Construction Defect Demand Letter - Michigan

CONSTRUCTION DEFECT DEMAND LETTER

STATE OF MICHIGAN

NOTICE OF DEFECTS AND DEMAND FOR RESOLUTION

SENT VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
AND REGULAR FIRST-CLASS MAIL

[DATE]

[CONTRACTOR / BUILDER / DESIGN PROFESSIONAL NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[CITY, STATE ZIP]

Re: CONSTRUCTION DEFECT NOTICE AND DEMAND
Property Address: [PROPERTY ADDRESS]
Claimant: [OWNER NAME]
Contract Date: [DATE]
Occupancy / Use / Acceptance Date: [DATE]

Dear [RECIPIENT NAME]:

This firm represents [CLAIMANT NAME] regarding the defects and resulting loss described below. This letter gives notice, offers reasonable access for inspection, and requests repair or settlement. It does not represent that Michigan law creates a universal 30-day cure process.

A WRITTEN RESPONSE IS REQUESTED BY [DATE]. Unless counsel identifies a controlling contract or claim-specific rule, this is a requested settlement deadline rather than a statutory response period.

I. MICHIGAN-SPECIFIC LEGAL FRAMEWORK

A. Claim-Specific Filing Periods

The correct period depends on the defendant, duty, contract, transaction, injury, accrual rule, and relief sought. Do not label every defect claim “contract,” “property damage,” or “warranty” without completing that analysis. Section 440.2725 applies to a contract for sale; materials incorporated into a construction project do not by themselves establish that the project agreement is governed by that section.

B. Improvement-to-Real-Property Repose

MCL 600.5839 applies in addition to the otherwise applicable Chapter 58 limitation periods. For an action against an architect, professional engineer, or contractor to recover damages for injury to property, real or personal, or bodily injury or wrongful death arising from the defective and unsafe condition of an improvement to real property, or for related contribution or indemnity, subsection (1) generally requires filing within six years after occupancy of the completed improvement, use, or acceptance.

If the defect proximately caused the injury or damage and resulted from gross negligence of the contractor, architect, or engineer, subsection (1)(b) allows one year after the defect was or should have been discovered, but no action under that provision may be maintained more than ten years after occupancy, use, or acceptance.

The section does not say that every contract, ordinary warranty, unfinished-work, payment, product, or construction dispute has a universal six-year repose period. Counsel must confirm that the defendant, improvement, condition, injury, and claim fall within the statutory text.

For a licensed professional surveyor, subsection (2) separately bars an action based on an error or negligence in preparing a survey or report more than six years after the survey or report is recorded or delivered to the person for whom it was made or that person's agent.

C. Residential Builder and Contractor Regulation

MCL 339.2401 defines “residential builder,” “residential maintenance and alteration contractor,” and “residential structure.” The covered residential structure is a detached one- or two-family dwelling or a townhouse of not more than three stories above grade, together with related facilities described in the statute.

Do not assume every project participant requires the same Article 24 license. MCL 339.2403 exempts specified persons and work, including an owner working on a structure for the owner's own use and occupancy, an owner maintaining or altering rental property, a person working under contract with a licensed builder or maintenance and alteration contractor, a project below the statutory $600 aggregate threshold subject to the anti-evasion rule, and properly licensed electrical, plumbing, and mechanical contractors acting within their regulated trades.

For a covered licensee or applicant, MCL 339.2411 identifies disciplinary grounds that include:

1. abandonment without legal excuse;
2. diversion or failure to account for project funds;
3. a material and prejudicial willful departure from plans or specifications without required consent;
4. a willful violation of state or local building laws;
5. failure to deliver the purchaser's entire agreement for covered residential work;
6. aiding an unlicensed person to evade Article 24; and
7. workmanship not meeting the Michigan residential code.

An administrative complaint under § 2411 must be filed within 18 months after the latest listed event. For maintenance and alteration work, the listed events are completion, occupancy, and purchase. For a project requiring an occupancy permit, they are issuance of the certificate or temporary certificate of occupancy and closing. This administrative deadline is not a substitute for calculating a civil action's filing periods.

