Michigan Short-Term Rental Laws: State Rules and City-by-City Permits
Michigan Short-Term Rental Laws: State Rules and City-by-City Permits
Michigan has no statewide short-term rental license. Whether you can list a room or home on Airbnb, Vrbo or another platform depends mostly on the city, village or township where the property sits, and several of those local rules are changing now. This guide covers what the state requires, how the 6 percent use tax applies to hosts, and what five cities currently do, so you know what to confirm before you accept a booking.
Disclaimer: This is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Ordinances change, and some figures below come from secondary reports that the city has not confirmed. Talk to a Michigan attorney and a CPA before you buy a property for rental or start collecting guest payments.
Short answer: local rules control
Michigan regulates short-term rentals through its cities, villages, townships and counties, not through a state permit. The state has 83 counties, roughly 275 to 280 cities, about 255 to 258 villages and 1,240 townships. The rule that applies to your property depends on its exact jurisdiction, so use the property address, not the name of the nearest town.
We found no enacted state law that preempts local short-term rental rules. A 2017 bill, HB 4503, died. HB 4722 passed the House in 2021, but it is not a settled state rule. Check legislature.mi.gov for the current status of any short-term rental bill before you rely on the absence of a state rule.
What the state does and does not require
Michigan has no general statewide business license. The Corporations Division of LARA (the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs) receives and files the documents that form and maintain business entities. It does not license businesses. Registering an LLC or corporation through the MiBusiness Registry is a filing, not a license.
Licensing in Michigan is by trade or activity. Depending on what you offer, you may deal with the LARA Bureau of Professional Licensing, the Bureau of Construction Codes, MDARD, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC), the Cannabis Regulatory Agency, LARA child care licensing or others. Search the State License Search before you launch to see whether any of these apply to your offering, such as food, alcohol or child care.
The approvals that matter most for short-term rentals are local: zoning, a certificate of occupancy, and health approvals where the city requires them. Counties and municipalities may also require their own licenses or permits.
Michigan short-term rental tax
Treasury guidance applies the Michigan 6 percent use tax to stays of 30 days or less. That covers rooms rented in a home and entire homes rented by private hosts, not only hotels and motels.
Two questions decide what you actually owe in practice:
- Does your booking platform collect the tax? Confirm with Treasury and read the platform's tax settings. If the platform does not collect and remit the 6 percent on your bookings, plan to handle it yourself and confirm the process with Treasury.
- Do you need a Treasury registration? Treasury's sales tax registration is free. For retailers it can arrive in as little as 7 business days. Ask Treasury whether your rental requires registration, and register through its online business registration page if it does.
Income tax is a separate question. If you hold the property in a standard LLC, the LLC is a pass-through entity, so the owners report the income on their Michigan individual income tax at the flat 4.25 percent rate for the 2026 tax year. Only 24 Michigan cities levy a city income tax. If your city is one of them, confirm with the city whether it reaches rental income.
Business name and entity filings
Your filing obligations depend on how you hold the property and how you market it.
| Structure or need | What you file | Where, and the fee |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietor or general partnership using a brand name | Certificate of assumed name under MCL 445.1 | County clerk in each county where you operate. Fees are set by statute and by each county clerk, so confirm the amount with the clerk. |
| LLC using a brand name | Certificate of Assumed Name (Form CSCL/CD-541) | LARA Corporations Division, $25. Effective through December 31 of the fifth full calendar year after filing. |
| New LLC | Articles of Organization (Form CSCL/CD-700) | LARA, $50 filing fee. Name must include Limited Liability Company, L.L.C. or L.C. The resident agent must be a Michigan resident or an eligible entity. |
| Existing LLC | Annual Statement (Form CSCL/CD-2700) | LARA, $25, due February 15 each year, beginning the year after formation. An LLC formed after September 30 does not owe the statement on the February 15 immediately following. |
These are filings, not short-term rental permits. An LLC does not exempt you from city rules, and a city permit does not replace an entity filing.
City-by-city rules
The five cities below show how different the local approaches are. Several of the figures come from 2026 secondary reports or pending council actions, so each one is marked for confirmation. Use the city's own office as the final word.
Grand Rapids
The City Clerk's page for the Home Occupation One-Room Rental License says the city issues only 200 one-room rental licenses per year. The dwelling must be your principal residence, every rented room must be inside the main dwelling unit, you must be in residence while renting, and no more than 2 adult guests may stay overnight. The page lists a $634 application fee for a first license and a $229 renewal fee, and licenses are good for one year. Caps, rules and fees can change, so confirm them with the Grand Rapids City Clerk before you commit money to a property.
Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor requires a license under Chapter 97 of its code. In July 2026, city council directed a six-month moratorium on new licenses under resolution R-26-301. Confirm with the Ann Arbor City Clerk whether the moratorium was adopted, what it covers and how long it runs. If you are considering a property there, assume you may not get a new license until the moratorium ends.
Detroit
Detroit does not have a clear short-term rental license. Instead, hosts register the rental property with the Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED) and need a Certificate of Compliance. Confirm the current requirements and fees by calling BSEED at 313-628-2451, because the fees are not settled in this guide.
Traverse City
Local news reporting describes a Low Intensity Tourist Home permit in Traverse City for hosted stays at the owner's primary residence, limited to 84 guest nights a year. The city's Vacation Home Rental license page (Chapter 870) lists a $200 application fee and a $200 renewal fee, with licenses expiring December 31. The city has been reviewing its rules, so check the current ordinance with the city before you choose a tier, because the tier that fits your property may be the one with the most restrictions.
Grand Haven
Grand Haven restricts short-term rentals by location, so whether you can operate at all depends on the zone or district where your parcel sits. Confirm the zoning classification of your address with the city's zoning office before you buy, not after.
Everywhere else
Most Michigan communities, including the many townships and villages not listed here, handle short-term rentals through zoning and their own licensing rules. Ask the local zoning administrator whether a short-term rental is a permitted use in your zone, whether it needs a special approval, and whether it needs a license or registration. Private rules in a condo or homeowners association are separate from city rules, so read those documents too.
Before your first booking: checklist
- Confirm the exact jurisdiction and zoning classification for the parcel.
- Ask the city whether a short-term rental license, permit or registration applies, and get the current fee in writing.
- Confirm any certificate of occupancy, building or health approval the city requires.
- Search the State License Search for any trade or activity license that applies to your offering.
- Ask Treasury how the 6 percent use tax applies to your stays, and whether your booking platform collects it.
- Register any assumed name, and file the entity documents if you use an LLC or corporation.
- Check whether your city is one of the 24 that levy a city income tax.
- Read any condo or homeowners association rules that restrict rentals.
Where to confirm the rules
- Michigan Department of Treasury: michigan.gov/taxes for the use tax, registration and income tax questions.
- LARA Corporations Division: michigan.gov/lara for entity filings and the MiBusiness Registry business search.
- Michigan Legislature: legislature.mi.gov for the status of any state bill on short-term rentals.
- Your city clerk and zoning office: for licenses, caps, moratoriums and zoning. Detroit hosts should call BSEED at 313-628-2451.
- Michigan Small Business Development Center: michigansbdc.org for free or low-cost help with business setup questions.
When to get professional help
A single room in a primary residence in a city with no cap is simpler than a second property held in an LLC in a city with a moratorium. If you are buying a property for rental, operating in more than one jurisdiction, or holding it through an entity, talk to a Michigan attorney about zoning and entity structure, and to a CPA about the use tax, income tax and any city income tax.
Short-term rental rules in Michigan change at the city level, sometimes within a single budget cycle. Treat this guide as a starting point, then confirm each figure above with the agency named before you list the property.