1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I am writing to demand legislation that forces landlords to provide complete transparency to renters by granting tenants the absolute legal right to inspect and copy their full tenant files upon request. Currently, landlords across our state are permitted to maintain hidden internal records, log unverified verbal complaints, and collect subjective notes about residents without any oversight. This lack of transparency allows landlords to engage in targeted harassment and arbitrary rule enforcement based entirely on unverified third-party gossip, personal rumors, or malicious character assassination from non-tenants. When a landlord can build a secret case against a resident behind closed doors, housing security is directly compromised. Renters pay for their homes and have a right to know exactly what is being written about them. We need a law that treats tenant records like credit reports or medical files. Landlords must be legally required to turn over a tenant's complete file—including all internal logs, third-party communications, and written or verbal complaint notes—within 5 business days of a written request. I urge you to introduce and support legislation that ends secret landlord files, protects renter privacy, and gives tenants the legal tools to defend their reputations and their homes.