Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 565.354 (2026)

Land contract; recording, effect.

✓ current as of July 2026

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LAND CONTRACTS

Act 237 of 1879

565.354 Land contract; recording, effect.

Sec. 4.

Any contract executed and acknowledged, according to the foregoing provisions, shall, with the certificates [certificate] thereto attached, be entitled to be recorded in the office of the register of deeds of the county where the lands lie, and the recording of the same shall have the same force and effect, as to subsequent encumbrancers and purchasers, as the recording of deeds and mortgages as now provided by law.

History: 1879, Act 237, Eff. Aug. 30, 1879 ;-- How. 5712 ;-- CL 1897, 9038 ;-- CL 1915, 11773 ;-- CL 1929, 13353 ;-- CL 1948, 565.354

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 5 cases, 1985–2013 · leading case: Ligon v. City of Detroit, 739 N.W.2d 900 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

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Ligon v. City of Detroit, 739 N.W.2d 900 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007). “MCL 565.354. As the city correctly concedes, a land-contract vendee is vested with equitable title, and his or her interest is an interest in the real estate.”

Cipriano v. Tocco, 757 F. Supp. 1484 (E.D. Mich. 1991). “671, are entitled to be recorded under MCL 565.354; MSA 26.674, in the office of the register of deeds in the county where the lands lie.”

Ligon v. City of Detroit, 739 N.W.2d 900 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007). “Ligon acquired a valid one-half interest in the property as a purchaser under the land contract with Kales, which was recorded. A land contract may be recorded, and the recording of a land contract "shall have the same force and effect" as the recording of a deed.”

Yahrling v. Belle Lake Ass'n, Inc., 378 N.W.2d 772 (Mich. Ct. App. 1985). “MCL 565.354; MSA 26.674. Nothing in the statute suggests that it was intended to provide plaintiffs *628 in subsequent negligence actions with a means of identifying possessors of land so as to determine potential defendants.”

United States v. Singer, 950 F. Supp. 2d 930 (W.D. Mich. 2013). · cites it 2× “2d 900, 904 (2007) (quoting Mich. Comp. Laws § 565.354 ). 4 Unlike a mortgage, in a land contract, the seller retains legal title until the buyer performs all of the contract obligations.”

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