Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Michigan

We have been renting a house for more than 3 years now and every year we sign a new lease. When we 1st rented the house the front porch had some damage (minor) and we had the landlord write in the lease that he would repair it. well he never did address it and the minor repair has now progressed to a dangerous situation with 9 to 6 inch wide holes in the steps and porch, and even the mail person has expressed concern about our porch and told us that they would stop delivering unless we get it fixed. We signed a new lease back in July and once again had written into the lease that the repairs would be completed by Oct 1st. It is now Sept. 28th 2012 and the landlord has still done nothing to address the repairs. In addition; he called me a few days ago stating that it is my responsibility as this is considered normal wear and tear. We have been VERY patient with him (there are other serious structural repairs that need to be completed that he was made aware of 3 & 2 years ago). Can we open an escrow account and withhold rent, (depositing it into the escrow account) until he makes the repairs. We live in troy MI.


Asked on 9/28/12, 12:07 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Timothy Klisz Klisz Law Office, PLLC

Yes, that is a great idea. If he doesn't fix it and takes you to court, you have the written lease, photos and the money sitting in the bank to pay what the judge orders. Good luck. Tim Klisz kliszlaw.com

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Answered on 9/28/12, 1:09 pm


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