# Michigan — Landlord retaliation presumption period by US state

For Michigan, presumption period is 90 days; what the presumption does is a presumption in favor of the defense of retaliatory termination arises; example of a protected activity is That the alleged termination was intended primarily as a penalty for the defendant's complaint to a governmental authority with a report of plaintiff's violation of a health or safety code or ordinance; statute is MCL 600.5720, recorded from its source on 2026-09-02.

- **State:** Michigan _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Presumption period:** 90 days _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **What the presumption does:** a presumption in favor of the defense of retaliatory termination arises _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Example of a protected activity:** That the alleged termination was intended primarily as a penalty for the defendant's complaint to a governmental authority with a report of plaintiff's violation of a health or safety code or ordinance _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Statute:** MCL 600.5720 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> (2) If a defendant who alleges a retaliatory termination of the tenancy shows that within 90 days before the commencement of summary proceedings the defendant attempted to secure or enforce rights against the plaintiff or to complain against the plaintiff, as provided in subsection (1)(a), (b), (c), or (e), by means of official action to or through a court or other governmental agency and the official action has not resulted in dismissal or denial of the attempt or complaint, a presumption in favor of the defense of retaliatory termination arises, unless the plaintiff establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the termination of tenancy was not in retaliation for the acts.

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### Example of a protected activity

> (b) That the alleged termination was intended primarily as a penalty for the defendant's complaint to a governmental authority with a report of plaintiff's violation of a health or safety code or ordinance.

## Source

- https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-600-5720

Last verified: 2026-09-02. Review by: 2027-09-02.
Part of [Landlord retaliation presumption period by US state](https://referencesource.org/landlord-retaliation-presumption-period-by-state/).