Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Michigan had the third largest rent increase in the country from last year at 12.47%. That's according to Rent.com.

"That's unacceptable. The state has a very easy fix to this, which is they can lift the ban on rent control and let cities around the state have a conversation locally about how to pass policies that would prevent these outrageous hikes," Will Lawrence, with the Michigan Rent Is Too Damn High Coalition, told WILX Lansing.

According to state housing data, the median rent in Michigan in 2021 was just over $1,000. A decade earlier it was $755.

State lawmakers are now working on a package of bills to empower tenants, while Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pushes $1.4 billion to build affordable housing across the state.

"If I had to guess, I think the cost of our rentals and our single-family homes are going to go up until we get ahead of the game on the supply factor," said Amy Hovey at the Michigan Housing Authority.

"So we need to work quickly to build additional units in our state."