What the 2026 Election Means for Michigan Rental Property Owners | Erika Farley

Michigan rental property legislation is moving fast, and most of what matters to rental owners is happening in Lansing, not Washington. In this post-primary legislative update, Erika Farley of the Rental Property Owners Association of Michigan breaks down what the August primary results signal about November, which candidates are actually talking about housing, and which bills should worry Michigan rental property owners heading into lame duck and the 2027 session. Rent control, eviction expungement, junk fee rules, and a proposed cap on application fees are all in play.

About Erika Farley

Erika Farley is the Executive Director of the Rental Property Owners Association of Michigan, where she leads advocacy and lobbying on behalf of the state's rental property owners and housing providers. She works directly with legislators and elected officials in Lansing, tracks housing policy at the local, state, and now federal level, and oversees the association's endorsement and PAC activity.

What We Cover in This Episode

• What the August primary results signal about turnout heading into November
• The Michigan U.S. Senate race and where the candidates stand on housing
• Why housing became a top tier campaign issue for both parties
• What the new federal housing law changes for HUD, Section 8, and construction
• The Congressional 7th race and what it signals about housing policy direction
• Rent control risk and why New York City is being used as a policy roadmap
• RPOAM's position on rent control and new restrictions on rental owners
• How RPOAM decides which candidates to endorse in a general election
• What questions go on the RPOAM candidate questionnaire
• The bipartisan Michigan rezoning package and who is driving it
• Michigan's new limit on corporate ownership of single family homes
• The electronic rent payment mandate tied to the state budget deal
• Eviction expungement legislation and the amendments RPOAM has fought for
• Junk fee bills and the proposal to cap application fees at $25
• The tenant bill of rights package expected to return after January
• Why lame duck and early 2027 are the real fight for Michigan rental owners

Key Insight

Erika's read on why the current batch of housing bills is so small: legislators are looking for low hanging fruit they can put on campaign literature and claim they worked on housing. The bills that actually change how you operate, eviction expungement, junk fee disclosure, application fee caps, and a tenant bill of rights package, are being held for lame duck and the session that starts in January. Our words on the current activity: they are nipping at the edges. The real lift comes after the election.

Why This Episode Matters

If you own rental property in Michigan, the rules you operate under next year are being written right now by people who have never run a rental business. This episode tells you which bills are moving, which races decide who writes them, and where a state association can actually change an outcome. If you have been treating legislative risk as somebody else's problem, this is the episode that shows you the bill.

Find Out More

Website: https://www.rpoaonline.org

Government Affairs and Legislation: https://www.rpoaonline.org/page/legislation

Facebook: Rental Property Owners Association of Michigan https://www.facebook.com/RPOAofMichigan/

LinkedIn: Rental Property Owners Association of Michigan https://www.linkedin.com/company/rental-property-owners-association-of-michigan

RPOAM in partnership with the Detroit Rental Property Owners Association (DRPOA) is hosting an in person networking event in the Detroit area on October 7.

Details: https://www.detroitrpoa.org/event-details-1/detroit-rpoa-real-estate-investor-meetup-1

The Midwest Real Estate Investor Conference returns May 20–21, 2027 in Grand Rapids, MI.

Details: https://www.midwestreiconference.com/

And join RPOAM in Grand Rapids for our next Government Affairs Luncheon on November 11 where we'll be taking a post-election look at what Michigan's 2026 results could mean for housing policy, regulation, and advocacy in 2027.

Details: https://www.rpoaonline.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=2068374&group=

Sponsors

Today's episode is brought to you by Green Property Management, managing everything from single family homes to apartment complexes in the West Michigan area.

https://www.livegreenlocal.com

And RCB & Associates, helping Michigan-based real esta