This brochure is intended to help tenants understand the eviction
process if they are being evicted for non payment of rent. This is a
general discussion and refers to Michigan cases only. For individual
questions, please call an attorney or other qualified person. If you are
low income you may qualify for free legal advice and can contact
Lakeshore’s, Counsel & Advocacy Law Line, at 1-888-783-8190.
Q.
How do I know if I’m being evicted and if its for not paying my
rent?
To start an eviction, a landlord must send the tenant a notice.
There are several different ways to be evicted. The type of notice that
your landlord sends you will tell you why your landlord thinks he has a
right to evict you. If the paper that your landlord has sent you gives you
seven days to pay or move, you are being evicted for non payment of
rent. Typically, the notice that your landlord sends will say "Demand
for Possession, Non Payment of Rent" at the top but may be a simple
letter stating that you have seven days in which to pay the beck rent.
If you have a different notice please see our other brochure:
EVICTIONS/TERMINATION OF TENANCY.
Q.
So I’ve got a Demand for Possession/Non Payment of Rent-what
happens now?
The first thing to know is that just because your landlord has
given you a Demand for Possession doesn’t mean that you have to move
out right away. You have the right to a hearing and your landlord
must take you to court to evict you. If your landlord changes or
threatens to change the locks, contact the police immediately. You
should also call an attorney as soon as possible. A Demand for
Possession is simply a seven day notice telling you that your landlord
thinks you owe back rent. If you don’t pay by the end of the seven day
period your landlord can take you to court.
Q. How do I know when to go to court and how much the landlord
is asking in rent?
After waiting the seven days in the Demand for Possession, the
landlord can bring an eviction suit in district court. To be