Pennsylvania residents of "manufactured housing" (a.k.a Mobile Homes) have certain rights established and protected by the Mobile Home Park Rights Act. Park owners must post a copy of the Act in a conspicuous place in their parks. They are also required to proved each residents that enters the park a written notice that explains their rights under the law.
It would be pointless for me to outline the entire law here, but here are some of the things that residents of mobile home parks should be aware of:
Rents and all fees must be disclosed to you in writing before you make your initial payment.
Rents and fees cannot be increased without a 30 day notice to all park residents. Rents cannot be increased during your lease term.
Any rules that the park managment wishes to enforce must be posted conspicuously and provided to each resident.
Rules must be uniformly enforced
While park owners may require certain types of underskirting or other amenities, they cannot dictate who you purchase those things from.
Park owners cannot charge an entrance or exit fee.
You can be charged an "installation fee" but this fee cannot exceed the operators actual cost. Additionally, this fee must be refunded if the operator recovers your space within a year of installation, unless you fail to pay rent, repeatedly violate the rules of the park, or if the park's zoning changes, or the park is terminated altogether.
Unless you have a separate written agreement, the park cannot claim any fee in connection with the sale of your mobile home unit, nor can they prevent you from selling it. The mobile park owner may, however, reserve the right to approve the purchaser as a resident of the park.
You can only be evicted for the following reasons: non-payment of rent; two or more violations of park rules in a six month period, zoning land use changes, or termination of the park.
The park opperator cannot evict you by moving your home or by locking the home while you are away without a court order.
The park owner must notify you in writing by certified or registered mail before beginning any eviction proceedures.
You cannot be charged "unreasonable fees" such as additional charges for overnight guests.
Your rights, and the duties of the park owners cannot be waived by any written or oral agreement.
3 Comments on Know Your Rights: Mobile Home Park Residents
Good Morning to You.
My name is Michael E Magara and I am a manufactured home owner who rents his lot from a company named Natural Springs Village in Gettysburg, Pa. Recently we received notice from the lawyers from our mobile home park that they are selling the park and that the new owner will not continue business as a park. This resulted in the old / new owners giving us 3 month to either move our homes off of the property or sell it to them for 3,200 dollars. They will give each family that does move their home the same 3,200 after the home is moved. Unfortunately we have lived in our home for over 18 years and the likely hood that we would be accepted into another mobile home park is very very slim and we are the lucky ones. Out of the residents that live in our park there are a large number of fixed income families that in 90 days will be homeless. People on fixed income (retired and disabled) also live in our community. The park owners have also allowed four different homes to change owner ship and be sold within the last year and two of these four within the last 90 days, with the knowledge that they were in the process of selling the park. One of the individuals that just purchased their home is a gentleman that is a paralyzed from the waist down the other are a nice family but on a limited income.
We need your help!
Now we understand business is business but the people Must be looked after. If the owners would have given us a year to get out then most of the families with in our community would be able to do so with some problems but they still would have been able to do so. But we are talking 90 days!.
What this means is without some assistance from outside organizations like yours in 90 days Gettysburg, Pa will have approximately 46 new HOMELESS FAMILIES.
Please assist in any way you can,
Respectfully Michael E Magara Soon to be Home-Less 717-321-3358
Mr Magara also contacted me by email. I thought I should include my reply here:
Mr. Magara,
Thank you for contacting me. Unfortunately, it seems like your situation is beyond the scope of my expertise. It seems to me that you may need to find legal representation. I am not an attorney, and I cannot render legal advice. If you are a member of AARP or a veterans organization (American Legion, etc.) they may have legal counsel available to assist you. MidPenn Legal Services may be able to assist you also. They have an office in Gettysburg at:
MIDPENN LEGAL SERVICES 128 Breckenridge Street Gettysburg, PA 17325 (717) 334-7623 (800) 822-5288 Fax: (717) 334-0863
In the mean time, I suggest you contact your state representative's office to enilst their aid. Politicians love to gain the support of voters by backing causes like yours. Also, the PA Attorney General's office is the proper authority to contact if you feel your rights are being circumvented. Contact information for your region, I believe would be:
Harrisburg Regional Office: Office of Attorney General Bureau of Consumer Protection 301 Chestnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 (717) 787-7109
I wish I could be of greater assistance to you. You may want to turn to a REALTOR in your local area for further guidance. Perhaps the following Broker could assist you to a greater degree than I can:
Marshall Miller MILLER & ASSOC REAL ESTATE Designation: GRI 914 FAIRFIELD ROAD GETTYSBURG, PA 17325 (717) 337-9950 Email: mailto:marty.miller@miller-re.com
Good luck to you. Please keep me updated.
Richard "Rich" Schiffer Weichert Realtors, West Chester, PA (610)436-0400 ext 134 (610)506-2663 (cell)
Regarding the park being sold, have you contacted the mobile home trade association for guidance? they are called PMHA on limekiln road in new cumberland , pa.
the other thing is if the landlord gave you notice to vacate and didnt, i beleive they have to file a suit at the district justice to evict you. this buys you about another 60 days to figure out the mess.
I will be posting information intended to be helpful for home buyers, sellers, and investors.
I will also post articles intended to be of benefit for other Real Estate Professionals.
I will try to avoid articles on religion or politics, unless it has direct bearing on Real Estate matters, but I reserve the right to be thought-provoking, and even philosophical at times. (And even humorous, if I am feeling in the mood)
;)
Links;)
Archives
Good Morning to You.
My name is Michael E Magara and I am a manufactured home owner who rents his lot from a company named Natural Springs Village in Gettysburg, Pa. Recently we received notice from the lawyers from our mobile home park that they are selling the park and that the new owner will not continue business as a park. This resulted in the old / new owners giving us 3 month to either move our homes off of the property or sell it to them for 3,200 dollars. They
will give each family that does move their home the same 3,200 after the home is moved.
Unfortunately we have lived in our home for over 18 years and the likely hood that we would be accepted into another mobile home park is very very slim and we are the lucky ones. Out of the residents that live in our park there are a large number of fixed income families that in 90 days will be homeless. People on fixed income (retired and disabled) also live in our community.
The park owners have also allowed four different homes to change owner ship and be sold within the last year and two of these four within the last 90 days, with the knowledge that they were in the process of selling the park. One of the individuals that just purchased their home is a gentleman that is a paralyzed from the waist down the other are a nice family but on a limited income.
We need your help!
Now we understand business is business but the people Must be looked after. If the owners would have given us a year to get out then most of the families with in our community would be able to do so with some problems but they still would have been able to do so. But we are talking 90 days!.
What this means is without some assistance from outside organizations like yours in 90 days Gettysburg, Pa will have approximately 46 new HOMELESS FAMILIES.
Please assist in any way you can,
Respectfully
Michael E Magara
Soon to be Home-Less
717-321-3358