Q.	CAN MY LANDLORD RAISE MY RENT?
A.	The answer usually is yes, but only if he does it right. There are some times when he cannot raise your rent. Retaliatory rent increases.  Your landlord cannot raise your rent to punish you or get back at you for doing something that you have a legal right to do like: asking him to fix things; or reporting him to the health department; or joining a tenants' union. This is called a retaliatory rent increase and it is against the law.
Q.	WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE A LEASE?
A.	If you do not have a lease, your landlord has to give you written notice of the rent increase at least one rental period ahead of time. Your rental period depends on how often you pay rent. If you pay once a month, your rental period is a month. If you pay every two weeks, your rental period is two weeks. So if you pay your rent by the month, your landlord has to give you at least one month's written notice before he can legally charge you more rent. If you rent by the week, he has to give you at least one week's written notice. And so on.
Q.	WHAT IF THE NOTICE ISN'T IN WRITING?
A.	The law in Michigan is that the notice has to be in writing. If it isn't in writing, it is no good. Your landlord can't just tell you that he is raising the rent. He has to give you a written notice.
Q.	WHAT IF MY LANDLORD DOESN'T GIVE ME ENOUGH NOTICE?
A.	If your landlord does not give you a full rental period's notice (for example, he only gives you two weeks' written notice when you pay by the month) you do not have to pay the extra rent the next time your rent is due. This is because you did not get enough notice to raise the rent for that month. But you will have to pay the extra rent when the rent comes due for the months after that.
Q.	WHAT CAN I DO IF MY LANDLORD RAISES MY RENT?
A.	First, you can try talking to your landlord about why he wants to raise your rent. This may not help, but you can try. If talking doesn't help, you can: 1. Move out; or 2. Pay the increased rent; or 3. Pay the old amount of rent and see what happens. If you do not pay the extra rent, your landlord can take you to court to try to evict you. If you want to fight the rent increase and the eviction, you have to go to court to tell the judge your side of the story. However, you may not win. If you have to go to court, you may want to talk to a lawyer.

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