Benton Harbor, MI Code of Ordinances Ch. 20 Art. V Landlord-Tenant Code §§ 20-88 – 20-164 § 20-147

(a) Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the tenant may sublet his premises or assign the rental agreement to
another without the landlord’s consent.

(b) A written rental agreement may restrict the tenant’s right to assign the rental agreement in any manner.
The tenant’s right to sublease the premises may be conditioned on obtaining the landlord’s consent, which shall
be withheld upon reasonable grounds as specified in subsection (e ); no further restriction on sublease shall be
effective.
(c ) When the rental agreement requires the landlord’s consent to sublease, the tenant may secure one or more
persons who are willing to sublet the premises. Each such prospective subtenant shall make a formal, written,
signed offer to the landlord, containing all of the following, except as the landlord may waive one or more
items:
(1) The prospective subtenant’s full name and age;

(2) The prospective subtenant’s marital status;

(3) The prospective subtenant’s occupation, place of employment, and name and address of employer;

(4) The names and ages and relationships to the prospective subtenant of all persons who would normally
reside in the premises;

(5) Two (2) credit reference, or responsible persons who will confirm the financial responsibility of the
prospective subtenant;

(6) The names and addresses of all landlords of the prospective subtenant from whom he has leased or
rented during the prior three (3) years, (or if more than three (3), any three (3) of them).

(d )Within seven (7) days, not including legal holidays, after such a written offer has been delivered or mailed
by certified mail to the landlord, the landlord may reject the prospective subtenant by delivering or mailing by
certified mail to the tenant a written replay signed by the landlord which shall contain one or more specific
grounds for the rejection.

If the landlord fails to repay within the seven (7) days, or if his written reply fails to give reasonable grounds for
rejecting the prospective subtenant, the tenant may, at his option, terminated the rental agreement by giving
written notice to the landlord within twenty (20) days following the lapse of the seven (7) day reply period or
the receipt of the rejection reply which fails to state any reasonable ground for rejection.

Thirty (30) days after such notice is delivered or mailed by certified mail to the landlord, the rental agreement
shall terminate. The tenant shall be subject to no damages, penalty or forfeiture of any part or all of his security
deposit or any other payment for such termination.

(e ) Reasonable grounds for rejecting a proposed subtenant include any facts which reasonably indicate that the
proposed tenancy would be less favorable to the landlord than the existing tenancy, including, but not limited
to:

(1) Insufficient credit standing or financial responsibility;

(2) Number of persons in the proposed household;

(3) Number of persons under eighteen (18) in the proposed household;

(4) Unwillingness of the prospective tenant to assume the same terms as are included in the existing rental
agreement;

(5) Proposed maintenance of pets;

(6) Proposed commercial activity;

(7) Written information signed by a previous landlord, which shall accompany the rejection, setting forth
abuses of other premises occupied by the prospective subtenant.
No consideration of race, creed, sex, religion, political opinion or affiliation, or national origin may be relied on
by the landlord as reasonable grounds for rejection.

(f)In any proceeding in which the reasonableness of the landlord’s rejection shall be an issue, the burden of
showing reasonableness shall be on the landlord. (Ord. of 6-9-77, § 7.03)