Navigating Post-Eviction Challenges in Manufactured Home Communities

The most unique part of a manufactured home community is the relationship between the landlord and the tenants. While an eviction and return of personal property marks the end of a traditional landlord-tenant matter, manufactured home community residents are evicted from the lot, but still own the home that sits on the lot. Therefore, landlords should be sure to follow the proper processes.

The Manufactured Home Community Rights Act (MHCRA) governs the relationship between manufactured home community owners and residents who own their homes but rent the lot. It imposes stricter requirements on eviction and protects residents’ ownership interests in their homes. Even after eviction, those protections do not immediately disappear. Therefore, while possession of the land may be restored after eviction, ownership of the home remains with the resident unless and until legally transferred or extinguished.

Therefore, community owners are stuck in a unique scenario: an evicted resident who has no legal right to enter their lot, but the lot is completely unusable to the community because a home is still there. How is this resolved?

There are three initial pathways that are possible:

Option 1: Removal from the Community

The most straightforward aftermath of an eviction is that the home be disconnected from any utilities and removed from the premises. This removal would be performed by the resident and at the resident’s expense. However, as removal costs continue to rise, community owners should not expect removal from the community to occur often.

Option 2: Sale of Home

Some residents will attempt to sell the home to a third party. The viability of this option and its benefits to community owners vary case-by-case. The law does allow community owners to approve any prospective buyers as a qualified resident prior to purchase. Therefore, the benefit to this option is that it allows for a new resident to be placed and the lot placed back into a profitable position. However, the downside is that there are obvious questions as to how long such a process would take given that the community owner is not automatically involved in the sale process other than taking applications for residency.

This is a pathway where advance planning and knowledgeable/creative legal representation can avoid problems altogether or minimize the business impacts.

Option 3: Abandonment

The MHCRA allows for the community owner to proceed with abandonment proceedings in two scenarios:

• Voluntary abandonment – the resident provides a written statement confirming (a) they have vacated, (b) do not intend to return, and (c) relinquish all rights/ownership in the home.

While this approach is streamlined, residents usually are not cooperative or reachable post-eviction. Further, it carries legal risks that usually make it the less desirable pathway forward as it provides less certainty of title moving forward.

• Judicial Determination – a court determines that the home is abandoned and awards possession to the community owner. The resident must be absent from the home for 30 days and not be paying rent for 30 days. In addition, the court will analyze additional factors, such as termination of utilities (e.g., electric or water service), cancellation of insurance on the home, removal of most or all personal property, and any other facts suggesting the resident has relinquished the home.

This is typically the recommended approach due to the oversight of the court. While it takes more time, it mitigates legal risk and provides a paper trail for title purposes.

Importantly, abandonment proceedings do not impact any liens on the home itself.

According to the MCHRA, only after acquiring possession via abandonment can the community owner enter the manufactured home and secure any appliances, disconnect the home from utilities, and otherwise take protective measures.

At this point, the community owner does have the option to move the home, along with personal property. This is not always feasible if the community owner does not have a designated storage area available to place the home or if the construction of the home does not make relocating the home cost-efficient. However, if it is the most prudent business move, the owner must provide 60 days advance notice to the former manufactured home resident by mail and by posting on the manufactured home and at any other known address or by any other means by which notice may be achieved.

Post-Abandonment Options

If possession is awarded to the community owner through abandonment, the community owner’s job is still not done. Firstly, if there is still personal property on site, under various applicable Pennsylvania law, the community owner must provide notice to the former resident and provide them an opportunity to declare that they intend to recover the property. Secondly, the community owner must make the business decision as to whether the home is salvageable or not.

Similar to notices of removal, before taking any of the following actions, the community owner must give advance notice to the former owner. The notice must be sent by certified mail, return-receipt requested, or by receipted first-class mail, to the resident’s last known address, which may be the address of the premises, and at any alternate address or addresses if known to the owner or other authorized person, including the address of emergency contacts if provided. The notice shall also be posted in a conspicuous location in the manufactured home community.

Option 1: Destruction of the Home

Sometimes vacant/abandoned homes are in disrepair. In these scenarios, a community owner may determine that salvaging the home is not economically feasible. In this scenario, the MCHRA provides that the home can be destroyed.

Option 2: Sale of the Home

The MCHRA allows for both public and private sales. The MCHRA only sets forth requirements for pre-sale notice requirements. However, even without clear legal guidance, community owners should consider developing standard operating procedures that provide at least a base level of formality and commercial reasonableness.

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.