My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Michigan
I was planning to attend graduate school, and I had found a place and so the manager asked me to send him a security deposit before I signed the lease. I sent the deposit, and a week went by and he never sent me a copy of the lease. About 15 days before the lease (which was never signed) was supposed to begin, I found out unexpectedly at the last minute that I would be changing schools in a different state. I sent him an e-mail saying that I would like my security deposit back. He told me it was non-refundable. I looked up the law and saw that he cant do that with the security deposit. He then responded by saying that it was a "holding deposit" that would be turned into a security deposit after I signed my lease. However, the check I sent him clearly says security deposit on the memo, and he never informed me in anyway that it was nonrefundable. Can he keep my money?

