What Happens With Employer-Provided Housing When An Employee Is Fired Or Quits?

It is not uncommon for employers to provide housing to employees as part of their compensation package. This frequently occurs in the hospitality, multi-family housing, and construction industries. Employers must be wary when an employee is terminated or resigns, because complications can arise when the employer attempts to oust the former employee from company housing.  The employer cannot simply change the locks or physically remove the employee from the premises without a Court Order. The employer must follow the same standard eviction procedures used for other landlord-tenant cases.

If the employer does not follow standard eviction procedures, he or she could be liable for violating Michigan’s Anti-Lock Out Statute, which states that the wrongly evicted employee “shall be entitled to recover the amount of his actual damages or $200.00, whichever is greater, for each occurrence and, where possession has been lost, to recover possession.” In other words, the employer would be responsible for paying damages and giving the property back (at least until the correct eviction procedure has been followed).

To avoid this liability, the employer should provide the discharged or resigned employee with a notice to quit. If the former employee does not leave after the notice to quit is provided, then the next step is to file a complaint for possession of the premises in the local District Court.