Michigan: Late Rent Fee Limits

How a Michigan late fee is actually governed

Michigan has no late-fee statute. A landlord may charge a late fee — the
Legislature's own tenant-landlord guide confirms as much — but no Michigan law
sets a maximum amount, requires a grace period, or says whether the fee may be
charged once or every day. The amount is whatever the lease provides.

The statute that comes closest is the Truth in Renting Act, which polices what a
lease may say. Section 554.633(1) lists clauses a rental agreement "shall not
include," and § 554.633(3) makes any offending clause "void." That list reaches
several money terms — a confession of judgment (subd. (d)), an attorney-fee
clause beyond what a statute allows (subd. (g)), a personal-property security
interest to secure rent (subd. (h)), and an unqualified rent-acceleration clause
(subd. (i)) — but it does not cap a late fee or set a grace period. So the Act
constrains how a lease is written without limiting the size of a late fee.

That leaves the fee to the lease and to general contract law. A late fee must be
agreed as a lease term to be charged; its size and any grace period are set by
the agreement, not the state; and a fee set far above the landlord's real loss
can be challenged as an unenforceable penalty. That penalty limit comes from
court decisions rather than a statute, so no fixed percentage marks the line.

What trips people up

There is no "legal maximum" percentage in Michigan. State law sets no 5%,
10%, or dollar cap. A figure quoted as Michigan's statutory limit is a lease
term or a number borrowed from another state, not the Compiled Laws.

Some lease clauses are void even though late fees are not capped. Under
§ 554.633, a Michigan lease cannot contain a confession of judgment, cannot make
you pay attorney's fees beyond what a statute allows, and cannot accelerate all
future rent without the required minimize-damages statement. Those clauses are
void even if you signed them.

A grace period, if any, comes from your lease. Do not treat the notice
period in an eviction case as a late-fee grace period; they are different clocks.

Common questions

My lease charges 10% of the rent the day after it is due. Is that allowed?
Michigan has no statute setting a cap or a grace period, so a court would test
the fee under general contract law. A charge with no real relationship to the
landlord's loss from late payment can be attacked as a penalty rather than a
valid fee.

Can the landlord make me pay their lawyer to collect a late fee? Only within
limits. Section 554.633(1)(g) voids any lease clause making you liable for
attorney's fees beyond what a statute specifically permits.

Is a late fee valid if it isn't written in my lease? A late fee has to be
part of the agreement to be charged. If the rental agreement provides for no
late fee, there is no default statutory fee for the landlord to collect.

Statutes and sources

• Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.633(1), (3) — the Truth in Renting Act's list of
  prohibited lease clauses (none capping a late fee) and the rule that a clause
  violating the section is void.

  (1) A rental agreement shall not include a provision that does 1 or more of
  the following: ... (d) Provides for a confession of judgment by a party. ...
  (g) Provides that a party is liable for legal costs or attorney's fees
  incurred by another party, in connection with a dispute arising under the
  rental agreement, in excess of costs or fees specifically permitted by
  statute. ... (i) Provides that rental payments may be accelerated if the
  rental agreement is breached by the tenant, unless the provision also includes
  a statement that the tenant may not be liable for the total accelerated amount
  because of the landlord's obligation to minimize damages ... (3) A provision
  or clause of a rental agreement that violates this section is void.

Official source: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-554-633 (accessed 2026-07-20)