Mobile Home Park Rights
Under Pennsylvania Law
Pennsylvania has enacted the Mobile
Home Park Rights Act (MHPRA) to protect individuals and families who both 1)
own their mobile home and 2) rent space for that mobile home in a mobile
home park. A mobile home park is any site on which three or more mobile homes
used for residences are located. The owner of the mobile home park is required
to post a copy of the MHPRA in the park.
Eviction Procedures
Park Rules & Regulations
Warranty
of Habitability for Services Provided by Mobile Home Park Owners
Mobile Home Equipment &
Accessories
Rent/Fees
Improvement to the
Interior of Your Mobile Home
Visitors
Sale of the Mobile Home by
the Resident
Enforcement
of the Rights Given by the Mobile Home Park Rights Act
No Waiver
Important Notice Required by Law
Eviction Proceeding
How
to Enforce Your Rights Under the Mobile Home Park Rights Act
EVICTION PROCEDURES
According to the MHPRA a mobile home resident may only be evicted for the
following reasons:
1. Nonpayment of rent.
2. A second or additional violation of the rules of the mobile home
park occurring within a six-month period.
3. A change in the use of the park or termination of the park
There are special rules in the MHPRA that mobile home park owners must
follow to lawfully evict a park resident. All notices required to be
sent by the MHPRA must be in writing and mailed to the resident by certified
mail.
If the reason for the eviction is nonpayment of rent, the certified
mail notice must say that you will be evicted if you do not pay the overdue
rent within 20 days from the date you get the certified letter if the notice
is given on or after April 1 and before September 1; and, 30 days if it is
given on or after September 1 and before April 1. This notice must also
tell you that if you again fail to pay your rent on time within six (6)
months the landlord may start a legal action to evict you. It is important
to note that if you don't pay the overdue rent within 20 or 30 days or you
fall behind in your rent again within six (6) months the landlord may
immediately start the process to evict you. This process is started by
sending you an eviction notice, by personal service or posting on your door,
of 15 days on or after April 1 and before September 1, or 30 days on or
after September 1 and before April 1. If you do not move, the landlord may
go to the Magisterial District Judge and file a legal action to have you
evicted.
For other lease or park rules violations you must first receive a warning
notice by certified mail describing the violation. If you then violate a park
rule or lease provision within six (6) months of this warning notice, the park
owner must send you an eviction notice by personal service or posting on your
door giving you thirty (30) days to move. (The notice must be three months if
you have a lease for a term of more than one year.) In addition, the eviction
notice must be sent within sixty (60) days from the date of the second
violation. If you do not move within the specified time, the park owner may go
to the Magisterial District Judge and file a legal action to have you evicted.
If
the park owner does not comply in every respect with the notice procedure set
forth in the previous paragraphs before taking legal action to evict you, you
can ask the Magisterial District Judge to dismiss the eviction case when you go
to the hearing. However, you will have to make sure the Magisterial District
Judge has enough evidence to conclude the park owner did not give you proper
notice. Therefore, it is important that you keep all notices the park owner
gives you in a safe place so you can bring them to the eviction hearing if
necessary.
PARK RULES AND REGULATIONS
The owner of the park may make fair and reasonable rules and regulations which
you must follow.
While the MHPRA does not require the park owner to have any park rules, if he or
she does have park rules you must get notice of them. If you have a written
lease, any park rules or regulations must be included in the lease. If you
don't have a written lease the park owner has to give you a copy of the rules
before he or she takes any money for a deposit, rent, or any other fee from
you. In addition, the park owner must post a copy of the rules in a noticeable
place within the park.
Even if there are no written rules, the park the owner must give you a copy of
the notice found on pages five and six of this packet at the time you move into
the park.
The MHPRA says that if the owner of the park tries to evict you for breaking a
rule that he or she does not enforce against other residents, you can use this
fact as a defense to being evicted. This is an important protection. Of
course, you will have to present evidence at your eviction hearing to prove the
park rules are not being enforced equally for every resident.
