• MSHDA has issued $420 million in bonds to shore up housing assistance in Michigan.
  
• MSHDA board has approved $75 million in a housing assistance accelerator to help with development.
  
• Potential funding for a universal application process.
• Housing policy bills becoming part of the budget negotiations.

Rezoning: The RPOAM has been asked to join a housing task force chaired by Rep. Kristian Grant to discuss rezoning in Michigan’s local municipalities. The group’s first meeting will be in September.

Short-Term Rentals: We are working with Rep. Joey Andrews on his proposed STR legislation along with the Realtors Association and those in the hotel and tourism industries. RPOAM is the ONLY property owner association in the state that has been invited to be part of the discussions.

PAC Update: RPOAM will be hosting an in-person and online fundraiser for Rep. Joe Aragona from Macomb County on Thursday, October 23rd in Grand Rapids. Rep. Aragona is the chair of the House Regulatory Reform Committee who is overseeing housing policy this term. More information to come!

• Right to repair
  
• Eviction expungement
  
• Rental application caps
  
• Rental fees transparency
  
• Reforming criminal background checks
• Returning security deposits electronically

Tabitha and I, along with our coalition partners, have continued to stay in contact with legislators who are sponsors of the above legislation and those who are serving on committees that are overseeing housing policy. In the Michigan House, the Committee on Regulatory Reform will be tackling all housing legislation and is chaired by Rep. Joe Aragon out of Macomb County.

As everyone is aware, we have a new administration in place in Washington, DC. We are keeping an eye on the proposed budget that is currently moving through the U.S. House of Representatives. The budget that was voted out of the House Ways and Means Committee includes a 44% cut to the HUD budget and a $26.7 billion cut from Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8). As the budget bill continues to make its way through the process the RPOA will keep members updated.

I attended the Detroit Regional Chamber Policy Conference the last week of May to connect with policymakers throughout the state of Michigan. We are expecting another busy two-year cycle before elections again in 2026!

The last three weeks for the Michigan Legislature have been one for the history books. Full control of state government, which the Democrats held for the first time in 40 years, ended in the most dramatic of ways.

The Democrats in the House of Representatives were unable to hold their majority together. For three days, they attempted to get a quorum to take votes and were unable to get all 56 of their members to show up for work. The Republicans in the House decided to boycott coming to work and did not come to the Capitol for those same three days. After the first two weeks of lame duck, holding committee meeting after committee meeting to get bills passed out for a floor vote and voting quickly on bills late into the night to get them over to the Senate, it all fell apart with a Democrat member hiding in the office of the Republican Minority Leader, who, on a side note, will be Speaker of the House starting in January.

Over in the Senate, the upper chamber, things went more smoothly where it was mainly business as usual. Only one Democratic state senator decided to skip session for one day and returned for the final marathon of voting. The final push for the Senate was a 29-hour, sleepless voting session, which had not happened since 1993.

In the end, the Sine Die resolution that needs to be passed by both the House and Senate to end the legislative two-year session was not done because of the abrupt adjournment of the House. This situation is not dealt with in the Michigan constitution and will become an issue in the new year if bills passed at the end of the year can actually take effect.

The BIG NEWS for the RPOA is that after working late into the night, little sleep, and through the weekends, we have been VERY successful in holding off several pieces of legislation that would have been detrimental to the rental property industry, including short term rentals. Below are some of the bills we fought against over the last two years and in a full court press over the last three weeks:

• Fair chance housing – no criminal background checks
  
• Eviction expungement
  
• Right to counsel – tenants right to state paid legal aide
  
• Water affordability
  
• Expansion of carbon dioxide detectors
  
• Right to repair – allowing tenants to do their own repairs
  
• Lead abatement – the Grand Rapids lead dust test will NOT be able to be implemented
  
• Short-term rental regulation – this would have included a 6% excise tax. The RPOA, along with the Realtors, were the ONLY statewide associations representing short-term rental owners in the room during negotiations.

