Two bills in the state house would make changes for people renting homes and apartments in Michigan.
HB 6126 would increase the allowable security deposit from one and a half months rent to two month’s rent.
Republican Representative Peter Lucido sponsored the legislation.
“I’m making it two because I didn’t want to procure a water escrow. Water has gone up significantly over the years, most leases say that the tenant pays the water bill. The tenant pays the water bill because it’s a consumption.”
Lucido said landlords don’t want to chase after their tenants.
“What happens is when the tenant moves out the landlord has to chase the tenant to get the water bill paid because it’s a lien against the property. So, as a result, I could go ahead and put a water escrow in there for six months or eight months or I could go ahead and do one better: just raise the rent escrow.”
Another of Lucido’s bills, HB 6096 would require that bailiffs and law enforcement are the only people to carry out or serve evictions.
“We had a case where the landlord called two men and a truck and said ‘go there, get in any way you have to, get everything out of the house.’ Well, guess what, two men and a truck showed up, they don’t know the protocol, and they almost got killed.”
Lucido said both bills have bipartisan support.