MCL 339.2412 does not make every agreement involving unlicensed work automatically void. It bars a person required to be licensed from maintaining an action to collect compensation without alleging and proving licensure during performance, and it bars that person from imposing a lien unless licensed during performance. The section also makes failure to use a contractually provided alternative-dispute-resolution procedure an affirmative defense to an action against a licensee under Article 24.

D. Contract and Code Review

Before asserting a defect, identify the executed contract, plans, specifications, approved change orders, permits, inspection records, certificate of occupancy, applicable Michigan residential-code edition, local enforcement records, manufacturer instructions incorporated into the agreement, and any express warranty. Quote those project-specific sources rather than inserting unsupported implied-warranty promises.

II. PROPERTY, PROJECT, AND PARTY INFORMATION

A. Parties and Licensing

III. DESCRIPTION OF DEFECTS AND UNFINISHED WORK

DEFECT NO. 1 — [TITLE]

Location: [SPECIFIC LOCATION]

Description and chronology:
[Describe the condition, when it appeared, prior notice, progression, attempted repairs, and resulting loss.]

Affected components:
☐ Foundation / slab ☐ Framing ☐ Roof ☐ Exterior envelope ☐ Windows / doors
☐ Plumbing ☐ Electrical ☐ HVAC ☐ Insulation ☐ Interior finishes
☐ Waterproofing ☐ Drainage ☐ Other: [SPECIFY]

Verified standard allegedly breached:

☐ Contract provision: [SECTION]
☐ Plan or specification: [SHEET / DETAIL]
☐ Approved change order: [NUMBER / DATE]
☐ Express warranty: [SOURCE / TERM]
☐ Applicable code provision: [EXACT CODE, EDITION, SECTION]
☐ Manufacturer instruction incorporated into the work: [DOCUMENT / SECTION]
☐ Licensed-design-professional standard: [FACTS AND AUTHORITY]

Evidence:
☐ Photographs ☐ Expert report ☐ Test results ☐ Contract / plan / change order
☐ Permit / inspection record ☐ Estimate / invoice ☐ Correspondence ☐ Other: [SPECIFY]

Date first observed: [DATE]
Date first reported: [DATE]
Estimated repair or completion cost: $[AMOUNT]
Other claimed loss: $[AMOUNT AND BASIS]

DEFECT NO. 2 — [TITLE]

[REPEAT THE FORMAT ABOVE FOR EACH DEFECT OR ITEM OF UNFINISHED WORK]

IV. POTENTIAL LEGAL AND CONTRACTUAL BASES — SELECT AND CUSTOMIZE

A. Breach of Contract

[RECIPIENT] allegedly failed to perform [IDENTIFY CONTRACT, PLAN, SPECIFICATION, CHANGE ORDER, SCHEDULE, OR PAYMENT OBLIGATION] because [SPECIFIC FACTS].

B. Breach of Express Warranty

The written warranty dated [DATE] states [QUOTE OR ACCURATE SUMMARY]. The identified condition allegedly breaches that term because [FACTS].

C. Injury to Property or Person

☐ Counsel has identified the independent duty, breach, injury, causation, recoverable damage, accrual date, and applicable § 5805 period: [DETAILS].

D. Architect, Engineer, or Surveyor Claim

☐ Counsel has confirmed the defendant's license and services, classified the claim under § 5805(13), and calculated the applicable limitation and § 5839 outside period and trigger.

E. Residential Builder Act Issue

☐ The facts support a specifically identified § 2411 ground: [SUBSECTION / FACTS].
☐ Any administrative complaint will be filed within the 18-month period calculated from: [EVENT / DATE].
☐ The recipient's license or § 2403 exemption was verified as of the performance dates.
☐ Any contractual ADR requirement was reviewed before litigation.

F. Contract for Sale

☐ Counsel has determined that the identified agreement or separable transaction is a contract for sale governed by MCL 440.2725 and has calculated accrual under the statute: [DETAILS].

