Farmworker Housing | Farmworker Legal Services

Occupant Rights

You have a right to have visitors at your farmworker housing! You do not need permission, and you do not need to disclose who is visiting you. Visitors or service providers do not need a direct invitation to sign in or to otherwise obtain permission from an employer, property manager, farm labor contractor, or crew leader to visit you at your housing. Please see below for more information on Camp Access.

You have the right to fair housing. You cannot be denied housing based on your race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, age, disability, familial status, or if you complain about unlawful conditions.

Housing Standards

You have the right to housing that is decent, sanitary, safe, and has, at least:

Drinkable water that is freely available within 50 feet from the home.
Clean and working toilets, showers, and sinks with sufficient hot and cold water.
Working electricity and heat from September 1st to May 31st.
Garbage disposal and pest control that allows the housing to be free from all bugs, rodents, garbage, and hazardous materials.
Cooking and eating facilities with a sink, refrigerator, stove(s) with at least 2 burners for every 5 individuals, adequate food storage shelves, tables, and chairs.
Fire extinguishers within 100 feet of the unit and a working smoke detector in each unit.
A separate, comfortable bed for each individual with a clean mattress raised off the floor.
Properly working windows and doors with screens.
Separate, clean bathroom and shower facilities for each gender. Families should have separate sleeping and bathroom areas.
Free access to laundry facilities or equipment, including:
- Reasonable time to do laundry; and
  - At least one of the following at the housing site:
    - Washing machines with proper electrical outlets and disposal of laundry wastewater; or
    - One double laundry tub for every 30 people, which has both sufficient hot and cold running, pressurized water; or
    - Free transportation to the laundromat and expenses of the laundry services covered. The employer should cover the costs for both washing and drying services. This only applies to workers who have no access to washing machines or laundry tubs at their current farmworker housing.
An active license posted with the date it was licensed and the number of people allowed to live at the housing site.

You can request an inspection or file a complaint regarding the housing conditions while you are living there.

Housing Costs

Housing costs must be fair, in writing, and disclosed at the time of recruitment.

H-2A workers and corresponding employees cannot be charged for housing costs or have costs deducted from their pay. Please visit H-2A Jobs for more information on your rights working under an H-2A contract.
For all other agricultural workers, housing costs cannot be charged unless they are disclosed in writing at the time of recruitment.
- Rent and utility charges must be reasonable.
  - Your employer should not charge for utilities that do not work, housing that is unsafe, or housing that does not meet all the safety standards as listed above.
- Rent or other charges cannot be deducted from your paycheck unless authorized by you in writing, and the deduction cannot cause your wages to fall below the hourly minimum wage. Please visit Wages in Michigan for more information about deductions.
- If you paid a security deposit to rent a home, within 30 days of moving out, you are entitled to either a full refund or a partial refund with an itemized list of deductions for reasonable cleaning and repair costs.
- When you pay rent, even with cash, you are entitled to a written receipt.

Housing Assistance

USDA Rural Assistance Programs

The United States Department of Agriculture also provides aid those looking to live in rural areas. Please visit Single Family Housing Programs for more information.

Evictions

Forced removal from your housing without a court order is illegal.

Michigan law prevents anyone from removing you from your home or interfering with your home without first obtaining a court order. For example, a housing owner cannot turn off your utilities or change your locks, and your employer cannot withhold your paycheck to force you to move out of your home.

If your landlord gives you a deadline or written notice to leave your home, call an attorney immediately to see if you have options to extend your time to move out safely.

Access Rights

Farmworkers have the right to receive services and have visitors at their farmworker housing in Michigan and Michigan outreach workers have the right to visit with farmworkers and their families at their housing without the permission or knowledge of the labor camp owner, operator, or employer.

Occupants of farmworker housing, their guests, and representatives of assistance organizations have the right to enter and leave farmworker housing sites without the permission or knowledge of the landowner or operator. Interference with occupants’ ability to come and go from the housing may be a violation of their rights and interference with the ability of an occupants’ guests to visit the occupant at the housing site may violate both the occupants’ rights as well as the visitors’ rights.

Outreach workers, such as representatives of public and private service provision organizations, may enter and remain at farmworker housing for the purpose of visiting, associating with, and providing services to agricultural workers and their families. They do not have to sign in or notify the landowner, employer or crew leader prior to entering the camp.

Landlords, farm operators, employers or crew leaders should never prevent or interfere with outreach workers, service providers, or occupants’ guests who seek to visit workers at their farmworker housing sites and should not in any way limit occupants’ ability to leave the farmworker housing site. Farm guidelines or audit programs, such as those included in the Good Agricultural Practices (“GAP”), generally only apply to agricultural worksites and not labor housing. Even in situations where the worksite and “housing” are arguably connected, they do not preempt the longstanding legal precedent that recognizes the constitutional, statutory, and common law rights of occupants and outreach workers at farmworker housing sites. Likewise, guidelines and recommendations established in response to public health initiatives do not supersede farmworkers’ or outreach workers’ access rights.

For more information on Access Rights at Farmworker Housing, see our Issue Brief and the landmark case, Folgueras v. Hassle, 331 F. Supp. 615 (W.D. Mich.1971).