The RPOA has been very successful in stopping bad legislation that would make it harder to be a rental property owner or real estate investor in 2023 and 2024. However, the fight is not over! The new legislative session begins in January. The Republicans will have a small majority in the House. The Senate and Governor’s office are still Democrat-controlled. The RPOA will continue to fight for you and your industry to protect your rights in 2025.

The ONLY way for the RPOA to do the work to protect YOU is for you to maintain your membership and encourage others to join us!

Erika Farley,
RPOA Executive Director

However, before we can look forward into the new legislative session, we will be working hard in these last weeks of the year during ‘lame duck’. Lame duck is a period of time between the general election and the new legislature being sworn in where there is a flurry of action moving bills. Traditionally, this is a time when the Legislature works overtime completing the policy priorities of outgoing members. This year’s lame duck has the potential to be even more active with the Democrats losing majority in January. There are only a few weeks left for them to advance their policy priorities which include changes to the rental property industry which include the following:

• SB 801: automatic eviction expungements
  
• SB 601: lease transparency of amenities covered by the property owner and resident
  
• HB 4532: expanding lead inspections in rental properties
• HB 4878: removing the ability of property owners to use criminal background checks as a criteria for residents with exceptions for a three violent felonies

As we have over the last two years, we will continue to work hard to fight these pieces of legislation until the last vote is taken in 2024.

With the General Election behind us, we are looking at a new landscape going into the new year regarding housing policy and politics but that does not mean we can take our foot off the gas. Housing will continue to be a major policy issue going forward both on the state and local levels. With a slim GOP majority in the Michigan House, 58-52, and the other two legs of the government stool still being controlled by Democrats it will be imperative that we continue to work with legislative leadership and our housing coalition partners to make sure our voice is heard loud and clear.

The last 18 months have brought a focus on housing policy at the state and local levels that has not been seen in 60 years. The Michigan legislature has introduced more than 100 bills that would affect the rental property industry both long and short term.

The RPOA has been working hard to ensure that 99% of those bills are stopped in their tracks. We have been extremely successful in making that happen.

Recent Developments

• The Michigan legislature is currently on their summer break. With 2024 being an election year there will be very few, if any, session days along with committee meetings before the general election on
• November 5th. After Thanksgiving the legislature will be back in earnest for ‘lame duck’ trying to move as many policy bills as possible before the end of the year when the legislative session will end.
  
• The Michigan Fiscal Year 2024/2025 annual budget was completed at the end of June and were signed by Governor Whitmer in July.
  
• No significant rental housing policy legislation was passed during the legislative spring session other than continuing to amend the “source of income” bills which requires property owners to consider Section 8 and other government and non-profit sources of income. The RPOA has been working on both the Senate and House packages to amend the bills to make them less harmful to property owners for over a year. It is expected that the final changes to the bills will be adopted before the end of the year and signed by the Governor.
• The following bills are the main issues that the RPOA is currently working on with legislators and our coalition members: 

o Removal of credit checks

o Removal of criminal background checks

o Eviction expungement
o Lead inspections
o Application fees and caps
o Short term rental regulations and excise tax 

• The primary for the general election was held August 6th with the general election being held Tuesday, November 5th. Along with federal offices, only the Michigan House of Representatives is up for re-election in Michigan along with many local races. There is projection that the Republicans will take a slim majority next January, however, that is only a projection and with the close split between parties in the chamber it could go either way.
  
  

CALL TO ACTION

Until the November election, the main thing RPOA members can do is to continue supporting the rental housing industry and elect those who will do the same by giving to the RPOA PAC.

Erika Farley

RPOA Executive Director

Spring has sprung in Michigan, and we are all getting ready for an enjoyable and exciting summer! The last few months have been very busy on several fronts. We had an extremely successful conference in February and are already working on next year’s event. Another main focus has been government affairs and policy. The city of Grand Rapids took a large hit on the lead dust test and is working on rezoning. The Kent County board of commissioners has supported legislation in Lansing to create a 3% hotel tax to raise funds for the proposed soccer stadium and other projects to promote tourism. Finally, the Michigan Legislature has been especially active pushing housing policy that would make it harder for our industry to thrive and grow in Michigan.

