Service animals, emotional-support animals, and reasonable accommodation duties under the federal Fair Housing Act and MCL § 37.2502 (Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act) + MCL § 37.2502 (Elliott-Larsen).
Two duties govern disability requests in Michigan rentals: reasonable accommodations (changes to rules, policies, or services) and reasonable modifications (physical changes to the unit). The baseline is the federal Fair Housing Act, and Michigan layers its own Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act (PWDCRA), Act 220 of 1976, MCL 37.1101 et seq. on top. Michigan's duties largely track the federal standard rather than exceeding it, but the state statute spells them out in MCL 37.1506a and gives tenants an enforcement path through the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
The practical split is workable for landlords: for a physical modification, the tenant pays, and you can require the interior be restored when they leave. For a policy change, such as allowing an assistance animal, you generally absorb the minimal cost. What you cannot do is ignore the request or deny it without a legitimate, documented reason.
Mirrors federal FHA; Elliott-Larsen Act adds religion, marital status, age. Sexual orientation/gender identity added by 2023 amendments.
Michigan law, like the federal Fair Housing Act, draws a hard line between two kinds of requests, and the line decides who pays.
A reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule, policy, practice, or service. Under MCL 37.1506a you may not refuse an accommodation that is necessary to give a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the property. Classic examples: waiving a no-pet policy for an assistance animal, assigning a reserved parking space near the unit, or accepting a mailed rent payment from a tenant who cannot get to the office. Because these are policy changes, the landlord bears the (usually minimal) cost.
A reasonable modification is a physical change to the unit or common area, such as a grab bar, a ramp, or a widened doorway. Here MCL 37.1506a is explicit that the change is made at the expense of the person with a disability. You must permit the modification, but the tenant funds it. Confusing these two categories is the most common way Michigan landlords get the cost allocation wrong.
For modifications, the tenant pays under MCL 37.1506a. That covers the labor, materials, and permits for the physical change they requested.
Michigan gives landlords a specific protection here that many owners overlook. For a rental, the landlord may, if reasonable, condition permission on the renter's written agreement to restore the interior of the premises to its pre-modification condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted, when the tenancy ends. This lets you require, for instance, that an interior grab-bar installation or a lowered countertop be reversed at move-out. Two practical limits apply: the restoration condition must itself be reasonable (you generally cannot demand restoration of changes that do not affect the next tenant's use, such as a ramp that stays useful), and it reaches the interior of the unit. Put the restoration agreement in writing, and it is reasonable to discuss a restoration escrow or a workmanlike-quality standard for the modification up front.
The single most common accommodation request Michigan landlords receive is for an assistance animal, which covers both trained service animals and emotional support animals. Under the FHA and the PWDCRA these are treated as a reasonable accommodation, not as pets.
That distinction has real cost consequences. When a tenant with a disability needs an assistance animal, you must waive a no-pet policy, and you may not charge a pet fee, pet deposit, or pet rent for the animal. Breed and size restrictions in your pet policy do not apply. You may still hold the tenant responsible for actual damage the animal causes and for nuisance or safety problems. For a non-obvious disability you may request reliable documentation that the tenant has a disability and a disability-related need for the animal, but you may not demand the tenant's full medical records or a specific certification, and there is no such thing as a required 'registration' of the animal.
Michigan does not impose a rigid statutory timeline for responding, but a delay that functions as a denial is itself a violation. The safe practice is a documented interactive process: acknowledge the request promptly, ask only for information you genuinely need (the disability nexus and, if not obvious, verification), and respond in writing.
You are not required to grant every request. A denial is defensible when: the person is not a person with a disability; there is no nexus between the disability and the specific change requested; the request would impose an undue financial or administrative burden; it would require a fundamental alteration of your operations; or the tenant would pose a direct threat to others that no accommodation can reduce. Even then, do not simply say no. Offer to discuss an alternative accommodation that meets the tenant's need at lower cost or burden. A landlord who denies a request but shows a good-faith interactive process and a legitimate reason is in a far stronger position than one who never responded.
Beyond individual requests, Michigan imposes design rules on new multifamily construction. Under MCL 37.1506a, covered multifamily dwellings are buildings with 4 or more units that have one or more elevators, plus the ground-floor units in other buildings of 4 or more units.
