Washtenaw County Bar Association Newsletter Feature By Elle Soros

The Marketable Record Title Act (MRTA), Public Act 572 of 2018 amended Public Act 200 of 1945, applies to and defines a marketable record title to interest in land. Like many states, Michigan implemented the MRTA MCL. 565.101, et seq., with the goal of determining ownership interests in land by limiting the number of years during which claims like liens or land use restrictions may be asserted. This limitation means that if an interest in land is not asserted during a specified period of time, it will be lost or extinguished by law.

Under the 2018 and 2020 amendments to the MRTA, words like “subject to easements and restrictions of record” would not preserve as easement or a restrictive covenant that is over 40 years old. The 2022 amendments excluded “any land or resource use restriction” from the effects of the Act, including environmental restrictions. The Notices of Claim, as explained below, are the documents filed and recorded that will preserve the covenants and/ or building use and restrictions originally recorded. Persons have a 40-year period in which to file a Notice of Claim (or 20 years if the claim is for a mineral interest). For claims that are 40 or more years old, MRTA provided a five year period – starting March 29,2024. 

The two most common interest MRTA addresses are:

• Building and Use Restrictions created in deeds, plats, condominium master deeds, and other recorded documents, including all amendments; and
• Easements that have not been improved or visibly used.

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