Government Affairs:

• Grand Rapids Lead Dust Test: The city announced in February that the lead dust test has been put on an indefinite hold. They have been unsuccessful in passing legislation sponsored by Rep. Rachel Hood (D-Grand Rapids) to change state law to allow the lead dust test to be implemented. I continue to work with our lobbyist Tabitha Zimny to fight the legislation to ensure the lead dust test does not move forward.
  
• Grand Rapids Rezoning: The city commission approved a new zoning ordinance to help create more housing in Grand Rapids. This will be a long process over the next 20 years but will take advantage of proposed state funding and create smaller lots for what they are hoping is more affordable housing.
  
• Kent County Commission: The county commission supported legislation that was passed by the Michigan legislature and signed by the Governor to allow for the county to impose a 3% tax on hotels. This tax increase would need to be approved by the voters with a ballot initiative.
  
• Michigan Legislature:
  
  • The Michigan House of Representatives had special elections in April to fill two vacant seats in Southeast Michigan. Both seats were filled by Democrats as expected and returns a small majority to the Democrats in the House. The filling of these two seats has sparked movement on the state budget and several policy issues including housing.
    
  • Source of income: bills that would require all rental properties to consider section 8 and other non-traditional forms of income is moving through the Michigan House. We have been working on these bills with the sponsors and committee chair for a year to improve on the original bills. I will be testifying on the bills this week.
    
  • Eviction expungement: Senator Rosemary Bayer (D-West Bloomfield) has sponsored Senate Bill 801 which would expunge evictions from court records after two years. There was emotional committee testimony taken last week and I will once again be at the Senate Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee to testify in opposition to the bill.
    
  • Short-term rentals: Rep. Joey Andrews (D-Holland) has sponsored legislation to regulate STR on the state level and create a 6% excise tax. I testified in opposition to these bills. I along with Tabitha are working with Rep. Andrews and other industry coalition partners to amend the legislation.
    
  • Application fees: Rep. Joey Andrews has introduced a bill that would require property owners to return application fees to perspective residents if they are not approved for the property. I testified in opposition to this bill and continue to work with the sponsor on amendments.
    

• Detroit Chamber of Commerce Policy Conference: At the end of this month, I will be attending the annual policy conference on Mackinaw Island. This event brings in elected officials and policymakers not only from Michigan but throughout the nation. This will be a great opportunity for me to meet with many decision-makers including Speaker Joe Tate and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Banks. I will be keeping our membership updated on all the activities.
  

2025 Midwest Real Estate Investor Conference:

• Once again, we are looking forward to another great annual conference at DeVos Place on April 24-25! More details will be coming soon! Your Conference Committee is working hard to ensure that the conference is the best it can be. Keep an eye out for new and exciting classes and events!
  

It has been a privilege to serve as your executive director over the last several months. I, along with our board and committee members and our staff, Heather VandenBos and Kristina Kyle, are working hard to serve you well and improve the RPOA to make it the best for you, our members, as possible. You will continue to see and hear new things over the next year. If there are any questions we can answer or anything we can do better, we would love to hear from you.

Erika Farley

RPOA Executive Director

Happy New Year! I am looking forward to another great year for the Rental Property Owners Association of Kent County (RPOA) and building on our successes of last year. With the goal of continuing to improve the RPOA for all our members, last month your Board took some major steps in bringing the association forward and growing our membership:

• Membership Dues: The RPOA dues structure and cost had not been evaluated in almost a decade. At the end of last year, a committee was created to present a proposal to the larger Board to address any changes. Last month, the Board agreed with the recommendations of the committee to both simplify the dues structure and to raise dues starting this year. All members have been sent an outline of the changes. The adjustments are vital to not only maintaining the services the RPOA provides but also expanding how we serve our membership and growing the association. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation as we make this change.

