2026-09-12 · Michigan · Legislation · Pending — not yet law

What happened. A bill that would penalise slow recording of a foreclosure deed passed the Michigan House on 24 June 2026 by 105 votes to 2 and has been in the Senate Committee on Local Government since 1 July. House Bill 5046, sponsored by Rep. Amos O'Neal (D-94) with sixteen co-sponsors from both parties, amends MCL 600.3232 and 600.3240 of the Revised Judicature Act.¹

It is not law.

The gap it fills

MCL 600.3232 already requires that the sheriff's deed be deposited with the register of deeds “within 20 days after such sale.” It states no consequence for missing that. In practice the deadline is advisory.

HB 5046 adds a new subsection (5):

• (a) If the deed is recorded within 20 days, the redemption period runs from the date of sale, and interest on the bid accrues from the date of sale.
• (b) If the deed is not recorded within 20 days, the sale is not invalid — but the redemption period begins on the date the deed is recorded, and interest accrues only from that date.

Why an association is on the wrong side of this

Michigan condominium associations foreclose their assessment liens by advertisement under the same chapter, by force of MCL 559.208. So the association, or more usually its collections firm, is the party holding the deed.

Under HB 5046, a firm that records late hands the delinquent co-owner a longer redemption window and forfeits the interest that would have accrued in the interval. Neither consequence falls on the person who caused it.

1. House Bill 5046 of 2025 — bill record, roll call and history ↩
2. House Bill 5046 as passed by the House — engrossed text ↩
3. MCL 600.3240 — current redemption provisions, including the 2019 PA 130 association-assessment language ↩