Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
HOUSING DISCRIMINATION BASED ON INCOME SOURCE
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
Senate Bill 205 (H-1) as reported from committee Analysis available at
Sponsor: Sen. Mary Cavanagh http://www.legislature.mi.gov
Senate Bill 206 (H-1) as reported
Sponsor: Sen. Rosemary Bayer
Senate Bill 207 (H-1) as reported
Sponsor: Sen. Jeff Irwin
House Bill 4062 (H-4) as reported House Bill 4063 (H-3) as reported
Sponsor: Rep. Jennifer A. Conlin Sponsor: Rep. Jason Morgan
House Committee: Judiciary
Senate Committee (SBs 205, 206, and 207): Housing and Human Services
Complete to 6-26-24
SUMMARY:
Taken together, Senate Bills 205 and 206 and House Bill 4062 would prohibit landlords
with five or more rental units in Michigan from engaging in housing discrimination based
on a tenant’s source of income (e.g., housing assistance or veterans’ benefits). In the case
of a violation, the bills would allow a civil action to be filed for damages, injunctive relief
(e.g., a court order to stop the violation), or both. Senate Bill 207 and House Bill 4063
would also allow a complaint to be filed with the Department of Civil Rights.
Senate Bills 205 and 206 and House Bill 4062 would amend 1972 PA 348, known as the
landlord-tenant act. Senate Bill 205 contains the provisions described below, except for
those described under “Remedies,” which are in House Bill 4062, and Senate Bill 206
defines what source of income includes when used in those provisions.
Prohibitions
The bills would prohibit a landlord with five or more rental units in Michigan from doing
any of the following to a current or prospective tenant based on their source of income:
• Denying or terminating a tenancy.
• Denying them a rental unit or making it unavailable to them when they would
otherwise (i.e., if not for their source of income) be eligible to rent it.
• Attempting to discourage the rental or lease of a rental unit to them.
• Falsely representing to them that a rental unit is not available for inspection, rental,
or lease; knowingly failing to bring a rental listing to their attention; or refusing to
allow them to inspect a rental unit.
• Making a distinction or restriction against them in the price, terms, fees, or
privileges related to the rental, lease, or occupancy of a rental unit—including,
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 separately and specifically, doing so on the basis of their use of emergency rental
assistance.
• Making a distinction or restriction against them in the provision of facilities or
services related to the rental, lease, or occupancy of a rental unit.
• If the landlord requires tenants to have a certain threshold level of income,
excluding any income in the form of a rent voucher or subsidy (but not emergency
rental assistance) in calculating whether those criteria are met.
In addition, a landlord could not (by their own action or through another’s) publish,
circulate, or display a communication, notice, advertisement, or sign related to the rental
or lease of a rental unit that indicates a preference, limitation, or requirement based on a
source of income.
Finally, the bills would prohibit a landlord from doing either of the following:
• Assisting, inducing, inciting, or coercing another person to commit an act or engage
in a practice that violates the bill.
• Coercing, intimidating, threatening, or interfering with any person in the exercise
or enjoyment of a right granted or protected under the bill, because the person
exercised or enjoyed a right granted or protected under the bill, or because the
person aided or encouraged another person in the exercise or enjoyment of a right
granted or protected under the bill.
Landlord means either of the following:
• The owner, lessor, or sublessor of a rental unit or the property it is a part of.
• A person authorized to exercise any aspect of the management of the
premises. (This includes a person that, directly or indirectly, acts as a rental
agent or receives rent, other than as a bona fide purchaser, and has no
obligation to deliver the receipts to another person.)
Tenant means an individual who occupies a rental unit for residential purposes with
the landlord’s consent for an agreed-upon consideration.
Source of income would include benefits or subsidy programs such as housing
assistance, housing choice vouchers provided under 42 USC 1437f, public
assistance, veterans’ benefits, Social Security, supplemental security income or
other retirement programs, and other programs administered by any federal, state,
local, or nonprofit entity. Source of income would not include either of the
following:
• Income that a prospective tenant cannot demonstrate is derived from
sources and activities allowed by law and is provided on an ongoing basis.
