From Guest to Tenant

When a couch crasher becomes a headache.

Letting a friend stay “just for a bit” feels generous… until Michigan law decides your guest isn’t a guest anymore. Once someone looks like a tenant, you can’t change the locks, toss their stuff, or have the police remove them. You’re now in a landlord/tenant relationship where formal notices, district court, waiting periods and a duty to keep the premises safe and habitable become the rules of engagement. The favor you initially offered can snowball into a full-blown legal problem.

So how does this “favor” become a legal tenancy, especially when no rent is involved? “Just a couple of days until I’m back on my feet,” they say. You offer a spare room, they help with groceries or pitch in for utilities. “Rent” or “lease” or “contract” are never even mentioned.

Michigan courts care less about any magic words and more about what’s actually happening. Two signals matter the most:

1. Exclusive possession: The “guest” has a room or space that’s “theirs” with privacy.
2. An agreement (even an implied agreement): There’s some exchange of cash, chores, utilities, something that is viewed as “value.”

Those “thank you” chores or gestures to contribute to household expenses can be seen as consideration (i.e., rent in the eyes of the law). Mix that with a private room, and it starts to look like a lease even if nothing was signed.

Once your guest crosses into the tenant territory, he or she gains rights, and you gain duties. If your guest won’t go willingly, here’s what you need to know:

1. Changing the locks or removing belongings is against the law and could cost you.
2. You now have a duty to keep the premises fit and in reasonable repair, which can mean unexpected fixes to your home.
3. Police will refer you to the courts to resolve.

To remove a guest who has become your “tenant,” you must start off with a formal notice. After serving a 30-day Notice to Quit, you still face hearings, a mandatory ten-day wait, and scheduling with a sheriff. All told, eviction often takes 90 days or more and costs time, money, and stress.

If you truly want to help out, keep the arrangement short, clear, and revocable. Practical guidelines:

• Cap the stay at 30 days and avoid open-ended language like “until you get back on your feet.”
• Put the arrangement in writing and call it a temporary license, not a lease.
• Explicitly retain full access to all rooms (including the one they sleep in).
• No mail forwarding or storage rights.
• Any money, chores, utilities, or groceries are gifts, not rent or consideration.
• Put house rules in writing.
• Consider notifying your insurer.

Short stays become tenancies when courts see exclusive possession plus consideration. Control the terms up front. Keep it short, keep it written. And never conduct an eviction on your own. Your future self and front door locks will thank you.