Housing Discrimination
MCL 37.2502 — familial status, marital status and source of income among the protected grounds
A person engaging in a real estate transaction, or a real estate broker or salesperson, may not discriminate because of the religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status or marital status of a person or anyone living with them. A separate act bars the same conduct because of a disability that is unrelated to the person's ability to acquire, rent or maintain the property. On those grounds, both bar:
- Refusing to sell, rent or lease, to negotiate, or to receive or pass on a bona fide offer.
- Setting different terms, conditions or privileges, or different facilities or services.
- Saying a place is not available for inspection, sale or rental when it is, or keeping a listing from someone.
- Advertising, or using an application or a record of inquiry, that indicates a preference, limitation or discrimination.
- Discriminating in brokering or appraising, or in access to a multiple listing service or a brokers' organization.
Source of income. A landlord may not deny or end a tenancy, set different terms or fees, discourage a rental, or advertise a preference based on the source of income of an otherwise eligible tenant or applicant, and may not treat a tenant differently for using emergency rental assistance. A landlord that requires a certain level of income may not leave a rent voucher or subsidy out when counting whether the level is met. This part does not apply to a landlord that, with its related entities, has fewer than 5 rental units in the state.
The section does not reach renting a unit in a building for not more than 2 families when the owner or a member of the owner's immediate family lives in the other one, renting a room in a single family home where the lessor or the lessor's immediate family lives, or renting for not more than 12 months a home the owner occupied as a home for at least 3 months before and keeps as a legal residence. Immediate family means a spouse, parent, child or sibling. Housing in senior programs, or bona fide housing for people 50 or older, is outside the age and familial status rules.
A person alleging a violation of the civil rights act may bring a civil action in circuit court for an injunction, damages or both, and damages include reasonable attorney's fees.
How the disability act is enforced, accommodations for a disability in housing, and the federal fair housing law are not covered here.
Sources for this section (4)
- MCL 37.2502 — Discrimination in real estate transactions, and source of income
- MCL 37.1502 — Disability discrimination in real estate transactions
- MCL 37.2503 — Housing the real estate section does not reach
- MCL 37.2801 — Civil action for a violation
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Michigan attorney.