V. SUMMARY OF CLAIMED LOSS

Each amount must be supported under the selected contract, warranty, statutory, or tort theory. Listing an amount does not establish recoverability.

VI. INSPECTION AND RESPONSE

Claimant offers reasonable access for a non-destructive inspection, subject to advance scheduling, identification of attendees and proposed testing, and protection of the property.

Please respond in writing by [DATE] and state:

1. whether you accept, dispute, or require more information about each item;
2. whether you request an inspection and the proposed dates, attendees, and testing;
3. whether you offer repair, completion, payment, or another resolution;
4. the proposed scope, permits, personnel, schedule, quality controls, and warranty; and
5. the documents supporting your position.

Unless a controlling agreement or claim-specific rule provides otherwise, silence does not automatically establish liability, waive an inspection right, or create an adverse inference.

Scheduling contact: [NAME / ADDRESS / PHONE / EMAIL]

VII. PRESERVATION REQUEST

Please take reasonable steps to preserve potentially relevant evidence, including:

• contracts, change orders, plans, specifications, and express warranties;
• permits, inspections, code correspondence, and occupancy certificates;
• photographs, testing, daily logs, and quality-control records;
• communications with Claimant, design professionals, subcontractors, suppliers, insurers, and public officials;
• product data, installation instructions, invoices, and batch or serial information; and
• records of prior complaints, repairs, or proposed corrective work concerning the identified conditions.

This is a preservation request, not a prediction that a court will impose a particular sanction. Duties and remedies are proceeding- and fact-specific.

VIII. SETTLEMENT DEMAND

Option A — Repair or Completion

1. Written agreement on the corrective scope;
2. inspection and final protocol by [DATE];
3. performance by qualified and, where required, properly licensed persons;
4. all required permits and inspections;
5. protection of occupied areas and correction of resulting damage;
6. completion by [DATE];
7. written warranty for corrective work; and
8. payment of agreed investigation and related costs of $[AMOUNT].

Option B — Monetary Resolution

Payment of $[AMOUNT] by [DATE], subject to a negotiated signed settlement and release.

This demand does not waive any filing deadline, warranty, contract right, claim, defense, or remedy. No settlement exists unless reduced to a signed writing.

Respectfully submitted,

[LAW FIRM NAME]

By: [________________________________]
[ATTORNEY NAME]
Michigan Bar No. [NUMBER]
[ADDRESS]
[TELEPHONE]
[EMAIL]

Attorney for [CLAIMANT NAME]

ENCLOSURES

☐ Defect photographs
☐ Expert or inspection report
☐ Repair or completion estimates
☐ Contract, plans, specifications, and change orders
☐ Permit, inspection, and occupancy records
☐ Relevant correspondence
☐ Other: [SPECIFY]

MICHIGAN PRACTICE CHECKLIST

☐ Classified every claim and defendant before selecting a limitation period
☐ Calculated § 5805 and § 5807 accrual separately from § 5839 repose
☐ Applied § 5839 only to its listed defendants, conditions, injuries, and claims
☐ Recorded occupancy, use, acceptance, survey-recording, and survey-delivery dates as applicable
☐ Evaluated the gross-negligence exception without extending it beyond the ten-year maximum
☐ Applied § 440.2725 only to a verified contract for sale
☐ Verified Article 24 status under §§ 2401 and 2403 for each relevant performer
☐ Calculated any § 2411 complaint deadline from the latest listed event
☐ Reviewed contractual ADR because § 2412(2) may make nonuse an affirmative defense
☐ Did not characterize unlicensed work as automatically void
☐ Identified the actual contract, warranty, code edition, and exact code provisions
☐ Removed unsupported mandatory-response, waiver, adverse-inference, and automatic-sanction threats
☐ Reviewed the final letter with Michigan-licensed counsel

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• MCL 600.5805
• MCL 600.5807
• MCL 600.5839
• MCL 440.2725
• MCL 339.2401
• MCL 339.2403
• MCL 339.2411
• MCL 339.2412

This template is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. A Michigan-licensed attorney must review and customize it before use.