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Renting a home that was foreclosed in Michigan: your rights

If you rent in Michigan and your landlord's home goes through a sheriff's sale, your landlord usually still owns the home during the redemption period, which is often 6 months. Keep paying rent to your landlord until the buyer takes ownership, then pay the buyer. After the buyer owns the home, federal law gives you at least 90 days' notice, and a lease signed before the title passed can usually run to its end.

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Reviewed against Michigan law and official sources on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

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Your rights as a renter in Michigan, in order

  1. The sale notice on your door is not an eviction

    Before the sheriff's sale

    You may first learn about the foreclosure from a notice posted on the home advertising a sheriff's sale. Michigan Legal Help says this is not an eviction notice. Tell your landlord about it.

    MCL 600.3208

  2. Your landlord still owns the home during redemption

    Usually 6 months after the sale

    The buyer does not own the home until the redemption period ends, and your landlord can still stop the foreclosure during that time. Michigan Legal Help says to keep paying rent to your landlord, who can still evict you for not paying and must keep the home in repair until the redemption period ends.

    MCL 600.3240

  3. Pay the new owner once it owns the home

    After the redemption period ends

    Ask your landlord in writing when the buyer will take ownership. After that, Michigan Legal Help says you owe your rent to the buyer. Ask the buyer in writing for its name, address and where to pay, and keep every receipt.

  4. The federal floor: 90 days and your lease

    At least 90 days after written notice

    For federal law, the foreclosure date is when full title passes to the new owner, which in Michigan is usually when redemption ends. A bona fide tenant gets at least 90 days' written notice to vacate, and a lease signed before that date can run to its end unless the buyer will live there. Section 8 voucher holders keep their lease and assistance contract. See [tenant notice after foreclosure](/notices/tenant-notice-after-foreclosure/).

    Pub. L. 111-22 § 702, note under 12 U.S.C. § 5220; 42 U.S.C. § 1437f(o)(7)

  5. Your security deposit

    Before the buyer takes ownership

    Your security deposit is your property until the landlord shows a right to it. When a landlord's interest ends by sale or otherwise, the landlord stays liable for the deposit until it returns it to you, or transfers it to the new owner and mails you notice of the new owner's name and address. Ask your old landlord about it in writing before ownership changes.

    MCL 554.605; MCL 554.614

  6. Eviction only through court

    After redemption, if you have not left

    Michigan's summary proceedings law covers a person who stays in a home sold under a mortgage after the redemption time runs out. The new owner must file in district court, and if it wins, the order of eviction generally cannot issue until 10 days after the judgment. Go to the court date on your summons.

    MCL 600.5714(1)(g); MCL 600.5744(5)

Common questions in Michigan

Who do I pay rent to during a Michigan redemption period?

Your landlord, because your landlord still owns the home until the redemption period ends. Michigan Legal Help says your landlord can evict you for not paying during that time. Once the buyer takes ownership, you owe rent to the buyer, so ask both in writing for the date and keep receipts.

My Michigan lease was signed after the sheriff's sale. How long can I stay?

Michigan Legal Help says the date that matters is when complete title passed to the new owner, which is usually the end of the redemption period. A lease signed before then can usually run to its end, and a lease signed after then probably gets 90 days from the end of redemption. Ask legal aid to look at your dates.

Can I take money to move out of a foreclosed Michigan rental?

You can negotiate a cash for keys deal with the new owner, where you give up your right to stay in exchange for money. Michigan Legal Help says to weigh how long is left on your lease and what moving will cost. Get the deal in writing and do not pay anything up front. See cash for keys.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Michigan

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

Also in Michigan

Property tax foreclosure Claim surplus funds Deficiency judgments HOA and condo liens Renters after foreclosure (this page)Letters you may get

Back to the Michigan overview

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Sources for this page

  1. MCL 559.208, Condominium assessment lien; priority; foreclosure
  2. MCL 559.206, Default by co-owner; relief
  3. MCL 559.211, Sale of condominium unit; unpaid assessments
  4. MCL 554.605, Security deposit as property of tenant
  5. MCL 554.614, Termination of landlord's interest; liability for security deposit
  6. Michigan Legal Help: Tenants in Foreclosed Properties
  7. Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, note under 12 U.S.C. § 5220 (govinfo)
  8. 42 U.S.C. § 1437f, Section 8 voucher leases after foreclosure (govinfo)
  9. MCL 600.3204, Foreclosure by advertisement; circumstances
  10. MCL 600.3205a to 600.3205d, Repealed
  11. MCL 600.3208, Notice of foreclosure; publication; posting
  12. MCL 600.3212, Notice of foreclosure by advertisement; contents
  13. MCL 600.3220, Sale; adjournment
  14. MCL 600.3238, Inspection of property during redemption
  15. MCL 600.3240, Redemption of premises
  16. MCL 600.3252, Disposition of surplus money
  17. MCL 600.3280, Foreclosure by advertisement; deficiency; defenses
  18. MCL 445.1822, Credit Services Protection Act, definitions
  19. MCL 445.1823, Credit Services Protection Act, prohibited conduct
  20. Michigan Legal Help, Foreclosure and Eviction for Homeowners
  21. MSHDA, Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund application period to end December 8, 2023
  22. MCL 600.3241, Abandonment; conclusive presumption
  23. MCL 600.3241a, Abandonment of residential property; notice
  24. MCL 600.5714, Summary proceedings to recover possession
  25. MCL 600.5744, Writ of restitution; timing