• Short Term Rental Association: Over the last several years, the RPOA has been working to support and educate real estate investors that own short-term rentals. To better serve our members, the decision was made by the Board to incorporate the Short Term Rental Association (STRA) fully into the RPOA. This will allow those who were members of the STRA to utilize all the member benefits of the RPOA including staff infrastructure and have more robust representation in governmental affairs.

2024 Midwest Real Estate Investors Conference:

Once again, we are looking forward to another great annual conference at DeVos Place on February 22-23rd! There are still tickets available for a new format focusing on two tracks of real estate investment—long-term and short-term. We are expecting a great turnout of attendees to enjoy speakers and leaders in the industry throughout the nation. Below is a link to more information and tickets. Join us!

Midwest Real Estate Investor Conference

Government Affairs:

• Grand Rapids Lead Dust Test: As you are aware, the city of Grand Rapids passed an ordinance last June to create a lead dust test. After working with the City for several months and speaking with the State of Michigan it became clear that the City’s ordinance does not comply with state law. As a result, a 90 delay was placed on the ordinance until April 1, 2024. The state has not agreed to change their rules for Grand Rapids. The City has decided to attempt to change state law through a piece of legislation (HB 5432) sponsored by Rep. Hood from Grand Rapids. I testified in opposition to the bill in January and continue to work with our coalition partners and members of the Michigan House on delaying a vote on the bill.

• Grand Rapids Planning Commission: In January, the Planning Commission held a hearing regarding ADUs and made a recommendation to the City Commission to adopt changes to make it easier for ADUs to be approved within the city limits. The whole of the City Commission will need to vote to approve the proposal.

• State of the State: Governor Whitmer gave her sixth State of the State address on January 24, 2024. She did make mention of housing in her speech and through her newest budget proposal is asking the Michigan Legislature to appropriate $1.4 billion to build or renovate housing. The budget process has just started and this issue will be a large part of the budget discussions which the RPOA will be a part of.

• Michigan Legislature: The Michigan House of Representatives is still working with a 54-54 party split. As a result, very little is being done by the Legislature this winter. The special elections to fill two seats will be held on April 16th which should return the Democrats to a slim majority before the November elections.

As I am finishing my second month as the Executive Director of the RPOA I am looking forward to a busy year representing the best of the industry. It has been a pleasure getting to work with and hear from so many of our members. I am hoping over the next several months I will have the opportunity to meet and speak with more of you. Remembering that I work for you and am here to represent your best interests, I encourage you to reach out to me with any thoughts or questions. The best way for me to serve you is to hear from you!

Erika Farley

RPOA Executive Director

Before I begin the overview of the very successful year that the Rental Property Owners Association of Kent County (RPOA) has had, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Erika Farley and have been serving in the position of Director of Government Affairs since June of this year. In November, the RPOA Board gave me the opportunity to act as the Executive Director for the Association. I am very excited about this new journey for both myself and the RPOA.

The RPOA is the largest county association of its kind in the state, and it is a well-deserved title. The work that has been done by the RPOA over the last several decades to serve its membership and the industry has not been surpassed. With the changes in the political landscape affecting the policy decisions that impact all rental property owners, now is the time to grow the RPOA and renew our mission. I am looking forward to the next year, and beyond, of working with the RPOA Board and members to expand our services and the impact of our voice on all levels of government.

I would especially like to thank our Board president, Nick Wyma, along with Kim Post, Kevin Wright, Jeremy Garcia and Gary Hall, and the members of the whole board for entrusting me with the future of the RPOA.

Year End Review:

2023 has been a busy year for rental housing on several fronts! It has become a major policy issue on both the local and state levels. However, RPOA has had some great victories protecting our members and the industry.

