The Paletz Law Blog

COO John M. Mione Interviewed by Crain’s Detroit Business

January 2nd, 2025 | By: Paletz Law Press

Under new law, landlords can’t deny tenants who pay with housing assistance

New legislation in Michigan makes the source of one’s income for housing a protected class.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer earlier this week signed a package of bills that will outlaw some landlords “from denying a tenant housing based on their source of income,” according to a news release sent Monday from Whitmer’s office. Specifically, the bills prohibit landlords with five or more rental units from denying occupancy to someone who pays their rent with housing assistance, such as Section 8 vouchers or veterans’ benefits.

The legislation essentially makes the source of income through which a tenant may pay rent a guaranteed protection, akin to gender or religion.

The bills had been making their way through the legislative process for months. The legislation was sponsored by state Sens. Mary Cavanaugh, Rosemary Bayer and Jeff Irwin of Redford Township, West Bloomfield and Ann Arbor, respectively.

“The bills also combat homelessness in Michigan by reducing the barriers folks have to overcome when finding housing in our state,” according to Whitmer’s news release. “These changes will help potentially 34,290 families afford a roof over their heads and will create more affordable housing options for Michiganders across the state, building on the Whitmer-Gilchrist administration’s commitment to ensuring anyone can ‘make it in Michigan.'”

By and large, landlord advocacy groups and housing providers were neutral on the bills and note that when landlords denied tenancy to those paying with vouchers, it was due in large part to the increased bureaucracy of working with the governmental or quasi-governmental agencies that administer such payment mechanisms.

“Our business won’t change” when the bills take effect this spring, said Andrew Kuhn, founder and CEO of Royal Oak-based property management company Sunrise Communities.

Kuhn – who also serves as president of the Apartment Association of Michigan trade association, which had a neutral position on the legislation – said the largest impact for him and other landlords will be additional training for staff on working with the voucher agencies, such as the Detroit Housing Commission, which administers Section 8 assistance in Detroit.

Myriad pro-housing groups expressed support for the legislation, including the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan and United Way of Southeastern Michigan, according to a bill analysis from the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency.

Various pro-business and landlord groups were either neutral or opposed to the bills.

Similar to Kuhn, education for staff at landlord and property management companies will be the largest impact of the legislation upon taking effect, according to John Mione, COO and senior attorney at Paletz Law in Troy.

Mione acknowledged the struggles that many tenants endure trying to find affordable he noted that the bills only make it so landlords can’t discriminate against those using Section 8 or other forms of government assistance. Prospective tenants could still be denied on other metrics, he said.

The legislation on its own is unlikely to be much of an investment deterrent for existing or would-be landlords, according to Mione.

However, the bills are cause for some concern when viewed through a broader lens, the attorney said, whose firm works with landlords and property management firms throughout the state. The attorney pointed to ongoing challenges landlords face in courts, particularly in cases of eviction, where backlogs and bureaucracy often create headaches.

“It’s just another example of the difficult business environment that Michigan is becoming,” Mione said. “It’s contrary to the goal to solve the affordable housing crisis.”

Kuhn said he believes the bills will help improve access for those in need of housing who use government assistance to pay rent, but said any improved affordability will be indirect. Increasing housing supply broadly makes for a better solution, he said.

View the original article here or alternatively at https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/landlords-cant-deny-tenants-who-pay-housing-assistance.