• Housing assistance that is not approved by the appropriate agency within
30 days after the landlord provides all information required as a condition
of the agency’s approval, including evidence that all repairs required before
occupancy have been completed.
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 Applicability
As mentioned above, the bills would not apply to persons that, including their related
entities, are landlords of fewer than five rental units in Michigan.
Person would mean an individual, partnership, corporation, association, limited
liability company, or any other legal entity.
Related entity would mean a person that, directly or indirectly, controls, is
controlled by, or is under common control with another person.
Remedies
A person alleging a violation of the above provisions could bring a civil action for
appropriate injunctive relief or damages, or both, in the circuit court for the county where
the alleged violation occurred or where the person the action is filed against resides or has
their principal place of business.
Damages would mean actual damages for injury or loss caused by each violation,
or up to three times the monthly rent for the rental unit or units at issue, whichever
is less, together with court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
MCL 554.601 (SB 206) and proposed MCL 554.601c (SB 205) and 554.601 (HB 4062)
Senate Bill 207 and House Bill 4063 would amend the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.
Senate Bill 207 contains substantive provisions described below, and House Bill 4063 adds
the definition of source of income when used in those provisions.
Article 5 of the act prohibits discrimination in real estate transactions based on religion,
race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
familial status [having children], or marital status. Taken together, the bills would amend
Article 5 to prohibit discrimination based on a current or prospective tenant’s source of
income by landlords with five or more rental units in Michigan. These provisions
(including the definitions of landlord, tenant, and source of income) would be identical to
those of Senate Bills 205 and 206 as described above under “Prohibitions.”
Applicability
As with Senate Bills 205 and 206, Senate Bill 207 would not apply to persons that,
including their related entities, are landlords of fewer than five rental units in Michigan.
Senate Bill 207 also would not apply to any of the following:
• The rental of a housing accommodation in a building that contains accommodations
for up to two families living independently of each other (e.g., a duplex) if the
owner or their spouse, parent, child, or sibling resides in one of the housing
accommodations
• The rental of a room or rooms in a single-family dwelling if the lessor or their
spouse, parent, child, or sibling resides in the dwelling.
• The rental of a housing accommodation for up to 12 months by the owner or lessor
if it was occupied by the owner or lessor and maintained as their home for at least
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 three months immediately before occupancy by the tenant and is maintained as the
owner’s or lessor’s legal residence.
Remedies
Generally speaking, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act is enforced by the Michigan Civil
Rights Commission, which through the Michigan Department of Civil Rights investigates
and acts on discrimination complaints. In addition, a person alleging a violation of the act
may bring a civil action for appropriate injunctive relief or damages, or both, in the circuit
court for the county where the alleged violation occurred or where the person the action is
filed against resides or has their principal place of business. The court may award the
person filing the action all or part of the costs of litigation, including reasonable attorney
fees and witness fees, as it determines appropriate.
Damages means damages for injury or loss caused by each violation of the act,
including reasonable attorney fees.
MCL 37.2502
Senate Bills 205 and 206 and House Bill 4062 are tie-barred together. Senate Bill 207 and
House Bill 4063 are tie-barred to one another, and House Bill 4063 is additionally tie-
barred to Senate Bill 206. A bill cannot take effect unless all of the bills it is tie-barred to
are also enacted.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The bills would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on the state and on local court funding
units. The fiscal impact would depend on how provisions of the bills affect court caseloads
and related administrative costs. Costs would be incurred if the bills result in an increase
in the number of civil cases filed. It is difficult to project the actual fiscal impact to courts
due to variables such as judicial discretion, case types, and complexity of cases. An
increase in civil case filings would result in additional filing fee revenue. Filing civil cases
in court requires payment of a variety of fees, which depend on the value of the case. A
portion of filing fee revenue is transmitted to the state and deposited into the Civil Filing
Fee Fund. Revenue from the Civil Filing Fee Fund is distributed to a variety of state
programs and fund sources on a percentage basis according to statute.
