Seasonal RV site agreements in Michigan
What Michigan law says about seasonal and annual RV guests, sub-metered electricity, sales tax and online signatures — and the clauses your agreement should carry because of it. Written for park owners, not lawyers.
Short version. Details, citations and sources are below.
Is a seasonal guest a tenant in Michigan?
Michigan has a campground-specific removal statute. An 'occupant' is anyone who occupies a site in a licensed campground (MCL 554.651). The operator may remove an occupant who disturbs the peace of others, damages campground facilities, or fails to pay rent when agreed (MCL 554.652), and a written lease may add further grounds (MCL 554.656). No day threshold is stated; the Act applies to campground occupants generally, and Michigan's Mobile Home Commission Act is a separate regime for manufactured-home communities.
What that means for notices and removal
Give the occupant a written request to depart immediately stating the reason(s) and refund any unused prepaid amount at the same time (MCL 554.653). An occupant who stays after a proper request commits a misdemeanor and police may assist (MCL 554.655). Court eviction (summary proceedings) is not required under the Act for these grounds, though a lien/sale process exists for property left behind (MCL 554.657-.658).
Sub-metering electricity to RV sites in Michigan
Michigan has no statute banning submetering, and the state campground association (MARVAC) negotiated a Consumers Energy tariff provision (Rule C-24.00, effective 2013) that allows campgrounds to resell electricity to seasonal lots only with a separate meter on each site, a service contract, an annual audit at the reseller's expense, and a per-kWh charge capped at the tariff's all-inclusive maximum rate. Other utilities (e.g., DTE) have their own resale rules; check your utility's tariff.
Sales and lodging tax on seasonal sites in Michigan
Michigan's 6% use tax on accommodations applies to rooms or lodging furnished to transient guests, but rentals for more than one month (30 days or the calendar month, whichever is shorter) are not taxed, and lodging at camps licensed under Michigan law is treated separately under R 205.88. Seasonal (month-plus) campsite agreements therefore generally fall outside the accommodations use tax; confirm treatment with Treasury.
Signing agreements online in Michigan
Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. Electronic signatures are valid for seasonal site agreements when the guest agrees to sign electronically, intends to sign, and the record is kept in a form that can be reproduced and shown not to have changed. Seasonal Sites records the signer’s typed name, email, time, IP address and a SHA-256 fingerprint of the exact text signed, and stores the signed PDF.
Clauses to include in a Michigan seasonal agreement
These are added on top of the eleven sections in the free template. Adjust the bracketed parts and have a local attorney read the result.
Your state association is a good second opinion on all of this: Michigan Association of Recreation Vehicles and Campgrounds (MARVAC), a division of MMH & RVCA.
Get the free seasonal site agreement template
Eleven plain-English sections, Word and PDF, with bracketed fields to fill in. Then paste the Michigan clauses above into it.
Or skip the paperwork entirely
Seasonal Sites takes this same agreement, fills in each guest’s name, site, rate and dates, emails them a link to sign on their phone, puts the installments on autopay, bills metered electric from your readings, and keeps the signed PDF with the audit record. Renewals for the whole park go out in one click. It works beside whatever reservation system you already use.
Other states
Sources
- https://law.justia.com/codes/michigan/2010/chapter-554/act-162-of-1990/section-554-651/
- https://law.justia.com/codes/michigan/2010/chapter-554/act-162-of-1990/section-554-652/
- https://law.justia.com/codes/michigan/2010/chapter-554/act-162-of-1990/section-554-653/
- https://law.justia.com/codes/michigan/2010/chapter-554/act-162-of-1990/section-554-656/
- https://www.michiganrvandcampgrounds.org/332-marvac-and-consumers-energy/
- https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/is-sub-metering-legal-in-the-state-of-michigan--3777122.html
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/michigan/Mich-Admin-Code-R-205-88
- https://www.michiganrvandcampgrounds.org/about-marvac/
This page summarizes public sources as of September 2026 for park owners and is not legal or tax advice. Statutes, tariffs and tax rules change; confirm anything you rely on with the agency or an attorney licensed in Michigan. Found an error? Email hello@seasonalsites.com.