Very few deed restrictions/restrictive covenants (“deed restrictions”) in Michigan expressly ban, regulate or even mention the short-term rental of houses, cottages and cabins. Nevertheless, there frequently exists words or phrases within deed restrictions that could be interpreted to prohibit short-term rentals. Two recent Michigan Court of Appeals decisions have interpreted deed restrictions to ban short-term rentals. Those two recent appellate court decisions are Aldrich v Sugar Springs Property Owners Association, Inc., ____ Mich App ___ (2023) and Apache Hills Property Owners Association, Inc. v Sears Nichols Cottages, LLC (unpublished decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals dated December 22, 2022; Case No. 360554; 2022 WL 17878015). Aldrich is definitive since it is a published decision.
Over the past decade, the Michigan Court of Appeals has addressed short-term rentals and deed restrictions in over 8 case decisions. It is likely that such appellate court decisions will be used by analogy to determine whether a municipality’s zoning regulations prohibit short-term rentals if short-term rentals are not expressly addressed in the zoning regulations.
Bloom Slugget, PC
Grand Rapids Michigan Attorney