In June of this year, the Grand Rapids City Commission voted to create a new lead dust testing program. As an association, we stayed in contact with the City over the last several months. As we expected, there were issues with the language that was passed by the Commission. The ordinance does not comply with the state of Michigan standards for lead inspector licenses. After bringing this to the attention of those overseeing the lead dust program the Commission voted last week to delay the implementation of the program by 90 days to April 1, 2024. This is great news for our membership! We will continue to stay in contact with Grand Rapids as decisions are made going forward in the new year.

Over the last year, the Michigan Legislature has also introduced several pieces of legislation that pertain to rental housing policy. There have been over 50 bills introduced between the Michigan House and Senate. We have been working closely with our coalition partners to stop and delay any movement of these bills, and we have been very successful. Of the 50 bills that were introduced only one bill was signed into law this past year and it was a bill we supported. With another year in the legislative session now is not the time to take our foot off the gas.

With 2024 being an election year, the RPOA will be keeping members updated on candidates running for local and state offices. The Grand Rapids Commission including the mayor will be up for election and the whole of the Michigan House of Representatives. We will be taking steps to support candidates that support the rental property industry. Please consider contributing to the RPOA PAC to help us get those elected that will support our policies. Click here to donate.

Quarterly Government Affairs Luncheon:

Wednesday, January 31st at 11:30am. Click here to register.

Erika Farley

RPOA Executive Director

Overview:

The Michigan Legislature is quickly working towards their deadline of early November to adjourn for the year. There are several bills that are moving through the committee process and on the legislative floors.

Source of Income

• SB 205 (Sen. Cavanaugh - D); SB 206 (Sen. Bayer - D); SB 207 (Sen. Irwin - D)
• The package of bills would require all government subsidized income be considered for any rental property. This would include housing assistance, public assistance, emergency rental assistance, public assistance, veterans benefits, social security and any other programs administered by federal, state or local government and nonprofit entities.
• RPOA along with coalition partners have worked with bill sponsors to amend the bills. One of the main changes is the legislation will not be applied to small rental property owners. The bills were voted off the Senate floor and have been referred to the House Committee on Judiciary.

Conviction Expungement

• HB 4948 (Rep. Grant - D)
• The bill would disallow property owners from asking applicants about expunged past convictions. This bill is in response to the state expunging non-violent marijuana convictions within the last 18 months. The bill passed out of committee and is on the House floor.

Rental Application Refund

• HB 4891 (Rep. Andrews - D)
• The bill would require property owners to refund a prospective tenant’s application fee if they are not given the rental. We are working on amendments with Rep. Andrews to create a central database with the United Way for low-income individuals were application information would be stored. This would be at no cost to the applicant or property owner.

Security Deposit Refund

• SB 539
• The bill would allow security deposits to be repaid electronically. The bills have been referred to the Senate Committee on Housing and Human Services

Tenants Bill of Right

• Rep. Emily Dievendorf has taken on housing and has proposed that all bills introduced in the House of Representatives be included in the ‘Tenants Bill of Rights’. Leadership for the House has not sanctioned this package or appointed the Representative to be their advocate on housing issues. At this time, there is not the appetite in the House or the Senate to move this idea forward. It is impotent to keep in touch with the Representative and have asked to be included in any workgroups on this legislative idea.

Grand Rapids/Southwest Michigan:

Lead Dust Inspection

• The RPOA is continuing to try to work with the City on the implementation of the lead dust test. Currently, we are still planning on having demonstration dust testing before the end of the year with two properties owned by RPOA members. The City has had a meeting with possible contractors for the testing, however the majority of the individuals who they spoke with are from Southeast Michigan. The implementation of the program is a concern and working on outreach to several organizations regarding their concerns with the new program.

New Court Rules

• The new court rules put into place by the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) are supposed to take effect on November 1, 2023. District Court judges do have the ability to request a delay in the implementation of the rules. We met with the SCOA and shared our member concerns. We are reaching out to the district judges as it has come to our attention that there may be concerns from their side of the issue too.

