ACTION NEEDED BY NOVEMBER 1st - Michigan Supreme Court Planned Rule Change
The Michigan Supreme Court is planning to revise MCR 4.201, which is the court rule which governs landlord-tenant cases in Michigan. The order, the proposed rule changes, and the dissenting opinion are available for review at:
CLICK HERE TO REVIEW
The Court is proposing to make a number of significant changes, virtually all of which are detrimental to property owners and managers. It is clear the goal is to slow down the landlord-tenant process. What is missed throughout all of this is that the reason there is a court case 99% of the time is because the resident did not pay the rent they had promised to pay, not as a result of something the landlord has done. It is not the landlord’s fault the tenant does not pay the rent but the landlord is the one who has been, and will be paying, in multiple ways. The Court is accepting public comment on their proposed changes, which must be submitted by November 1, 2022. The comments may be submitted by clicking on “Comment on this Proposal” after clicking the button below.
A commenter can click on that option and type in comments directly or there is an option to upload a pre-written document instead.
PMAM is asking property managers and companies to submit short, concise objections to individual parts of the new rule change, rather than submit long letters opposing numerous segments of the rule. If each person would address one issue in their individual comment, with the expectation that multiple people will object to different proposed changes, all of the objectionable issues should be addressed. We need to impress upon the Court that these changes are bad policy, which will impact significantly upon landlords, and will ultimately hurt good-paying residents.
What you should not do is have multiple people send in copies of the same objection. This is not a cut-and-paste exercise. You need to put your concerns in your own words and share your own stories.
Feel free to write your own comments on various sections of the proposed rule and how it affects you and your company, and has during the past two years, but here is a list of the main problems with the rule change about which members should comment. Click on the item of interest for more information about the particular subject.
1. Requiring certificates of compliance before filing cases
2. Continued delays because of multiple Zoom hearings
3. Encouraging jury demands to delay cases
4. Preventing default judgments at the first hearing
5. Imposing a Thirty-Day Stay for any tenant assistance application
6. Permanently ending court through mail In Jackson, Monroe and elsewhere
7. Hearings not occurring within 10 days as required by law
Want to see what other property professionals are saying on the matter?
Check out he video below and the the link to the comment page!
CLICK HERE TO COMMENT