Manufactured Housing Information

Under state law, manufactured housing is considered real estate. Ownership is transferred by deed rather than a bill of sale. Owners of manufactured housing also have “homestead rights” which protect $120,000 worth of equity ($240,000 for a married couple) from the claims of most creditors. The homestead exemption does not protect the homeowner from the claims of municipalities for unpaid taxes or from the claims of banks or other creditors who hold mortgages on the manufactured home.

Moving Into a Park

New tenants in a manufactured housing park will be expected to meet the rules of the park.

A park owner cannot charge a tenant an “entrance fee” just for moving into a manufactured housing park.

A new tenant may have to pay for services such as water and electricity hookup, if necessary and actually provided by the park owner. For these services, a park owner cannot charge more than the equivalent of three months’ rent. In addition, a park owner cannot charge more than one month’s rent for a security deposit or damage deposit.

In most cases, it is against the law for a park owner to make tenants buy their manufactured housing from the park owner or some other particular person. If you own a manufactured home, a park which has a space available must let you move in if you meet the park rules and standards for admission.

Two exceptions to this law are: (1) the park is new, or (2) the owner has created a new lot. In either case, the park owner can require someone moving into the park to buy a manufactured home from him or her.

A park owner must provide you with a written copy of the rental agreement and park rules, and the name, address, and telephone number of the park manager who can be contacted about emergency repairs when you move into the park.

Park Rules

All park rules, regulations, and conditions of renting must be in writing. The park owner must give each tenant a copy of these rules and regulations.

A specific summary of your rights, printed in large type, must be posted at the beginning of any list of park rules. Park rules must be reasonable to be legal and enforceable.

There are many rules and practices which are specifically made unlawful under RSA 205-A 2. These include (but are not limited to) the following prohibitions:

1. charging extra rent based on the number of children living in the manufactured home,
2. charging extra for pets, unless the owner provides a service and has additional expenses due to the pets,
3. charging for maintenance or repairs to septic systems, electrical lines, water lines, or any underground system, unless the damage is due to misuse by the tenant,
4. requiring permission for guests unless the guests stay for more than thirty (30) days,
5. requiring disposal of personal property or pets for which the tenant had prior permission, unless necessary to protect the health and safety of other tenants.

The park owner cannot change any fees, including rent, without providing the tenant with sixty (60) days advance written notice. This notice must provide an explanation of the reasons for the increase and specify the date on which it goes into effect. No rules may be changed without ninety (90) days prior written notice. The park owner must notify each tenant in writing when planning to change the park rules.

A violation of the state law regarding park rules can be treated as a violation of the Consumer Protection Act for which a tenant may be awarded actual damages or statutory damages of $1,000. A court also has the authority to double or triple these damages if the park owners’ behavior is deemed to be willful.

Park Conditions

Some park tenants have problems with services provided by the park, including trouble with water or septic systems, which may create health or safety hazards. For help, contact:

1. the town health officer; or
2. the state Division of Public Health (603 271-4501); or
3. the New Hampshire Division of Environmental Services in Concord (603 271-3503)

Obtaining Services

A park owner cannot require tenants to buy goods and services from any particular company or stop tenants from buying goods and services from the dealer of their choice.

These goods and services include but are not limited to: fuel oil, paving, snow plowing, laundry service, and delivery of bakery, dairy and other food. Tenants may have to use a central fuel or gas metering system if the cost does not exceed the average price in the area.

If skirting is required, the park owner must allow a reasonable choice of types and materials. If a tenant wishes to put up a shed or outbuilding, the park owner cannot specify any one type.

Selling Your Manufactured Home

If you live in a park, you are free to sell your manufactured home in place at a price of your own choosing.

To keep the valuable right to freely sell your home, you must notify the park owner of your plan to sell. Once the park owner receives a completed application for tenancy from the prospective buyer of the home, he has 14 days to notify the buyer of his decision. If the buyer is rejected, the notice to the buyer must state the reason for the rejection.

The park owner cannot require either you or the buyer to move the home out of the park solely because of the sale. The park owner can require that the home be brought up to minimal safety and sanitary standards, but it is up to the park owner to establish that the home is not safe or sanitary.

The park owner may require a pre-sale inspection of the home. After the inspection, they must provide a list of all repairs that will be required before the home can be approved for an on-site sale. This list must be provided to the homeowner within 14 days of when the resident sends the park owner written notice of their intent to sell the home. The park owner may not require:

• the repair or removal of anything inside the home that does not threaten harm to the park itself, or
• compliance with aesthetic standards relating to physical characteristics of the home such as size, original construction materials, or color. The park owner can, however, require repair or maintenance of deteriorating or defective exterior features of the home or the removal of a structure or fixture which the seller added to the home without the permission of the park owner.

The park owner cannot charge the seller any fees because of the sale, unless he has, at your request and through a written contract, acted as your sales agent. The park owner may charge $25 for signing your manufactured housing deed.

New residents in a manufactured housing park will be expected to meet the rules of the park. The park owner cannot unreasonably withhold approval of any person to whom you wish to sell your manufactured home. They can, however, require that the prospective buyer be able to comply with all park rules including payment of rent, and may reject a prospective buyer who has a poor credit history or poor references from prior landlords. To keep the valuable right to freely sell your home, you must notify the park owner of your plan to sell.

Once the park owner receives a completed application for tenancy from the prospective buyer of the home, they have 14 days to notify the buyer of their decision. If the buyer is rejected, the notice to the buyer must state the reason for the rejection.

