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Checklist – How to File an Answer to an Eviction Complaint
These instructions will help you file your Answer to an Eviction Complaint. Unless you live in a county that requires it (see the 5 Day District Courts Alert), you do not have to file a written answer. However, doing so might help you present your arguments to the judge in an organized way.
You can print the instructions and take them with you to use as a checklist.
Step 1: Prepare your forms and find out how you will file
Use the Do-It-Yourself Answer to Eviction Complaint tool. This prepares the forms you need.
Some of the steps later in this checklist may have slightly different information for you depending on how you will file with the court. Each court decides how it will accept documents for filing. Contact your court to find out which methods are available. Depending on your court, you may be able to file by:
- In-person filing
- E-filing using MiFILE
- Mailing or dropping off documents
You can find contact information for your court on the Courts & Agencies page of Michigan Legal Help.
MiFILE is only available for some courts. Even in courts where it is available, you can only use it for some case types. The State Court Administrative Office keeps a chart of courts that use e-filing. To learn more, read What Is E-Filing?.
Step 2: Sign your forms
You must sign and date your form on the line after paragraph 11. If you have a Supplemental Answer, Affirmative Defenses, or Counterclaims, sign and date at the end of that document, too. If you chose to sign electronically, this is already done. The electronic signature will look like this: /s/ Your Name.
Step 3: Make copies
Make three copies of your Answer, including the Supplemental Answer, Affirmative Defenses, or Counterclaims if you have them.
Also make copies of any supporting documents, such as letters or e-mails between you and your landlord, or invoices showing the cost of repairs you made on the rental home. Attach a set of copies to each set of forms you make.
If you are filing either by e-mail or using MiFILE, you will not need to make copies.
Step 4: File your forms
File your answer with any attachments and the copies with the Court Clerk’s office in the court where your case was filed. There is no cost to file your answer.
If you want to have a jury trial, you must pay the $50 jury demand fee when you file your answer. If you can’t afford to pay the fee, you can ask the court to waive your fees. Use the Do-It-Yourself Fee Waiver tool to complete the form to ask the court to waive your fees. File the completed form with your answer and other documents.
Contact your court to find out which filing methods are available. Depending on your court, you may be able to file electronically. To learn more about filing methods that may be available, read Step 1. If you are e-Filing using MiFILE you will need to know the case-type code. The case type code should either be LT or SP. You can check the case number to find out which code to use.
If you file in person, give the clerk the original and all the copies. The clerk will give you back what the court doesn’t need after stamping and signing the documents.
If you file by mail, include a self-addressed stamped envelope so the clerk can return your copies to you.
If you have an in-person hearing, you can choose not to file your forms and take them to court with you instead.
Please note that completing the documents on Michigan Legal Help or Law Help Interactive does not file anything with the court.
Step 5: Serve your answer
You must serve (send) these documents on your landlord. If your landlord has a lawyer, you must serve it on the lawyer instead.
You must serve these documents electronically if you can and if the other party has access to email or another way to accept it electronically. If you or the other party can't do this electronically you can serve it by regular mail.
If you are using MiFILE to file documents electronically, your documents will be served electronically as long as the other party is also using MiFILE. If the other party is not using MiFILE, you will need to serve the documents by e-mail, if possible, or by regular mail if electronic options are not available.
MiFILE is only available for some courts. Even in courts where it is available you can only use it for some case types. The State Court Administrative Office keeps a chart of courts that use e-Filing. To learn more, read What Is E-Filing?.
If you are serving documents by e-mail, keep the following rules in mind:
- All documents must be in PDF format;
- The e-mail subject line must include the name of the court, case name, case number, and the title of each document being sent;
- If you e-mail a document at or before 11:59 p.m., it is considered served on that day. If you send the e-mail on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, it is considered served on the next business day;
- Do not delete any e-mails you send to the other party, especially e-mails that served court documents. You must keep a record of sent items until a judgment or final order is entered and all appeals have been completed.
