On the Record

Governor Whitmer recently extended the deadline under Michigan’s Marketable Record Title Act (MRTA) to September 29, 2025. Certain property interests are extinguished if they are not protected by appearance or reference in a property’s chain of title for 40+ years. You might recall the following appearing on the deed to your house: “subject to all easements and restrictions of record.” This has been sufficient to preserve recorded restrictions in the past, but this will no longer be the case.

Older covenants, deed restrictions, and easements will expire under certain circumstances after a 40-year period (20 years for mineral rights) unless the restrictions are specifically identified in a conveyance document, such as a deed or a notice document explicitly referencing the deed restriction or restrictive covenant by liber and page as indicated in the records of the local register of deeds.

Before the governor signed the recent extension, the deadline for preserving these property interests was March 29, 2024. Now, if the owner wants to “safeguard” the restriction, easement, or other property rights beyond the 40-year limitation period (or 20-year period for mineral interests), the owner must record a notice before September 29, 2025.

Let us know if we can assist you with any such notice to preserve your deed restrictions, easements, and restrictive covenants. Contact our office at 248.477.6300.