Manufactured Home Communities (MHCs) offer affordability, convenience, homeownership, and a strong sense of community. However, homeowners do not have secure tenancy or adequate legal protections.
There are as many possible solutions as problems facing people in MHCs. The focus in pursuing solutions must be on prioritizing people and homes.
Problems
Lack of land ownership & security
- Residents have little say in community operations, rules, or even closures.
- Rent increases for the leased land can be frequent, unpredictable and devastating.
Eviction risks compounded by the expense or inability to move a home
- Even if the homeowner has paid for and maintained their home, disputes over land rent or rules can lead to eviction. Homeowners don’t always know their rights and can’t afford legal representation.
- Corporate, out-of-state, or “invisible” landowners can make negotiations difficult.
- Community landowners may sell the land for redevelopment, forcing residents to relocate and often abandon their homes and largest financial asset, with little or no compensation.
- Moving a manufactured home is expensive and sometimes impossible.
Poor management or maintenance
- Management may neglect infrastructure (roads, water, sewer systems, utilities).
- Residents may have little recourse if management fails to maintain the community.
Remedies
Resident-owned communities (ROCs)
- Residents form a cooperative and buy the land, gaining stability and control.
- Support by nonprofits like ROC USA.
- Grants or loans help residents purchase their community land or improve infrastructure.
- Technical assistance for forming cooperatives.
Stronger legal protections and education
- Training residents about their rights and how to organize collectively.
- Creating public awareness and support.
- Resident associations can increase bargaining power and community cohesion.
- Advocating for state laws that:
- Limit rent increases.
- Require longer notice before land sales or closures.
- Give residents a “right of first refusal” to buy the land in their community.
- Provide relocation assistance if the land-lease business closes.
- Create an enforcement agency.
Rent control or stabilization ordinances
- Some jurisdictions limit how much land rent can increase annually.
- Helps protect residents from sudden hikes.
- Residents often have little say in community operations or rules.
Enforcement of Existing Laws
New Mexico’s Mobile Home Park Act was enacted in 1983 but has no government enforcement. Many land-lease businesses either are not aware of the law or decide to ignore it. People who buy homes in these communities assume there are laws to protect them, their home and investment. They often discover too late that New Mexico laws designed to protect vulnerable homeowners in land-lease communities are insufficient and unenforced.
Many states vigorously protect the rights of people who live in MHCs and their investments. Many states offer meaningful protections for people in MHCs.