New covered dwellings must be designed and built with baseline accessibility: accessible building entrances and common areas, doorways wide enough for wheelchair passage, accessible routes, reinforced bathroom walls for later grab-bar installation, and usable kitchens and bathrooms. These are one-time design obligations on the builder or developer, distinct from the ongoing accommodation and modification duties, which apply to essentially all rental housing regardless of size. If you are building or substantially renovating a 4-plus-unit property, treat these standards as mandatory rather than optional.
This statute is generally enforced in public-accommodation contexts (restaurants, retail) rather than as part of a landlord-tenant dispute. For housing, the practical landlord defense against a fraudulent ESA claim is to require reliable documentation from a healthcare professional with a therapeutic relationship to the tenant, not to attempt criminal enforcement.
The most common mistake in Michigan reasonable-accommodation cases is responding with a flat denial, "no pets means no pets", instead of engaging in the interactive process. The interactive process is itself a substantive duty. A landlord who refuses to consider the request, demands more than HUD permits, or imposes a pet fee on an assistance animal will lose at HUD even if the underlying accommodation could have been reasonably denied.
Reasonable modification (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(A)) is a structural change, a grab bar, a ramp, lowered cabinets. The tenant pays. The landlord must permit the modification and may require restoration to original condition at move-out (except for changes that would not significantly affect re-rental). Reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule or policy. The landlord pays no out-of-pocket cost; the cost is administrative. Michigan follows the federal rule.
Reasonable-accommodation litigation rates correlate with overall tenant-protection enforcement. View landlord risk and tenant-law profile by city:
This page summarizes Michigan's Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act (Act 220 of 1976, MCL 37.1101 et seq., and specifically MCL 37.1506a), the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (MCL 37.2101 et seq.), and the federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3604(f)) as they apply to reasonable accommodations and modifications in rental housing. It reflects statutory text and Michigan Department of Civil Rights guidance current as of 2026. It is general information for landlords, not legal advice; statutory interpretation and case law evolve, and individual requests turn on their facts. Confirm current requirements with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights at (800) 482-3604 or michigan.gov/mdcr, or consult a Michigan fair-housing attorney before denying a request.
The tenant pays. MCL 37.1506a requires the landlord to permit reasonable modifications 'at the expense of the person with a disability.' The landlord cannot refuse a reasonable modification, but the tenant funds the physical work. By contrast, a policy change (a reasonable accommodation, such as allowing an assistance animal) is generally the landlord's cost.
Yes, if reasonable. MCL 37.1506a lets a landlord condition permission for a modification on the renter's agreement to restore the interior of the premises to its pre-modification condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted. Get this agreement in writing, and understand it reaches interior changes; you generally cannot demand restoration of changes that stay useful to the next tenant.
No. Under the federal Fair Housing Act and Michigan's PWDCRA, an assistance animal, including an emotional support animal, is a reasonable accommodation rather than a pet. You must waive a no-pet policy and may not charge a pet fee, pet deposit, or pet rent. You can still hold the tenant responsible for any actual damage the animal causes.
You may deny when the requester is not a person with a disability, there is no connection between the disability and the requested change, the request imposes an undue financial or administrative burden, it would fundamentally alter your operations, or the tenant poses a direct threat. Even then, engage in the interactive process and offer an alternative before refusing outright.
A complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) must be filed within 180 days of the discriminatory act. A federal complaint with HUD has a longer window of 1 year. MDCR can be reached at (800) 482-3604 or michigan.gov/mdcr.
The reasonable accommodation and modification duties under the FHA and PWDCRA apply to essentially all rental housing regardless of size. The separate accessible-design construction standards apply only to covered multifamily dwellings of 4 or more units. In practice, small landlords should still expect to handle assistance-animal and policy-change requests.
Federal authority: 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f); 28 C.F.R. § 36.302; HUD FHEO Notice 2020-01. State authority: MCL § 37.2502 (Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act) + MCL § 37.2502 (Elliott-Larsen); MCL § 752.61 (Bridget's Law). Last updated July 14, 2026. For informational purposes only, not legal advice. Reasonable-accommodation determinations are highly fact-specific; consult a licensed Michigan attorney before denying any request.
