Manufactured Home Community Evictions and Ejections: Compliance Requires Both the MHCRA and Landlord-Tenant Act

Manufactured home community owners addressing resident defaults must comply with more than the Manufactured Home Community Rights Act (“MHCRA”). Although the MHCRA governs the rights of residents in the community with specificity, the Pennsylvania Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 also is important.

Unfortunately, compliance with one does not necessarily establish compliance with the other.

The Statutes Serve Different Roles

The MHCRA, 68 P.S. § 398.1 et seq., contains protections specific to residents of manufactured home communities. Because many residents own their homes but rent the underlying space, there is a unique relationship wherein property interests and property rights are not as one-sided as traditional landlord-tenant relationships. The statute limits the circumstances under which a community owner may terminate a tenancy and provides other protections given the expense and burdens in moving a manufactured home owed by the resident.

The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, 68 P.S. § 250.101 et seq., supplies much of the standard procedure for recovering possession through a landlord-tenant action. This can include applicable notice-to-quit requirements, filing a complaint in magisterial district court, obtaining a judgment for possession, and issuing a writ of possession.

In short, the MHCRA helps determine whether there is a valid legal basis to end a resident’s right to occupy the space. The Landlord-Tenant Act helps determine how the owner lawfully recovers possession.

Proper Notices Matter

Recent court decisions have analyzed the need to comply with both statutes in both eviction and ejectment actions.

In Milby v. Pote, 189 A.3d 1065, 1079 (Pa. Super. 2018), the Court found that owners of a manufactured home community must comply with Section 250.501 of the Landlord and Tenant Act and Section 398.3(b) of the MHCRA to recover possession of a manufactured home space in eviction and ejectment proceedings.

This was reaffirmed in 2025 in Lazy D. Mobile Home Ests. v. Vankavelaar, 350 A.3d 266, 270 (Pa. Super. 2025) where the owner had an oral lease and sent written notices of intent to file a complaint with the magistrate. The owner was awarded possession and a judgment of $3,476.64. The matter was appealed to the Court of Common Pleas where the resident’s preliminary objections were granted due to the owner failing to provide a proper notice to quit and the trial court found that the owner failed to comply with the MHCRA regarding eviction. The matter was appealed again to the Superior Court regarding treatment of the ejectment count, and the appellate court found that the MHCRA, pursuant to Milby, applied to both eviction and ejectment actions.

Therefore, even if a community owner has a written lease, in the event that it is ever found to be invalid during an eviction matter, owners should consider ensuring that their pre-complaint notices are compliant with both the MCHRA and the Landlord-Tenant Act so there are no procedural defects should the legal positioning of a case evolve over the course of litigation.

Build the File Before Filing

A well-supported eviction or ejectment action begins with careful documentation. Before filing, the owner should review the lease, rules and regulations, rent ledger, prior notices, service records, and history of enforcement, if any.

For nonpayment matters, the file should establish the amount due and the required notices. For rules-based cases, it should establish the applicable rule, notice of the first violation, the subsequent violation, and consistent enforcement. All notices should comply with the appropriate statutes. Manufactured home community owners should also avoid self-help.

You can find blogs covering these topics at length in earlier writings.

Conclusion

If you are a manufactured home community owner, understanding your obligations under the law is critical to minimize the impact on your business.

Consulting with counsel that is familiar with the MHCRA and your business can help minimize vacancies and limit legal exposure.

Stark & Stark regularly represents landlords, including manufactured home community owners, in all matters relating to their business, including representing them in the acquisition of new communities, lease compliance, rules & regulations compliance, and litigation.