Sample letter · Michigan

A Michigan security deposit demand letter, when the landlord sent no list and never sued

This is the full letter the Demand Letter Companion wrote for a fictional Grand Rapids tenant. She mailed her forwarding address two days after moving out. The landlord sent a $100 check with no explanation, kept the other $1,400 of her $1,500 deposit, and never sent a list of damages or filed a lawsuit. Names and addresses are blurred, as they would be on a real letter.

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Michigan's deposit rules at a glance

The rules this letter is built on, checked against the statute on October 30, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Forwarding address: The tenant must give the landlord a forwarding address in writing within 4 days after moving out. Without it, the landlord doesn’t have to send a list of damages, but the tenant can still claim the deposit.MCL 554.611
List of damages: Within 30 days after the tenant moves out, the landlord must mail an itemized list of damages with estimated repair costs and pay back the rest.MCL 554.609
Missing the list: A landlord who doesn’t send the list within 30 days is treated as agreeing that no damages are due, and must return the full deposit.MCL 554.610
Tenant’s response: If a proper list does arrive, the tenant has 7 days to answer it by mail, or loses the right to contest the amounts claimed.MCL 554.609, 554.612
45-day rule: Within 45 days after the tenant moves out, the landlord must return the balance or sue for the damages it claims. It may keep money for damages only with a court judgment, a written agreement, or a few listed exceptions.MCL 554.613
Penalty: A landlord who doesn’t follow the 45-day rule gives up its damage claims and is liable for double the amount it kept.MCL 554.613
Deposit limit: One and a half months’ rent.MCL 554.602
Small claims: Claims up to $7,000.MCL 600.8401

Sample Fictional case · names and addresses blurred

November 1, 2026

Emily [redacted]
[redacted]
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506

Gerald [redacted]
[redacted]
Grand Rapids, MI 49525

Re: Demand for return of security deposit — [redacted], Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506

Dear Mr. [redacted]:

I am writing to demand return of $1,400.00 of my security deposit.

I rented the property under a lease from June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026, and paid a $1,500.00 security deposit. I moved out and returned possession on May 31, 2026. I gave you my forwarding address in writing on June 2, 2026, within 4 days after I moved out (MCL 554.611).¹ You returned $100.00 on June 20, 2026. As of November 1, 2026, I have received no itemized statement, and you continue to withhold $1,400.00.

Under MCL 554.609, you were required to send the itemized list of deductions by June 30, 2026². You did not send it by that deadline. Under MCL 554.610, that failure is treated as your agreement that no damages are due³. You have forfeited the right to keep any part of my security deposit and must return the entire remaining balance. This obligation does not depend on the merits of any claimed deduction.

If you neither returned the withheld balance nor filed a lawsuit for damages within 45 days after my tenancy ended, by July 15, 2026⁴, and no statutory exception applies, MCL 554.613 provides for twice the amount retained: $1,400.00 × 2 = $2,800.00 total⁵. The $2,800.00 is my potential recovery in court, not what I am asking for now.

To resolve this matter now, I am willing to accept $1,400.00 if received by November 15, 2026⁶. If this matter is not resolved, I will seek the larger statutory recovery and other relief the law allows. I would prefer to resolve this matter without litigation. If I do not receive payment by November 15, 2026, I will file a complaint in small claims court without further notice.

Payment may be made by check or money order, mailed to my address above.

Sincerely,

____________________________
Emily [redacted]

What to notice

1
The 4-day rule, metMichigan tenants must give a written forwarding address within 4 days of moving out. The app asked when she did, and the letter states it, with the date.
2
The deadline math, done for youMove-out May 31, plus 30 days, is June 30. No list ever came.
3
Michigan’s no-list ruleNo list within 30 days means the landlord is treated as agreeing that no damages are due. So the letter asks for the full $1,400, and the condition of the home doesn’t matter for that point.
4
The 45-day ruleA Michigan landlord who keeps deposit money must sue for it within 45 days. Day 45 was July 15. She was never served, but only the court record shows whether a suit was filed, so the letter states the condition carefully.
5
Honest about penaltiesDouble the amount kept is what a court could award. The letter shows the math and keeps it separate from what it asks for now.
6
A clear amount and a dateThe $1,400 actually kept, a two-week deadline, and what happens next if it passes.

Your letter will be different

The Companion builds each letter from your lease, your answers, and your state’s rules. So yours won’t look exactly like this one:

Not every landlord misses a deadline. If yours didn’t, the letter won’t claim it.
Penalties vary a lot by state. Some states have none, some double or triple the deposit, and some require bad faith. Your letter uses your state’s rule.
Your disputes come from your facts — what was there at move-in, what you did at move-out, and what you can show.

You read and approve every word before you print, sign, and mail it.

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More sample letters

CaliforniaStatement sent nine days late; $1,400 kept for carpet and painting.Read the letter →FloridaClaim sent by email, not certified mail; the whole $900 is owed.Read the letter →GeorgiaCountertop charge, though the scratch was on the signed move-in list; $1,200 disputed.Read the letter →IllinoisEstimates sent, receipts never followed; the whole $1,100 is owed.Read the letter →New YorkNo refund and no statement within 14 days; the whole $2,400 is owed.Read the letter →North CarolinaList 18 days late; no double damages, but a willful finding could cost the landlord the deposit.Read the letter →OhioRepaint and carpet cleaning after three years; $975 disputed as normal wear.Read the letter →PennsylvaniaList eight days late, after a written forwarding address; the whole $1,250 is owed.Read the letter →TexasDeduction list three weeks late; bad faith presumed; $1,350 kept.Read the letter →

All sample letters · Deposit laws by state

This sample shows what the Demand Letter Companion produces for one fictional situation. It is not legal advice, and it is not a template to copy for your own case. Laws and outcomes vary by state and by facts.