Michigan Mobile Home Park Eviction Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Nonpayment of rent: the 7-day demand

A mobile home park resident who owns their home is still your tenant on the lot, and nonpayment runs like any other Michigan summary proceeding. You serve a written Demand for Possession for nonpayment of rent, and the resident has 7 days to pay before you can file. MCL 600.5714(1)(a) treats a resident as a holdover only within 7 days from the service of a written demand for possession for nonpayment of the rent due.

Use the SCAO demand form, state the exact amount owed, and serve it properly (personal delivery, delivery to a household member, first-class mail, or consented electronic service). If the resident pays the full amount within the 7 days, the tenancy is reinstated and you cannot proceed on that demand.

MHP-specific angle for chronic late payers: under MCL 600.5775(2)(f), if a resident pays late 3 or more times in any 12-month period — and you served a 7-day nonpayment demand each time — that pattern is independent just cause to terminate. Every one of those demands must carry the statutory warning: Notice: Three or more late payments of rent during any 12-month period is just cause to evict you.

Other just-cause grounds and their notice

You cannot terminate a park tenancy at will. MCL 600.5775(1): the tenancy of a tenant in a mobile home park shall not be terminated unless there is just cause. The eleven grounds in MCL 600.5775(2)(a)-(k) include unlawful use of the site; lease or park-rule violations tied to health/safety/welfare, quiet enjoyment, or the park's appearance; MDHHS rule violations; intentional injury to people or property; violating laws relating to mobile homes; the 3-late-payments pattern; substantial annoyance after notice and a chance to cure; failure to keep the home or site in reasonable condition; park condemnation; a change in the park's use or nature; and public health/safety violations.

For a just-cause termination that is NOT nonpayment, use the mobile-home-park Demand for Possession (SCAO form DC100d) and give notice at least equal to one rental period unless the lease provides otherwise — roughly 30 days for a month-to-month lot tenancy. The DC100d instructions state: if the lease agreement does not state otherwise, the owner/operator must give notice equal in time to at least one rental period. There is no flat statutory 30 days; the period tracks the rent cycle.

Two situations move faster or add a step. A serious, continuing health hazard or extensive physical injury to the premises supports a 7-day demand under MCL 600.5714(1)(d). And under MCL 600.5777 the resident may, within 10 days of your just-cause demand, request by certified or registered mail an in-person conference at the park, which you must hold within 20 days. It does not stop you from filing, but hold it and document it.

Filing the eviction (summary proceedings)

Michigan evictions are summary proceedings under the Revised Judicature Act, chapter 57 (MCL 600.5701 et seq.), filed in the district court for the area where the park is located. You file only after the demand's notice period has run without cure or compliance.

File the complaint with the properly served demand attached and pay the fee; the clerk issues a summons and sets a prompt hearing. Bring the lease, the park rules, the rent ledger or the facts proving the just-cause ground, proof of service of the demand, and any conference records. For a mobile-home-park just-cause case, judgment is entered on the mobile-home-park judgment form (SCAO DC105a).

Citation correction for the page: the operative eviction rules are in RJA chapter 57 — MCL 600.5714, 600.5716, 600.5718, 600.5775, 600.5777, and 600.5781 — not the Mobile Home Commission Act (MCL 125.2301 et seq.). That Act regulates park licensing and construction/health standards; it does not set the eviction notice or filing sequence.

What happens to the home

The resident owns the mobile home even after you win possession of the lot, and Michigan gives them time to deal with it. Under MCL 600.5781, the resident has 90 days after the judgment of possession to sell or move the home. You cannot re-title it, re-rent it, or have it hauled off during that window.

Conditions attach to the 90 days. Within 10 days of the judgment the resident must give you proof the home was winterized by a licensed mobile home installer and repairer, and they must keep paying lot rent and charges throughout the window. If they miss either obligation, MCL 600.5781 entitles you to seek an immediate writ of restitution.

After 10 days from the judgment you may disconnect park-supplied utilities under MCL 600.5781, but the resident keeps reasonable access to maintain and market the home. Practically: keep the ledger clean, capture the winterization proof, and escalate to the writ only when a specific statutory trigger is actually missed.

Typical timeline in Michigan

• Serve the demand for possession
  Day 0. 7 days for nonpayment (MCL 600.5714(1)(a)); for other just cause, notice at least one rental period (~30 days) on SCAO form DC100d; 7 days for a serious health hazard (MCL 600.5714(1)(d)).
• Conference window
  Within 10 days of a just-cause demand the resident may request an in-person conference by certified/registered mail; you hold it at the park within 20 days (MCL 600.5777). It does not pause your right to file.
• Notice period expires
  File only after the demand's period runs with no payment, cure, or compliance.
• File complaint and hearing
  File in the district court for the park's area; the clerk issues a summons and sets a prompt hearing under RJA chapter 57.
• Judgment of possession
  If you prevail, the court enters judgment on the mobile-home-park form (SCAO DC105a), which starts the home-removal clock.
• 90-day home window
  Resident has 90 days from judgment to sell or move the home; winterize and provide proof within 10 days; keep paying lot rent (MCL 600.5781).
• Writ of restitution
  Available immediately if the resident fails to winterize/prove or fails to pay during the 90 days; otherwise follows the statutory window and court order (MCL 600.5781).

Operator best practices in Michigan

• Match the notice to the ground
  Nonpayment = 7 days (MCL 600.5714(1)(a)); other just cause = at least one rental period via DC100d; serious health hazard = 7 days (MCL 600.5714(1)(d)). The wrong period gets cases dismissed.
• Paper every late payment
  To use the 3-strikes ground (MCL 600.5775(2)(f)), serve a 7-day nonpayment demand each time and include the mandatory Three or more late payments of rent during any 12-month period is just cause to evict you warning.
• Honor the conference and the 90-day home window
  Hold the MCL 600.5777 conference if requested, and respect the MCL 600.5781 90-day sell/move period — never move, re-title, or disable the resident-owned home outside the statute.
• Serve and document correctly
  Use the SCAO forms (DC100d for just-cause termination), and keep proof of service, ledgers, rules, photos, and winterization proof. A clean record is what wins summary proceedings.
• Build a relationship with a Michigan MHP attorney
  Chapter 57 mobile-home-park evictions carry traps ordinary residential evictions don't (just-cause grounds, the conference right, the 90-day home regime). A Michigan attorney who does park work keeps your notices and writ timing defensible.