After you serve the documents, you must then complete the Certificate of Mailing on the bottom of your copy of the form. If you are serving electronically, cross out “by first-class mail addressed to his/her last-known address as defined in MCR 2.107(C)(3)” and write in how you served your documents. If it is by email, be sure to include the email address that you used. For example, you could write, “I served this document by email to emailaddress@email.com.” Once you are done, make a copy of it, and file it with the court. You can file this in the same way you filed your other documents.
If you served the other party using MiFILE, you will not need to file a Proof of Service. MiFILE will create and file a Proof of Service for you.
Step 6: Prepare for your first hearing
If your landlord is arguing that there is illegal drug activity in the home, a serious health hazard or extensive damage to the home, that you are causing injury or threatening to hurt someone, or that you are a trespasser, your first hearing will likely be the trial in your case. At the trial, the judge hears from both sides and decides who wins. If your landlord is not making those arguments, your first hearing should not be the trial. Instead, it should be a pretrial hearing where the judge hears a little about the case, can ask the parties questions and provide information, and then schedules the next court date. Even though it should not be the trial, it is still very important that you show up to make sure you do not get defaulted.
Prepare yourself before the day of the hearing. Make a list of what you think the judge needs to know and bring any important documents or notes. Review the information in your Answer. Even if your hearing is likely to be a pretrial hearing, it is good to be ready to explain your side.
Step 7: Attend the hearing
Go to court at the time and location stated in the Summons and be prepared to tell the judge why you shouldn’t be evicted. This first hearing could be your trial if you have the type of case mentioned in Step 6. Otherwise, it should be a pretrial hearing.
Dress neatly. Arrive 10 or 15 minutes before your hearing is scheduled. If your hearing is in person, let the court know you’re there by telling the clerk or officer sitting by the judge’s bench, but do not interrupt the current proceeding.
If your eviction case is for nonpayment of rent and you have applied for COVID Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) and that application is still being processed, tell the judge. The eviction case should be stayed, or paused, for at least 30 days to allow that application to be processed. Your next hearing after that stay could be your trial.
If you do not have a pending CERA application, the court should set the next hearing at least seven days after your first hearing. This next hearing could be your trial.
Step 8: Prepare for your second hearing, and any subsequent hearings
Unless the judge or court has told you otherwise, this next hearing could be your trial date. Prepare yourself before the day of the hearing. Make a list of what you think the judge needs to know. Review the information in your Answer.
Gather your evidence. Evidence is what you show a court to prove your case. It includes any documents that support your case, as well as statements from other people who know firsthand about what happened.
Step 9: Attend your second hearing, and any subsequent hearings
When you go to court, the trial could happen that day or it could be adjourned and set for another day. The court won’t adjourn it for more than 56 days.
Dress neatly. Arrive 10 or 15 minutes before your hearing is scheduled. If the hearing is in person, let the court know you’re there by telling the clerk or officer sitting by the judge’s bench, but do not interrupt the current proceeding.
Be prepared to spend most of the morning or afternoon in court. Bring your witnesses and
your evidence with you. Remember to speak clearly, answer any questions the judge asks, and don’t interrupt the judge or the other party.
Remember that when people represent themselves in court, they are expected to follow the same rules lawyers. To learn more, watch the Going to Court Video.
When you are called, tell the judge:
· Your name
· That you’re representing yourself
· What you would like the court to order
· The facts or reasons for your request, including the evidence you’ve brought
· If you have any witnesses who are willing to testify
· Any other information you think the court should hear
Answer the judge’s questions clearly and directly. If the judge wants to hear from your other witnesses, ask them to tell the court what they know or saw regarding your situation.
Step 10: Get the judge’s decision
In most situations, the judge will make a decision right away at the trial. The judge will tell you what to do next. You should get a copy of the order.
To learn more, read Eviction after Court is Over.