External Affairs/Media:

• WOOD TV story on rent prices in Grand Rapids: House, rental prices up in West Michigan, a ‘prime location’ | WOODTV.com
• Gongwer on Source of Income: Senate OKs Banning Income Discrimination By Landlords

Legislation that would prevent landlords from discriminating against a potential tenant based on their source of income cleared the Senate on Wednesday.

SB 205 Tracked, Tracked and Tracked passed the chamber 20-18, along party lines.

The main bill in the package, SB 205, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), includes provisions on preventing discrimination by landlords, who would also be barred from publishing information indicating a preference or limitation on any source of income. Landlords would have to subtract from a rental unit's required threshold level of income a rental voucher or subsidy.

Individuals who are affected by such discrimination would be able to seek recovery of damages.

Irwin also sponsored SB 207, while Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D-Keego Harbor) sponsored SB 206.

Senators adopted substitutes to each bill prior to passage on Wednesday, each brought forward by Irwin. He said those changes provided exemptions for small landlords who may have just a few units, and another offering new time limits as it relates to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development agent paperwork.

"It takes over a month to process the paperwork, and that also lets the landlord off of the requirement, because we heard from landlords that were saying, 'Look, usually the housing agents act very quickly, but sometimes they don't,'" Irwin told Gongwer News Service following session. "And if they don't act for months and months, that it is just too expensive for us to leave a unit open for … months at a time."

Irwin prior to the bills' passage also spoke to the importance of the legislation.

"We have people all over our state who are struggling to find housing … and this bill package, is a series of legislation meant to make it easier for folks to find the housing they need to thrive," he said. "Although we've provided exemptions for very small mom and pop landlords to make this easier for everyone to comply with, this policy is going to be important to make sure that people who have public benefits because they served in the U.S. military, or they have public benefits because they are in poverty, to make it so that those folks can find housing in our state."

Irwin added that these people were important parts of the community and state economy, and the Senate needed to make sure that it was "making space for all people to find stable housing, so they can continue to live in and contribute to our communities."

Sen. Jonathan Lindsey (R-Coldwater) said he would not support the package, saying he did not believe it would help the housing crisis and would only make it harder for landlords to operate in the state. He said it could also deter those who are interested in becoming landlords.

Irwin addressed Lindsey's criticisms of the package with reporters following session.

"What I've heard from landlords is that when they work with Section 8, it actually works really well for them because they always get paid. The payment always comes on time and the federal support is a stable and reliable stream of income for these landlords," he said. "So, I think what we need to do is, we should make sure that landlords out there who need a little bit of technical support to get that paperwork filled out and make sure that anyone can rent their unit, get that support and … make it easier for them."

Action Items:

• Register for the government affairs luncheon on Wednesday, October 25 at 11:30am. Click here to register. This is a member-only event. Members must be logged in to register.

Local governmental affairs report summary from RPOA’s Governmental Affairs Representative:

Overview:

• I met with Steve Ammon regarding several issues including policy on evictions and Eviction Collab.
  
• Steve Ammon and I met with Alex Kontras from Housing Kent. It was an initial meeting to learn more about their organization and if there are ways for RPOA to work with them in the future. Alex did send information and an invite to a meeting that Steve was able to attend on RPOA’s behalf. We will be meeting next week to go over the information that received during that meeting. I plan on attending the next meeting from Housing Kent.
  
• I met with Interim Director Joe Rivet of the state land back for the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. We discussed housing in general and specifically the new state appropriation of $30 million for blight rehab. Grand Rapids will be receiving a portion of those funds.
  
• Board members and myself met with Paul Haan and employees from the Grand Rapids Code Enforcement Department. We discussed the lead dust test at length.
  
  • We went over several points including having enough well trained inspectors for the program. Paul indicated that they are reaching out to companies that may be able to do the testing. The City does not have any specific individual or company in mind for inspectors. Heritage Hills and concerns about maintaining the historical integrity of the homes and complying with the new ordinance was spoken about. The City did not have answer on how they will be addressing that issue specifically.
  • Two other things that were discussed were testing of troughs if the home does not pass the first inspection and Remedy Right comes into play. Paul was unable to answer that question. Finally, a demonstration of test using an RPOA member home was mentioned. Code Enforcement expressed their desire to have that take place and Paul agreed. We are working on getting that schedule before the end of the year.
    
