Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Michigan

Michigan has free landlord tenant advice on its website in the housing section and there are free pamplets that are issued every so often by politicians, which provide you with the basic rules and rights of landlords and tenants. If you were unclear as to the terms of your lease, you should have had someone else review it before you signed it, such as a lawyer. Once you sign it, you're stuck. Also, why do you want to stay in the same place when the landlord is not doing his job?

You need to get this resolved before you sign a new lease. If your situation gets worse and you end up going to court, the Judge will say "why would you sign a new lease with all these problems?" and they won't believe you - they will think you're making excuses in order to avoid paying rent.

Always put work or repair requests, and complaints, in writing, to the landlord, with some kind of proof that he got it (fax confirmation, certified mail), to protect yourself. Follow up with phone calls, as that creates a log or paper trail. Contact the landlord daily or weekly, depending on the severity of the problem. A tenant can legally withhold paying rent if the premises are that bad, but the tenant is required to put that money into an "escrow" bank account - you can't just not pay - you have to set it aside and provide your landlord with notice and proof that you have escrowed the money. Your problems don't sound too severe or urgent (such as bugs or no electricity), however, they are being ignored by the landlord. He's obviously not taking you seriously or respecting you. The new lease needs to clearly state that these issues will be fixed by X date - or just don't sign a new lease until they are fixed. I have a feeling that you're not aggressive enough with this landlord. Tenants have a lot of rights, and that knowledge is available on Michigan's official government website, and several district courts have landlord tenant information available on their website, so look up some courts in your area for more information (it's all the same, so even if you lived in Novi, you can rely on tips from Rochester Hills - it's state law, not local).

If you need to retain a lawyer to help enforce your lease and get these issues resolved, please feel free to contact me. Good luck.

Thanks.