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2918(3); Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2918(7); Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2918(8); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.633(1)(j); Detroit City Code § 48-3-2; Detroit City Code § 48-3-1; Detroit City Code § 48-3-25; Detroit City Code § 48-3-27; Detroit City Code § 48-3-34 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Michigan puts the shutoff inside its anti-lockout statute. Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2918(2) provides that a tenant "whose possessory interest has been unlawfully interfered with by the owner is entitled to recover the amount of his or her actual damages or $200.00, whichever is greater, for each occurrence".
Subdivision (f) names the utility case. It counts "Causing, by action or omission, the termination or interruption of a service procured by the tenant or that the landlord is under an existing duty to furnish".
The service must be "so essential that its termination or interruption would constitute constructive eviction, including heat, running water, hot water, electric, or gas service."
Three features of that wording decide how far it reaches. An omission counts as well as an act.
The service may be one the tenant procured, on the tenant's own account. And the figure is a floor: $200 is what the tenant recovers when actual damages are smaller, and it applies to each occurrence.
The limits sit in the same section. Under § 600.2918(3) there is no unlawful interference where the owner acts pursuant to court order, or "interferes temporarily with possession only as necessary to make needed repairs or inspection and only as provided by law".
The protection is also fenced against the lease. § 600.2918(7) says the section "may not be waived". Separately, § 554.633(1)(j), part of the Truth in Renting Act, bars a lease provision that waives or alters rights under § 600.2918.
The clock matters as much as the money. § 600.2918(8) requires an action for damages to be commenced within 1 year, and an action to regain possession within 90 days. Both start running while a tenant may still be dealing with the outage itself.
Read § 600.2918 as it stands today before relying on it. Our copy is FindLaw's, marked current as of January 1, 2025, and an amendment after that date would not show in it.
Michigan Tenant Protections
Under Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2918(2), a tenant whose possessory interest has been unlawfully interfered with by the owner is entitled to recover actual damages or $200.00, whichever is greater, for each occurrence. Subdivision (f) counts causing, by action or omission, the termination or interruption of a service procured by the tenant or that the landlord is under an existing duty to furnish.
The service must be so essential that its termination or interruption would constitute constructive eviction.
The services it names include heat, running water, hot water, electric or gas service. Under § 600.2918(3) there is no unlawful interference where the owner acts pursuant to court order, or interferes temporarily only as necessary to make needed repairs or inspection and only as provided by law.
Section 600.2918(7) says the section may not be waived, and § 554.633(1)(j) bars a lease provision that waives or alters rights under § 600.2918. An action for damages must be commenced within 1 year, and an action to regain possession within 90 days, under § 600.2918(8).
In Detroit, City Code § 48-3-2(a) bars owners, or persons in control or management of an occupied rental unit, from discontinuing or interrupting any utility service to a rental unit, except for temporary interruption while repairs, replacements or alterations are actually being made. Under § 48-3-1 a misdemeanor violation may be issued for each day the violation continues, and on conviction the court may impose a fine of up to $500.00 and up to 90 days in jail, or both, for each violation issued.
Section 48-3-2(b) requires the owner or manager to post a utility company's discontinuation notice within 24 hours of receiving it and to notify each affected unit in writing.
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.
Detroit writes its own shutoff ban into Chapter 48, Article III of the City Code. We read that article in full on Municode, Supplement 4, codified through Ordinance No. 2024-17 and Ordinance No. 2024-32, with online content updated October 9, 2025.
§ 48-3-2(a) says owners, or persons in control or management of an occupied rental unit, shall not discontinue or interrupt "by act or omission, any utility service to a rental unit". The one exception is temporary interruption while repairs, replacements or alterations are actually being made.
The wording differs from the state's in a way worth noticing. The state subdivision is written around a service so essential that cutting it would be constructive eviction. The city sentence speaks of any utility service to a rental unit.
The penalty is criminal. Under § 48-3-1 a misdemeanor violation may be issued for each day the violation continues, and on conviction the court may impose a fine of up to $500.00 and up to 90 days in jail, or both, for each violation issued.
Those are penalties on conviction, separate from the tenant's state law damages.
Detroit also sets notice duties. Under § 48-3-2(b) the owner or manager must post a utility company's notice of discontinuation or interruption, or a copy, near the building entrances within 24 hours of receiving it, and notify each affected unit in writing.
Under § 48-3-2(c) a planned interruption requires notice to occupants of "the time and probable duration" as soon as practicable. § 48-3-2(e) assigns enforcement to the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department and the Police Department.
