PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES CIVIL RIGHTS ACT (EXCERPT)
Act 220 of 1976 Article 5

37.1501 Definitions.

Sec. 501.

As used in this article:

(a) "Housing accommodation" includes improved or unimproved real property, or a part thereof, which is used or occupied, or is intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied, as the home or residence of 1 or more persons.

(b) "Immediate family" means a spouse, parent, child, or sibling.

(c) "Real estate broker or salesman" means a person, whether licensed or not, who, for or with the expectation of receiving a consideration, lists, sells, purchases, exchanges, rents, or leases real property, or who negotiates or attempts to negotiate any of these activities, or who holds himself out as engaged in these activities, or who negotiates or attempts to negotiate a loan secured or to be secured by a mortgage or other encumbrance upon real property, or who is engaged in the business of listing real property in a publication; or a person employed by or acting on behalf of any of these persons.

(d) "Real estate transaction" means the sale, exchange, rental, or lease of real property, or an interest therein.

(e) "Real property" includes a building, structure, mobile home, real estate, land, mobile home park, trailer park, tenement, leasehold, or an interest in a real estate cooperative or condominium.

History: 1976, Act 220, Eff. Mar. 31, 1977

37.1502 Owners, persons engaging in real estate transactions, real estate brokers, and real estate salesmen; prohibited conduct.

Sec. 502.

(1) An owner or any other person engaging in a real estate transaction, or a real estate broker or salesman shall not, on the basis of a disability of a buyer or renter, of a person residing in or intending to reside in a dwelling after it is sold, rented, or made available, or of any person associated with that buyer or renter, that is unrelated to the individual's ability to acquire, rent, or maintain property or use by an individual of adaptive devices or aids:

(a) Refuse to engage in a real estate transaction with a person.

(b) Discriminate against a person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of a real estate transaction or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection with a real estate transaction.

(d) Refuse to negotiate for a real estate transaction with a person.

(e) Represent to a person that real property is not available for inspection, sale, rental, or lease when in fact it is available, fail to bring a property listing to a person's attention, refuse to permit a person to inspect real property, or otherwise deny or make real property unavailable to a person.

(f) Make, print, circulate, post, or mail or cause to be made or published a statement, advertisement, or sign, or use a form of application for a real estate transaction, or make a record of inquiry in connection with a prospective real estate transaction, which indicates, directly or indirectly, an intent to make a limitation, specification, or discrimination with respect to a real estate transaction.

(g) Offer, solicit, accept, use, or retain a listing of real property with the understanding that a person may be discriminated against in a real estate transaction or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection with a real estate transaction.

(h) Discriminate against a person in the brokering or appraising of real property.

(2) A person shall not deny a person access to or membership or participation in a multiple listing service, real estate brokers' organization or other service, organization, or facility relating to the business of selling or renting real property, or discriminate against a person in the terms or conditions of that access, membership, or participation.

History: 1976, Act 220, Eff. Mar. 31, 1977 ;-- Am. 1992, Act 123, Imd. Eff. June 29, 1992 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 20, Imd. Eff. Mar. 12, 1998

37.1503 Certain rentals excepted from MCL 37.1502.

Sec. 503.

Section 502 shall not apply to the rental of a housing accommodation in a building which contains housing accommodations for not more than 2 families living independently of each other, if the owner or a member of the owner's immediate family resides in 1 of the housing accommodations, or to the rental of a room or rooms in a single housing dwelling by a person if the lessor or a member of the lessor's immediate family resides therein.

History: 1976, Act 220, Eff. Mar. 31, 1977

37.1504 Financial assistance or financing; prohibited conduct.

Sec. 504.

A person shall not discriminate on the basis of disability in making or purchasing loans for acquiring, constructing, improving, repairing, or maintaining real property, or in providing other financial assistance secured by or otherwise related to real property.

History: 1976, Act 220, Eff. Mar. 31, 1977 ;-- Am. 1992, Act 123, Imd. Eff. June 29, 1992 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 20, Imd. Eff. Mar. 12, 1998

37.1505 Information as to applicant's credit worthiness.

Sec. 505.

Nothing in this article shall be considered to prohibit an owner, lender, or his or her agent from requiring that an applicant who seeks to buy, rent, lease, or obtain financial assistance for housing accommodations supply information concerning the applicant's financial, business, or employment status or other information designed solely to determine the applicant's credit worthiness, but not concerning disabilities for reasons contrary to the provisions or purposes of this act.

History: 1976, Act 220, Eff. Mar. 31, 1977 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 20, Imd. Eff. Mar. 12, 1998

37.1506 Prohibited representations.

Sec. 506.

A person shall not represent, for the purpose of inducing a real estate transaction from which he or she may benefit financially or otherwise, that a change has occurred or will or may occur in the composition with respect to persons with disabilities of the owners or occupants in the block, neighborhood, or area in which the real property is located, or represent that this change will or may result in the lowering of property values, an increase in criminal or antisocial behavior, or a decline in the quality of schools in the block, neighborhood, or area in which the real property is located.

History: 1976, Act 220, Eff. Mar. 31, 1977 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 20, Imd. Eff. Mar. 12, 1998

37.1506a Real estate transaction; prohibited conduct; “covered multifamily dwellings” defined.

Sec. 506a.

(1) A person shall not do any of the following in connection with a real estate transaction:

(a) Refuse to permit, at the expense of the person with a disability, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by the person with a disability if those modifications may be necessary to afford the person with a disability full enjoyment of the premises. In the case of a rental, the landlord may, if reasonable, make permission for a modification contingent on the renter's agreement to restore the interior of the premises to the condition that existed before the modification, reasonable wear and tear excepted.

(b) Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when the accommodations may be necessary to afford the person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy residential real property.

(c) In connection with the design and construction of covered multifamily dwellings for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, fail to include all of the following features:

(i) The dwellings have at least 1 building entrance on an accessible route, unless that is impractical because of the terrain or unusual characteristics of the site.

(ii) The public and common use portions of the dwellings are readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities.

(iii) All the doors designed to allow passage into and within all premises within the dwellings are sufficiently wide to allow passage by persons with disabilities in wheelchairs.

(iv) All premises within covered multifamily dwellings contain an accessible route into and through the dwelling; light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, and other environmental controls in accessible locations; reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow later installation of grab bars; and kitchens and bathrooms designed so that an individual in a wheelchair can maneuver about the space.

(2) As used in this section, "covered multifamily dwellings" means buildings consisting of 4 or more units if the buildings have 1 or more elevators, and ground floor units in other buildings consisting of 4 or more units.

History: Add. 1992, Act 123, Imd. Eff. June 29, 1992 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 20, Imd. Eff. Mar. 12, 1998

37.1507 Person subject to article; plan.

Sec. 507.

A person subject to this article may adopt and carry out a plan to eliminate present effects of past discriminatory practices or assure equal opportunity with respect to individuals who have disabilities, if the plan is filed with the commission under rules of the commission and the commission has not disapproved the plan.

History: 1976, Act 220, Eff. Mar. 31, 1977 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 20, Imd. Eff. Mar. 12, 1998
Admin Rule: R 37.27 et seq. of the Michigan Administrative Code.

Rendered 8/15/2025 9:00 AM
Michigan Compiled Laws Complete Through PA 5 of 2025
Courtesy of legislature.mi.gov