Rep. Kara Hope

Maddy summaryThis bill requires landlords to place tenant rent payments into an escrow account when a safety certificate is withheld due to unresolved housing violations. It directly affects tenants in rental properties with safety hazards and landlords who fail to correct violations after being notified. The key provision suspends rent payments during the certificate withholding period, redirecting those funds to cover necessary repairs instead of going to the landlord. Tenants are not required to pay rent during this time unless the safety issue was caused by the tenant themselves. The escrow funds must be used for repairs, and any unused portion is returned to the tenant if they move out before repairs are completed.

Maddy summaryHB 4991 increases damages for unlawful evictions to 3 times actual losses or $200-$2,000 per day (whichever is greater). It defines unlawful eviction as actions like changing locks without keys, cutting essential utilities (heat/water/electric), or using force to remove tenants. Landlords may legally evict only with court orders, for necessary repairs, or after following specific steps if a tenant dies (e.g., notifying next of kin and waiting 10 days). For severe violations, courts can add fines up to 10% of damages, deposited into Michigan’s housing fund. The bill applies directly to tenants and landlords in residential housing disputes.

Maddy summaryHB 4990 modifies Michigan's eviction laws to strengthen tenant protections. It adds new defenses against retaliatory evictions (e.g., for tenants reporting safety violations or joining tenant groups) and allows courts to deduct rent owed when landlords breach leases or safety codes (Sec. 5720, 5741). The bill also prohibits landlords from recovering late fees if they breached the lease and limits attorney fees/costs for landlords who fail to meet legal obligations (Sec. 5759). These changes directly affect tenants facing eviction and landlords initiating eviction proceedings. The bill aims to ensure evictions are not used as punishment for lawful tenant actions.

Maddy summaryHB 5020 amends Section 1(b) of Michigan's Fourth Class City Act (MCL 91.1) to replace the term "prostitution" with "commercial sexual activity" in city ordinances. This technical update affects fourth-class cities' authority to prohibit certain conduct under local laws. The bill makes no substantive policy change - it only modernizes the legal terminology while preserving existing enforcement powers. The amendment aligns city ordinance language with current legal standards without altering regulatory scope.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires Michigan's State Housing Development Authority to make a standard form summarizing tenant rights (mandated under the Truth in Renting Act) available within 60 days of its creation. The form must be accessible in the Authority's office and on its website. It directly affects renters by ensuring they can easily find their rights information without needing to contact the court. The bill does not change tenant rights but streamlines access to an existing, court-created form.

Maddy summaryHB 4974 requires electric utilities in Michigan to reimburse certain individuals and local governments for costs incurred during power outages. It directly affects renters (whose landlords pay utilities) and local governments, providing $50 for outages lasting 4-24 hours (or actual food/lodging costs, whichever is higher) and $200 for outages over 24 hours. Local governments can also claim reimbursement for emergency services, warming/cooling centers, backup power, or other outage-related costs. Utilities must pay approved amounts within 30 days after the Michigan Public Service Commission reviews cost claims submitted within 90 days of the outage. This is an additional remedy beyond existing legal options.

Maddy summaryHB 4973 requires electric utilities in Michigan to automatically provide bill credits to customers experiencing power outages during a billing cycle. Residential customers receive credits ranging from $5 per hour for short outages up to $25 per hour for outages lasting 72+ hours, while nonresidential credits use a formula based on the customer's average hourly energy use. Credits apply to the next bill and carry forward if they exceed the current bill amount. The credits adjust every five years using the Consumer Price Index to account for inflation, as specified in the bill's Section 9g.

Maddy summaryHB 4978 amends Michigan's Public Utilities Act to change the process for utilities seeking rate increases. It requires electric utilities serving over 1 million customers to coordinate with the Public Service Commission (PSC) before filing rate cases to avoid overlapping filings, and the PSC may order a 21-day spacing between such filings. Gas utilities serving fewer than 1 million customers can now request partial, immediate rate relief, with the PSC required to decide within 180 days. If the PSC doesn't issue a final order within 180 days for a rate case, the utility may implement the proposed rate increase but must refund overpayments if the final order is lower.

Maddy summaryHB 4977 requires Michigan electric utilities to include standardized outage information on customer bills, directly affecting residential and business electricity users. The bill mandates disclosure of three specific metrics per billing cycle: the number of service interruptions lasting over 5 minutes, total interruption duration, and the number of momentary interruptions (under 5 minutes). Utilities must also annually report outage causes affecting over 1,000 customers, tree trimming efforts, grid reliability projects, and worst-performing circuits to the public service commission. Violations can result in fines up to $1,000 per incident, with customer reports or meter data used as evidence.

Maddy summaryHB 4976 prohibits electric utilities in Michigan from seeking to recover revenue they were required to pay as service outage credits to customers. This directly affects electric utilities serving Michigan residents and businesses, as it prevents them from later reclaiming refunds paid for power outages. The key provision states that once an electric utility issues outage credits (refunds for service interruptions), it cannot attempt to get that money back through future rate adjustments. This ensures customers who received outage credits retain the full benefit without utilities offsetting those payments against future bills.