WARRANTY OF HABITABILITY FOR SERVICES PROVIDED BY MOBILE HOME PARK OWNERS
According to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, if the mobile home park supplies
park residents with water/sewer or other utilities, or services such as access
roads, it is responsible for maintaining them according to state and local
regulations. Failure of the park owner to do so gives park residents the right
to withhold lot rent until the problem is fixed, make the repairs and deduct
their cost from future lot rent or move from the park with no further obligation
to pay lot rent to the park owner.
MOBILE HOME EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES
The MHPRA gives the owner of the park the right to require that residents use a
certain type of material or manner of installation for things such as under
skirting, awnings, porches, fences and other additions to the outside of the
mobile home and also any tie-down equipment. However, the owner may not require
you to buy such items from any particular supplier.
RENT
and FEES
The park owner must tell you, in writing, the amount of your rent and all
service charges, fees or assessments that you will be responsible for at the
time you move into the park. If you are sued for rent, fees or other
charges that were not disclosed to you, in writing, when you moved into the
park you can raise that fact as a defense to paying the rent when you go to
the Magisterial District Judge hearing.
Please note that the park owner can increase rent, service charges or other
fees. However, the increase cannot be enforced in court by the owner until
thirty (30) days after the notice of the increase is posted in the park and
mailed to you. RENT CANNOT BE INCREASED DURING THE TERM OF A LEASE.
Entrance or exit fees--When
the park owner is not doing the actual moving of the mobile home, he or she
cannot charge you a fee for moving the mobile home. If the owner is doing
the actual moving, the fee charged cannot be any higher than the amount it
costs him or her to do the moving. In other words, the owner/operator
cannot make a profit from helping you move.
In addition, the owner must refund the fee paid to install the home in the
mobile home park if he or she tries to evict you within a year from the time
the mobile home space was rented unless the eviction is for nonpayment of
rent or violation of a park rule. If the fee is not refunded when you
remove the mobile home, the owner must pay you three times the amount of the
fee and any court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees required to obtain a
legal judgment to get the fee reimbursed.
If
you want to install an electric or gas appliance in your mobile home, the park
owner may not prevent it or prevent you from having the appliance serviced. The
owner cannot charge a fee for the installation unless the owner is actually
doing the work. If the owner installs the appliance, he or she can only charge
the cost of installing the appliance or the actual cost for the use of the
appliance. For example, if the fuel or electricity used by the appliance was
being paid for by the owner, the owner can charge that amount to you.
IMPROVEMENTS TO THE INTERIOR OF YOUR MOBILE HOME
You have the right to make improvements to the inside of your mobile home
without interference from the owner of the park. Of course, improvements must
be made according to the building codes and laws that apply to the area in which
the park is located. You should contact the local government body in charge of
these codes and laws before beginning any improvements.
VISITORS
You have the right to invite any social or business visitors to your mobile home
without paying a fee, even if the guest stays overnight or for a longer period.
However, if the visitor or guest stays for such a long time or so
frequently as to be practically an additional resident, the owner may increase
the rent charged to an amount usually charged to other units having the same
number of residents.
SALE OF THE MOBILE HOME BY THE RESIDENT
The owner of the
park cannot prevent you from selling your mobile home. Any park rule or
provision of a lease that attempts to restrict your right to sell cannot be
enforced by the owner in court. If the owner acts as a licensed mobile home
agent, under a written agreement with you to help sell your home, he or she
cannot charge any fee when it is sold. However, the owner does have the
right to disapprove the purchaser as a resident of that park if there is a good
reason to do so. The Act does not say exactly what can be considered a good
reason. That question would be for a court to decide in the case of a
disagreement.
ENFORCEMENT OF THE RIGHTS GIVEN BY THE MOBILE HOME PARK RIGHTS ACT
The MHPRA gives you the right to take legal action in court when the owner
violates the Act. The MHPRA also gives the Attorney General of Pennsylvania or
the District Attorney of the county in which you live, the right to go to court
on your behalf if the Act is violated and they feel going to court would be in
the public=s interest. Any suspected violation of the MHPRA can be reported to
Consumer Protection at 871-4371
if you live in Erie County, or 1-800-441-2555 outside Erie County
or to the District Attorney of the county where you live.