The park owner may charge the prospective buyer a non-refundable application fee of up to $125.00 without providing an itemization of the charges. If the application fee exceeds $125.00, the park owner must provide an itemized breakdown of the application fee, and the total fee must be reasonable.

Special rules apply when your park is being changed to a retirement park. Within three (3) years of notice of a rule changing the park from “general or family” to “senior retirement,” you can still sell your home to a buyer of your choice, including a non-elderly family (unless such restriction on occupancy was included in the rules or lease/rental agreement when you moved in). To be a lawful retirement park — from which families with children may be lawfully excluded — the park must meet one of the following two requirements:

1. 80% of the households in the park must be occupied by at least one person who is 55 years or older, and the park owner must provide special facilities and services to meet the needs of older persons, or
2. the residency in the park must be totally restricted to persons who are 62 years of age or older.

If families with children are excluded by a park owner, and neither of these conditions is met, the park owner is probably breaking federal or state laws against discrimination. Both laws call for substantial civil monetary penalties and damages.

Many manufactured housing parks have rules that limit the number of people who can occupy a home. Such policies often exclude most families with children. This too can be found to be illegal discrimination against families with children.

For more information about housing discrimination, contact:

• The NH Human Rights Commission – (603) 271-2767
• New Hampshire Legal Assistance – 1-800-921-1115
• US Department of Housing and Urban Development – (800) 669-9777

Evictions from Manufactured Housing

Tenants in manufactured housing/mobile home parks can only be evicted for the following reasons:

• Nonpayment of rent or other fees, including utility costs or reasonable incidental service charges. If, however, you pay the amount owed, plus a $15 fee known as “liquidated damages” within thirty (30) days of receiving the written notice to quit for nonpayment, you cannot be evicted. (In certain nonpayment evictions, the park owner has further responsibilities. If previously notified in writing of a lien or mortgage on the manufactured home, the park owner must notify the lien holder, for example the bank or town, in writing, that the tenant is in default and the lien holder has sixty (60) days to determine whether it will assume responsibility for payment of rent and other charges. The park owners’ failure to give such notice is a valid defense for eviction based on nonpayment of rent.)
• Failure to follow park rules only if the rules are reasonable and only if you were given written notice of failure to follow the rules which you continued to break, or
• Repeated disturbance of the peace and quiet of other tenants, or
• Damage by the tenant to park property, excluding reasonable wear and tear, or
• Repeated breaking of federal, state or local laws concerning manufactured housing parks, or
• Condemnation or conversion of the park to another business or use.

Tenants must be given sixty (60) days written notice and the reason for any proposed eviction. In cases of nonpayment of rent or other fees, only thirty (30) days notice is required. If the reason for eviction is the condemnation or change of use of the park, an eighteen (18) month notice must be given.

Improper Reasons for Evictions

Legally, a tenant cannot be evicted by the park owner for failure to pay property taxes on his/her home. Park tenants are also free to organize or join a tenant organization and may not be evicted for such activity.

The Eviction Process

The law sets out special eviction rules that park owners must follow to lawfully evict park tenants. The steps include written notice to the tenant and the legal opportunity for a court hearing. For an eviction to be legal, it must be ordered by a court. A court will not allow an eviction unless the park owner can prove the existence of one of the lawful reasons for the eviction set forth above.

Manufactured housing park tenants have a right to fight the eviction by going to court. If a tenant does not show up in court on the appointed court date, the court will issue a default judgment in favor of the park owner. You owe it to yourself and your family to make the court date by “filing an appearance” on or before the “return day” set forth on the Landlord Tenant Writ (the summons from district court). If you have any doubts or questions about your legal rights, consult a lawyer.

It is illegal for a park owner to try to make you leave by interfering with or interrupting your electricity, heat, gas, or other utility service. A park owner cannot legally remove your home or take your property without first getting a court order. Park owners can be penalized if they do any of these unlawful acts. A court may award the tenant the amount of damages suffered or $1,000 for violation, whichever is greater, plus court costs and attorneys fees. Each day that the violation continues is a separate violation.

Sale of Your Park

State law helps tenants protect themselves from displacement due to the sale of their park by giving them the chance to buy the park.

Before a park can be sold, the owner must notify each household by certified mail:

1. that they intend to sell the park, and
2. the price, terms, and conditions for which they intend to sell the park and a copy of any signed offer to the park owner from a prospective buyer if an offer has been received and conditionally accepted, by the park owner.

The owner must wait sixty (60) days before making a final acceptance of an offer to sell the park to someone other than the tenants. During that time, the owner must negotiate in good faith with the tenants if they wish to purchase the park. The law requires that the tenants be given a reasonable time beyond the 60 days to obtain financing for the purchase. An owner can be charged the higher of $10,000 or 10% of the park’s sale price in damages for violating this notice requirement.

If you receive such a notice from your park owner, you have a right to meet with your neighbors to discuss trying to buy your park. The organizations listed below have extensive experience in helping tenants with organizing cooperatives to purchase their park.

New Hampshire Community Loan Fund

• 7 Wall Street, Concord, NH 03301
• Telephone: (603) 224-6669
• website: https://communityloanfund.org/

Manufactured Home Owners & Tenants Association (MOTA) of New Hampshire

• P. O. Box 96, Concord, NH 03302
• website: https://www.mota4nh.org/