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Michigan Security Deposit Written Notice: 14-Day Rule, MCL 554.603

A Michigan landlord “shall not require a security deposit unless” the tenant is notified in a written instrument no later than 14 days from the date the tenant assumes possession, says MCL 554.603 (Act 348 of 1972, the Security Deposit Act; its Popular Name in the legislature’s files is Landlord-Tenant Act). The notice carries three items of information and one boldface sentence that the statute prints word for word. Below: the text, a fill-in template, a dated example and what the statute says about skipping the notice.

What the notice must contain

The statute calls it a written instrument; it speaks of the “notice or lease agreement”, so a lease clause or a separate page both fit the text. It must give:

  1. The landlord’s name and address for receipt of communications under the Act.
  2. The name and address of the financial institution holding the deposit. MCL 554.604(1) says the deposit goes into a regulated financial institution; a landlord who deposits a bond with the Secretary of State, acceptable to the Attorney General, covering the deposits may use the money for any purpose (read the section for the amounts; this article does not go further into the bond option). If you use the bond option, the notice also covers the bond arrangement section 4 describes; the 554.603 text joins the institution and the bond arrangement with the word or, so when in doubt name both and ask an attorney.
  3. The tenant’s duty to give the landlord a forwarding mailing address in writing within 4 days after occupancy ends.
  4. This sentence, which the statute prints and which you copy exactly:
“You must notify your landlord in writing within 4 days after you move of a forwarding address where you can be reached and where you will receive mail; otherwise your landlord shall be relieved of sending you an itemized list of damages and the penalties adherent to that failure.”

It must be in 12 point boldface type “which is at least 4 points larger than the body of the notice or lease agreement”. Read literally, those two numbers mean the other text can be no larger than 8 point. The text does not say how to reconcile them. A one-page stand-alone notice with 8 point body text and the sentence in 12 point bold meets both numbers; if you put the notice inside a lease, check the lease body size against the same arithmetic.

Which deposits count, and the 14 days

“Security deposit” is defined in MCL 554.601(d) to include “any required prepayment of rent other than the first full rental period of the lease agreement”, so a required last-month payment needs the notice too. The amount is capped by MCL 554.602 at one and a half months’ rent.

The 14 days run from the date the tenant assumes possession, not from lease signing or payment. Worked dates (day 14 counted forward from the possession date):

Tenant takes possessionDay 14
Monday 2 November 2026Monday 16 November 2026
Wednesday 2 December 2026Wednesday 16 December 2026
Tuesday 5 January 2027Tuesday 19 January 2027

The statute text does not say how to count weekends or holidays; the court rules do, and they are outside these files; ask the court clerk or an attorney, and when in doubt finish early. Our practice, not a statutory step: hand over the notice at lease signing, before you take any deposit.

Template

Our template; the statute lists the contents, not the wording. Print the boldface sentence in 12 point bold.

SECURITY DEPOSIT NOTICE (MCL 554.603)

Rental unit address: ______________________________
Tenant name(s): __________________________________
Date tenant took possession: ______________________

1. Landlord name and address for communications
   under this Act:
   _______________________________________________
2. Financial institution holding the deposit
   (name and address):
   _______________________________________________
   Bond option under MCL 554.604, if you use it:
   describe the arrangement as that section sets it out:
   _______________________________________________
3. Your obligation: give the landlord your forwarding
   mailing address in writing within 4 days after
   your occupancy ends.

[12 point bold:]
You must notify your landlord in writing within 4 days after you move of a forwarding address where you can be reached and where you will receive mail; otherwise your landlord shall be relieved of sending you an itemized list of damages and the penalties adherent to that failure.

Given on: __________  By: [ ] hand  [ ] mail
Tenant acknowledgment (optional; not required by the statute): __________

What the text says about the consequence

Common mistakes

This describes the statute text; it is not legal advice. For a late notice, a bond question or a dispute, see a Michigan attorney.

Checked against the text published on legislature.mi.gov on 5 October 2026.

Sources

Related guides

Informational only, not legal advice. Statute text checked against the Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL 554.131 to 554.139, 554.601 to 554.616, 554.631 to 554.641 and 600.2918, 600.5701 to 600.5759) as published at legislature.mi.gov on October 5, 2026. Statutes change and a court may read them differently than a summary does; for a dispute, an eviction or anything expensive to get wrong, talk to a Michigan landlord-tenant attorney.

Want the complete picture? The Michigan Small Landlord Compliance Guide puts the security deposit, lease, notice and eviction rules of the Michigan Compiled Laws in one place, with each rule cited to the statute text.

Get the guide — $29

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