Manufactured Home Communities

The following information applies to owners of manufactured homes, also known as mobile homes or trailers, who are renting lots, not to renters of mobile homes. If you are renting a mobile home from the owner or not living in a community, then the landlord tenant rules apply. But because manufactured homes are usually a much more significant investment, there are special rights to help avoid loss of the property.

Please note that Pennsylvania changed the name of the law to the Manufactured Home Community Rights Act in 2012. We will use that term and refer to the owner or manager as the community operator.

Community rules and regulations
The community operator of the manufactured home community (where there is space for at least three manufactured homes), may set out reasonable rules and regulations for the park, but these rules must be written into your lease and given to you. If you do not have a written lease, the owner must give you a copy of the rules. The owner must also post the rules in plain view.

Evictions
You can only be evicted from a manufactured home community for the following reasons:

• Non-payment of rent;
• Violating the rules of the community more than once in a six-month period;
• If the community closes; or
• If the community changes its use.

You cannot be forced to move without written notice and court hearing. The notice must state the reasons why you are being asked to move. If you are being evicted for non-payment of rent, a community operator must give you a 30-day eviction notice (15 days’ notice between April 1 and August 31) before eviction proceedings can be started against you.

If your lease is for a year or more, you are entitled to 90 days’ notice, if you are being evicted for a breach of the lease or the end of the term. If your lease is for less than one year, and you are being evicted for these reasons, you are entitled to 30 days’ notice.

If you are being evicted for violating the community rules or the lease, the notice must state exactly what you did to violate the rules. If you only violate the rules once, you cannot be evicted, but you can be evicted for a second violation if the owner gives you the proper notice and enforces the rules against others in the community.

Other facts for manufactured home community residents
You are allowed to buy goods or services from whomever you choose, and the community operator cannot stop you from doing so. The community operator cannot prevent you from selling your manufactured home, and cannot claim any fee for the sale of the home unless you agree. The community operator cannot charge you a fee for overnight visitors or guests visiting your manufactured home.

​The community park residents are entitled to notice if the park owners sell the property or they intend to close the property. They must pay relocation expenses to homeowners if they are closing the park. Residents may seek to buy the park and the community owner must negotiate in good faith with them. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office has authority to enforce the statute and residents have a right to sue the community owner in court.