Welcome to I'm Just a Bill, a recurring column that takes a closer look at housing legislation circulating about the country and what it could mean for you.

All of us renters have had situations in which we’ve thought about withholding or deducting rent. Tenants have little recourse if a landlord takes weeks to conduct non-essential repairs, like, say, a broken dishwasher or clothes dryer, a busted buzzer, or a sink disposal that sounds as if a robot has met an unfortunate end somewhere inside it. Many of us have proceeded to Google whether this is allowed, and have been informed that in almost all circumstances (aside from those deemed to make the rental unit “uninhabitable”), withholding rent is an extremely bad idea and places the renter in a hugely disadvantageous position in any legal scuffle.

Michigan State Senator Sarah Anthony, who represents Lansing, has a package of bills—Senate Bills (S.B.) 900 through 903—which would, among other things, allow tenants to fix stuff themselves and then deduct the cost from the next month’s rent. “We’re calling this the Tenant Empowerment Package to ensure renters are aware of their rights and have the tools they need to advocate for them,” says Remy Gelderloos, Anthony’s deputy chief of staff. The right to repair aspect would give landlords 72 hours after receiving notice from the tenant to fix broken appliances, and a week for other repairs. The tenant would then have to get three estimates, but after that, could proceed with the repair and deduct that cost from the rent. This package is part of an ongoing nationwide effort to address unfair landlord/tenant relationships, along with California’s “just cause for eviction” law, evictions being expunged from records in Minnesota, and many more.

The rest of the Tenant Empowerment Package includes a law banning landlords from forbidding tenant unions, requires landlords to give three month’s notice before initiating a rent raise, and bans all kinds of weird predatory language from leases (like anything that waives the tenant’s right to sue, or demands that the renter pay legal fees in a dispute).

A fundamental challenge in passing tenant protection bills like Anthony’s is that landlords and the real estate industry have enormous power and influence; Lobbying groups spend massive amounts of money to spike progressive housing bills. Gelderloos says, diplomatically, “While it’s true that there will be some pushback from landlords, property managers, and rental companies, etc., we know it’s important to keep conversations going with those folks.” More to the point, she notes that Michigan currently has a Democratic party trifecta: Democrats control the governorship, both houses of the state legislature, and, for good measure, the state attorney general and secretary of state. Democratic control doesn’t equal progressive laws, of course, but it’s a start—and Anthony herself is the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee in Michigan.

“This will remain a priority for Senator Anthony because the problem will not go away on its own—our current systems are clearly not working,” says Gelderloos. “We will continue fighting for ways to uplift renters and help alleviate the burden of the housing crisis on Michigan families.” Anthony hopes to get the Tenant Empowerment Package signed into law within the current 2023-24 legislative term.

Illustration by Salini Perera

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