• I met with Kim Post regarding several policy issues and the Education Committee for RPOA. We will be meeting again soon to talk about Short Term Rentals.
  
• I attended two Strategic Planning meetings. Great progress is being made on the future of the RPOA.
  
• I met individually with Paul Haan. On September 12th at 1pm the City will be hosting a more in depth meeting on lead dust test. Paul indicated a more thorough document will be distributed at that meeting and said he would share it with me before the meeting. There will be a second meeting of this kind around the end of September.
  
  • I am working with Paul on dates for a joint education meeting with the City. That would be separate from any education training RPOA does internally. I will be meeting with him again this Thursday.
    
• Joined in on the Grand Rapids Chamber Government Affairs update. This was a basic overview of what the Chamber is currently doing and focused on non-housing issues this month.
• I met with Brooke from Housing Next. I saw their presentation when I attended the Chamber Policy Conference. This was a meet and greet and how we can work together in the future.

External Affairs:

• I spoke Michigan Public Radio and Channel 3 from Kalamazoo about the Rent is Too Damn protest that took place at the Michigan Capitol. Links are below:
  
  • Housing advocates rally for rent control and affordability at state capitol (michiganradio.org)
    
  • Michigan tenants rally against high rents and demand housing reform | WWMT

Action Items:

• Sign up for Lobby Day in Lansing on September 20th.

State-wide governmental affairs report summary from RPOA-M’s Executive Director:

Overview:

The Legislature continues to be on break through the end of the month. There are three session days scheduled for next week however no attendance or votes are expected to be taken. There may be committees scheduled but there are none at this time. Things will begin in earnest after Labor Day.

• One of the main things to take note of is that the Legislature may adjourn by the end of November of this year. The usual end of the legislative session would be December 31, 2024, however for certain bills to take effect by early next year, including the presidential primary date, the Legislature needs to adjourn. The Governor does have the ability to call the House and Senate back to special session which would be done to start work on the Fiscal Year 2024 budget in January. This early adjournment may move policy bills along on a quicker path. We should have more details in September. No matter the situation on adjournment fall should be busy in Lansing.
• LOBBY DAY! We are getting members to sign up for our lobby day on September 20th. There is a deadline for sign up of September 5th. The day will consist of members meeting at Karoub Associates in the morning and being given talking points and a schedule of legislative members they will be meeting with in person. The meeting should last about 15 minutes and will be scheduled with the legislators to give an overview of RPOAM and discuss our concerns about the proposed housing legislation that has been introduced. After the meetings we will all meet back at Karoub for lunch with House and Senate members and/or their staff. Please note that this is not a fundraiser and has nothing to do with campaigning or raising money. We are specifically there to discuss bills that have been introduced and the position of RPOAM on those bills.

Legislation:

Source of Income

• SB 205 (Sen. Cavanaugh – D); SB 206 (Sen. Bayer – D); SB 207 (Sen. Irwin – D)
  
• Senate Housing and Human Services Committee Tuesday, May 16, 2023
  
  • Testimony only
    
• The package of bills would require all government subsidized income be considered for any rental property. This would include housing assistance, public assistance, emergency rental assistance, public assistance, veterans benefits, social security and any other programs administered by federal, state or local government and nonprofit entities. If found to not allow these funds to be considered towards rent a landlord would be subject to damages up to 4.5 times the monthly rent. SB 207 would amendment the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include this language.
• SB 205-207 was voted out of committee on Tuesday, June 13th. RPOAM along with coalition partners are continuing to work with Sen. Irwin on substitutes and amendments for Senate floor action. The bills are not expected to move until the fall.