A second route exists on paper for a building of three or more rental units whose landlord's utility account is delinquent. Once a utility posts a notice of discontinuance, § 48-3-25(c) lets any tenant pay rent to that department instead of the landlord. § 48-3-27(a) treats the payment as rent and makes it unlawful to evict for nonpayment of rent so paid, and § 48-3-29 says no tenant becomes personally liable for unpaid utility bills.
That route carries a condition. § 48-3-34 states that no action is to be taken under several of those sections until a service fee is adopted under § 48-3-26 and procedural rules are promulgated under § 48-3-32. We did not check whether that has happened, so ask the department before relying on it.
Text searches of the code for "shut off" and "utility service" also returned sections in other chapters, which we did not read in full. Read the current code before quoting any section of it to your landlord.
§ 600.2918(2)(f) reaches a service procured by the tenant and one the landlord is under an existing duty to furnish. Knowing which is which makes a later dispute easier to document.
Detroit's § 48-3-2(c) requires notice to occupants of "the time and probable duration" of a planned interruption as soon as practicable. A clause repeating that matches the ordinance.
Causing an essential service to be cut is unlawful interference under § 600.2918(2)(f), and § 554.633(1)(j) bars a lease provision that waives or alters rights under that section.
§ 600.2918(7) says the section "may not be waived". A waiver in the lease is asking for something the statute says cannot be given.
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 § 600.2918(2)(f); Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2918(3); Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2918(7); Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2918(8); Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.633(1)(j); Detroit City Code § 48-3-2; Detroit City Code § 48-3-1; Detroit City Code § 48-3-25; Detroit City Code § 48-3-27; Detroit City Code § 48-3-34, read on codes.findlaw.com. FindLaw marks its copy of Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2918 as current as of January 1, 2025.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A shutoff reserved for late rent
That is the conduct § 600.2918(2)(f) names, and it carries actual damages or $200, whichever is greater, for each occurrence.
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A waiver of shutoff claims
§ 600.2918(7) says the section may not be waived, and § 554.633(1)(j) bars a lease provision that waives or alters rights under it.
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Repairs used to explain a long outage
Detroit's § 48-3-2(a) excuses a temporary interruption while repairs are actually being made, and § 600.2918(3) a temporary interference only as necessary for needed repairs or inspection.
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No posted notice after a utility warning
Under § 48-3-2(b) a Detroit owner or manager must post a utility company's discontinuation notice within 24 hours of receiving it and notify each affected unit in writing.
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A demand that you cover the landlord's arrears
Detroit's § 48-3-29 says no tenant becomes personally liable for unpaid utility bills. It sits in the escrow division that § 48-3-34 holds back until a fee and rules are adopted, so check its status first.
Your Rights as a Detroit Tenant
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Actual damages or $200, each time
§ 600.2918(2) gives the greater of actual damages or $200.00 for each occurrence of unlawful interference, which includes cutting an essential service.
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A right the lease cannot remove
§ 600.2918(7) says the section may not be waived, and § 554.633(1)(j) bars a lease provision that waives or alters it.
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Notice within 24 hours in Detroit
§ 48-3-2(b) requires the owner or manager to post a utility's discontinuation notice within 24 hours of receipt and notify each affected unit in writing.
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A city ban with criminal penalties
§ 48-3-2(a) bars interrupting any utility service to a rental unit, and § 48-3-1 allows a fine of up to $500.00 and up to 90 days in jail for each violation issued.
What To Do - Step by Step
Write down when the service stopped
Date and time, with a photograph of the meter or thermostat. § 600.2918(2) runs per occurrence, so each outage needs its own entry.
Ask the utility why it stopped
A landlord account in arrears points to Detroit's § 48-3-2(b) posting duty and, in a building of three or more units, the escrow division. A cut made on the landlord's request points to § 600.2918(2)(f).
Report it to the city
§ 48-3-2(e) assigns enforcement to the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department and the Police Department. Keep a note of who you spoke to and when.
Keep every receipt the outage generates
Hotel nights, meals, a space heater, spoiled food. The recovery is actual damages or $200, whichever is greater, so the receipts decide which figure applies.
Watch the two deadlines
§ 600.2918(8) requires an action to regain possession within 90 days and an action for damages within 1 year.
Read the current text, then take advice
Open § 600.2918 and Detroit's Chapter 48, Article III as they read today, and ask whether the escrow route is in force under § 48-3-34. Michigan legal aid can review the facts while both deadlines are open.