How to Fire Your Property Manager in Michigan

A step-by-step guide for Michigan landlords switching property managers, covering the management contract, broker trust accounts, tenant deposits and what to collect before you cut ties.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Missed repairs, slow replies, a statement that never adds up. Most landlords wait too long to make the call.

Michigan handles the handover differently from states with a fixed statutory deadline. Your written management contract sets the terms, and state license law makes the broker follow it to the letter. That makes the contract the most valuable document you own right now.

Here is how to make the switch without losing a deposit, a tenant or a month of rent.

Step 1. Read your management agreement

Michigan requires a written property management employment contract. Every duty the broker owes you, and every rule for handling, safekeeping and disbursing your money, has to live in that document (MCL 339.2512c).

Look for five things.

Notice period. Thirty days' written notice is common.
Termination fee. Some agreements charge one, some do not.
Leasing fee clawbacks. Check what you owe for tenants the manager placed.
The handover clause. This is the one that matters. It sets when records and money come back to you.
Interest on the accounts. Property management accounts may earn interest, and the contract decides who keeps it (MCL 339.2512c).

If the manager broke the agreement, by ignoring repairs or mishandling money, you may be able to end it sooner. That is a question for a Michigan attorney.

Step 2. Send written notice

Put it in writing, by email and by whatever method the agreement names. State the end date, ask for a full handover by that date, and list what you expect back (see Step 4).

Keep the tone flat and factual. You want your records, not an argument.

Step 3. Know the trust account rules behind the handover

A broker doing property management has to keep property management accounts separate from every other account, keep a record of each deposit and withdrawal with dates, parties and amounts, render you accountings, and remit your money "strictly in accordance with the property management employment contract" (MCL 339.2512c).

Trust and escrow accounts sit in a demand account, only a broker or associate broker signs on them, and the records stay available to the department for at least three years (Mich. Admin. Code R. 339.22313).

Failing to account for or remit money that belongs to someone else is grounds for discipline against the license (MCL 339.2512(d)). So is violating the property management section. If your money or your records do not come back on the contract's schedule, you can file a complaint with LARA's Bureau of Professional Licensing.

There is no Michigan statute setting a flat number of days for the handover. That deadline is whatever your contract says, which is why Step 1 comes first.

Step 4. Collect everything

Ask for all of this before the end date.

Security deposits for every tenant, with the amount held for each one
The property management account ledger showing rents collected, fees taken and what is still owed to you
Signed leases, renewals and any addenda
Move-in inventory checklists each tenant filled out
The written notices sent to each tenant naming where their deposit is held
Tenant contact details and payment history
Open maintenance requests, vendor contacts, invoices and warranties
Keys, fobs, garage remotes and codes
Year-to-date income and expense reports for your taxes

Step 5. Move the security deposits

Once the deposits land with you, Michigan's Security Deposit Act is yours to follow.

The money goes into an account at a regulated financial institution, or you post a cash or surety bond with the Secretary of State (MCL 554.604). It stays the tenant's property until you are entitled to it (MCL 554.605). The cap is 1 1/2 months' rent, so a deposit collected over that needs fixing now (MCL 554.602).

Every tenant needs fresh written notice with your name, the address where notices go to you, and the name and address of the institution now holding the deposit. That notice carries the 12 point boldface line telling the tenant to send a forwarding address within 4 days of moving out (MCL 554.603).

One trap. When a tenant moves out, the 30-day clock for the itemized list of damages runs from the end of occupancy, not from the day your old manager finally sent the file (MCL 554.609). Miss it and you owe the full deposit back (MCL 554.610). Get the deposit records early.

If you plan to keep any disputed money, you have 45 days from the end of occupancy to file suit. Hold money without a judgment, written tenant agreement or clear rent arrearage and you owe double (MCL 554.613).

Step 6. Tell your tenants

Tenants care about three things. Where to pay rent, who to call for repairs, and whether their deposit is safe. Send one clear message covering all three, dated, with the day the change takes effect. Send the MCL 554.603 deposit notice at the same time.

Step 7. Take over the day to day

Line up your vendors, set up rent collection, and get a maintenance line that picks up at 2am. This is where most landlords end up back where they started, holding a phone that never stops ringing.

Who can manage property for pay in Michigan

Michigan folds property management into the definition of a real estate broker. Leasing or renting real property of others for a fee under a property management employment contract, or engaging in property management as a whole or partial vocation, is broker activity (MCL 339.2501). Doing that without a license is a violation of the Occupational Code (MCL 339.601).

Owners are exempt. An owner or lessor, an attorney-in-fact acting under a recorded power of attorney, or a person a court appoints may handle their own property without a broker license (MCL 339.2503). Self-managing your own rentals is squarely inside that.

If you hire a new manager instead, verify the broker license on LARA's license lookup before you sign anything, and get the written property management employment contract up front.

Your switching checklist

Read the agreement for notice, fees, clawbacks and the handover clause
Send written notice with an end date
Hold the manager to the contract's accounting and remittance terms
Collect deposits, ledgers, leases, inventory checklists and keys
Move deposits to a regulated institution and send each tenant a new written notice
Diary the 30-day and 45-day deposit clocks for anyone moving out
Tell tenants where to pay and who to call

Switch to Taz

Taz is an AI property manager built for landlords who have been let down before. It answers tenants day and night, routes repairs to vendors, sends rent reminders and keeps every record in one place, for a flat monthly price per door instead of a cut of your rent. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your management agreement and your specific facts matter. Talk to a Michigan attorney before ending a contract. Last checked September 2026.