Condemnation

• HB 4273 (Rep. O’Neal – D)
  
• House Regulatory Reform Committee
  
• The bill would require if any rental premise is found to have a violation of ‘serious and imminent hazard’ the enforcing agency inform the owner and each occupant.
• HB 4273 was passed off the Senate floor o June 8 and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Housing and Human Services.

Tenants Bill of Right

• Spoke with Rep. Dievendort regarding her proposed legislation. The Representative has not shared any language with us at this time however has requested we supply a one page document on any concerns we have with the basic outline of the package. I requested that we be included in any workgroups going forward. They did tell us at the meeting they have compiled the 29 housing bills that have been introduced in the House and is planning on incorporating those ideas into the package.
• We are continuing to wait for more information and language from the Representative. We will work with the Representative throughout the summer and into the fall.

Lead

• HB 4532 (Rep. Hood – D)
  
• Referred to the House Health Policy Committee
  
• This bill was just introduced this past week. It revised the public health code dealing with lead abatement. There are specifics for buildings that are used specifically for children and the elderly. The fee schedule for fines has also been changes and allows for DHHS to raise fees along with Treasury every three years. Guidelines for dust testing and training for inspectors has been defined. The bill is in the beginning of the process.
• Tabitha and I spoke with Jonathan from the Representative’s staff. We had several questions and concerns that we passed along. He said that they are continuing to work on the bill and would like to work with RPOAM. We have not received any new language and do not see this moving until the fall.

Mold

• Proposed legislation by Rep. Carter – D
• The bills have not been introduced and we are working with Rep. Carter.

Accessory Dwelling Unit

• The bill would allow for a separate dwelling to be constructed on the owners property if the local municipality allows it but the HOA does not.
• The bill has not been introduced.

Credit Score

• HB 4818 (Rep. Carter – D)
• The bill would disallow property owners from using a credit score for determining a prospective tenant’s eligibility for a lease.

Criminal Background Checks aka ‘Fair Chance’

• HB 4878 (Rep. Aiyash – D)
• The bill would prohibit property owners from using crime committed more than one year ago to as a reason to not lease a property to an individual. The expected crimes are arson; criminal sexual conduct; and kidnapping.

Rental Application Refund

• HB 4891 (Rep. Andrews – D)
• The bill would require property owners to refund a prospective tenants application fee if they are not given the rental.

Prompt Pay Act

• HB 4837 (Rep. Conlin – D)
• The bill would require that contractors pay subcontractors in a certain timeframe. 

Meetings:

• Tabitha and I met to discuss what is coming up for the fall. Below are items that we will be taking action on over the remainder of the year:
  
  • Inviting MSHDA to our board meetings over the next several months to give information and updates on several programs that run through the Department.
    
  • Working with United Way and their 211 program connecting property owners who may be able to assist with housing.
    
  • Meeting with our coalition members i.e. Home Builders, Management Association, Apartment Association, Community Bankers, Realtors to configure our group response and actions for the fall legislative session.
    
  • Working with our coalition partners on creating a survey for all membership regarding rental prices, types of properties, what does the rent pay for?
    
  • Tabitha met with Speaker Tate’s office and we were asked to put together a list of policy priorities for RPOAM.
    
• We met with Rep. Grant (D-Grand Rapids). She is a rental property owner and has been tasked by Speaker Tate to lead the House on housing policy. Rep. Grant is reasonable and sees the concerns we have regarding the housing policy. She believes that the majority of the bills that have been introduced are socially motivated and she would like a more holistic approach. She has also asked we submit a list of our priorities.
  
• We met with Rep. Hoskins (D-Southfield) who is the chair of the House Committee on Economic Development. We had a productive conversation however he did say that any housing bills that are referred to his committee will be sent to the Housing Subcommittee for consideration.
• Detroit News article: the Detroit News ran a frontpage article on high rental rates. I was quoted in the article. RPOAM/RPOA were the only property owner associations that made comment putting us at the forefront of the conversation. If we do not comment it will be one sided which does not help our membership or the industry.

Action Items:

• Executive Board meeting: Monday, September 11th at 10:00 am