The bills also would likely lead to an increase in costs to the Department of Civil Rights.
The cost increase would be related to additional staffing to support an anticipated increase
in civil rights complaint cases on the basis of source of income, which would be a new
protected group category under Article 5 of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, as
described above. The number of expected new cases and the corresponding number of staff
needed to support the new caseload are not yet known. The annual salary costs for an
additional complaint investigation investigator are approximately $160,000. Complaint
cases related to housing made up 250 cases, or 15% of all complaint cases received, in the
2022-23 fiscal year.
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POSITIONS:
Representatives of the following entities testified in support of House Bills 4062 and 4063
(4-17-24):
• Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness (and indicated support for SBs 205, 206,
and 207)
• Michigan Poverty Law Program (and indicated support for SBs 205, 206, and 207)
• Washtenaw Housing Alliance
The following entities indicated support for the bills:
• Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) (5-15-24)
• American Association of University Women of Michigan (5-15-24)
• Center for Civil Justice (5-15-24)
• City of Ann Arbor (4-17-24)
• Communities First, Inc. (5-15-24)
• Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (5-15-24)
• Detroit Disability Power (4-17-24, 5-15-24)
• Fair Housing Center of Southeast and Mid Michigan (4-17-24)
• HOPE Shelters (5-15-24)
• Michigan Association of United Ways (4-17-24)
• Michigan League for Public Policy (4-17-24)
• Michigan Transformation Collective (4-17-24)
• Neighborhoods Inc. of Battle Creek (5-15-24)
• Shelter of Flint, Inc. (5-15-24)
• Shelterhouse (5-15-24)
• St. Iranaeus Church (5-15-24)
• United Way of Montcalm and Ionia Counties (4-17-24)
• United Way of Southeastern Michigan (5-15-24)
• YWCA Kalamazoo (5-15-24)
The United Way of Southeastern Michigan indicated support for SBs 205 and 206 and HBs
4062 and 4063. (5-15-24)
Manufactured Housing Action indicated support for SBs 205 and 206. (4-17-24)
The following entities indicated support for HBs 4062 and 4063 (4-17-24):
• Ann Arbor Housing Commission
• Community Housing Network
• Corporation for Supportive Housing
• Disability Advocates of Kent County
• Fair Housing Center of West Michigan
• Giving Barn Community Outreach
• Housing Services Mid Michigan
• Lighthouse Michigan
• Melvindale Housing Commission
House Fiscal Agency SBs 205, 206, and 207 and HBs 4062 and 4063 Page 5 of 6
 • Michigan Ability Partners
• Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence
• Michigan Community Action
• Michigan Veterans Foundation
• Nation Outside
• Shelter Association of Washtenaw County
• United Way of Southwest Michigan
• Vera Institute of Justice
A representative of the Michigan Realtors testified to a neutral position on SBs 205, 206,
and 207 (4-17-24) and indicated a neutral position on HBs 4062 and 4063 (5-15-24).
The following entities indicated a neutral position on the bills (5-15-24):
• Rental Property Owners Association of Kent County
• Rental Property Owners Association of Michigan
The following entities indicated a neutral position on SBs 205, 206, and 207 (4-17-24):
• Apartment Association of Michigan
• Property Management Association of Michigan
The following entities indicated opposition to HBs 4062 and 4063.
• Michigan Chamber of Commerce (5-15-24)
• NFIB (4-17-24)
• Property Management Association of Michigan (4-17-24)
Legislative Analyst: Rick Yuille
Fiscal Analysts: Robin Risko
Michael Cnossen
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their
deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
House Fiscal Agency SBs 205, 206, and 207 and HBs 4062 and 4063 Page 6 of 6


Statutes affected:
Substitute (H-4): 554.601, 554.616
House Introduced Bill: 554.601, 554.616
As Passed by the House: 554.601, 554.616
As Passed by the Senate: 554.601, 554.616
House Concurred Bill: 554.601, 554.616