NO WAIVER
Lastly, all rights and responsibilities given to you as a resident, as well as
those given to the park owner, by the MHPRA are binding and cannot be changed by
any park rule or lease.
The Mobile Home Park Rights Act requires that the following information be
posted in the park and be given to you upon moving into the park. (A mobile
home park owner may make other reasonable rules and regulations, and these may
be included with this required notice.) The following is the minimum notice you
must be given:
IMPORTANT NOTICE REQUIRED BY LAW
The Rules stated below govern the terms of your lease or occupancy agreement
with the mobile home park. The law requires these rules to be fair and
reasonable.
You may continue to stay in this park as long as you pay your rent and other
reasonable fees, service charges and assessments. You may continue to stay
in this park if you abide by its rules. Entrance and exit fees may not be
charged. Installation and removal fees may not be more than the actual cost
of the mobile home park owner/operator for providing such services.
You may be evicted for any of the following reasons:
1. Nonpayment of rent,
2. A second or additional violation of the rules of the mobile home
park occurring within a six-month period,
3. There is a change in use of the park land or parts of the park
land, or
4. Termination of the mobile home park.
You have the right to purchase goods or services from a seller of your
choice. The park owner shall not restrict this right.
If
you want to sell your mobile home, the mobile home park owner cannot prevent the
sale. The owner cannot claim any fee in connection with the sale, unless there
is a separate written agreement. However, the mobile home park owner may
reserve the right to approve the purchaser as a resident in the mobile home
park.
EVICTION PROCEEDING
You shall only be evicted according to the following procedure:
1. A resident shall not be evicted by any self-help measures.
2. Before the start of any eviction proceeding, the mobile home park
owner shall notify you in writing of the particular breach or violation of
the lease or park rules by certified or registered mail.
I. In the case of nonpayment of rent, the notice shall state that
an eviction proceeding may be started if the mobile home resident does not
pay the overdue rent within 20 days from the date of service if the notice
is given on or after April 1 and before September 1; and 30 days if it is
given on or after September 1 and before April 1, or an additional
nonpayment of rent occurring within 6 months of the giving of the notice may
result in immediate eviction proceedings.
II. If there is a breach of the lease or violation of the park
rules, other than nonpayment of rent, the notice shall describe the
particular breach or violation. No eviction action shall be started unless
you have been notified as required by this section. On a second or
additional violation or breach occurring within 6 months, the mobile home
park owner may start eviction proceedings at any time within 60 days of the
last violation or breach.
In addition, no eviction proceedings for nonpayment of rent may be started
against you until you have received notice by certified or registered mail. You
have 15 days from the date of service to pay the overdue rent if the notice is
given on or after April 1 and before September 1. You have 30 days from the
date of service to pay the overdue rent if the notice is given on or after
September 1 and before April 1. You are only required to receive one notice of
overdue rent during any six-month period. If a second or additional violation
occurs within 6 months from the date of the first notice, then eviction
proceedings may be immediately started against you.
[1] Definition: Self-help is when an owner does things to make you leave the
residence without first going to court. For example, locking a person
out of their home; removing the windows; or turning off the utilities.
If the owner tries to use self-help measures the
resident should call the Attorney General at the phone number listed above. (This footnote is not part of the actual Notice.)
HOW TO ENFORCE YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE MOBILE HOME PARK RIGHTS ACT
The Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the District
Attorney of the county where the mobile home park is located enforces the Mobile
Home Park Rights Act. You also may bring a private cause of action. If your
rights are violated, contact the State Bureau of Consumer Protection or your
local District Attorney.
Disclaimer:
We have attempted to insure the accuracy of the information in this pamphlet
at the time it was created or revised. However, the law does change, sometimes
quickly and unexpectedly. Therefore, you should consult an attorney before
taking or refraining from any action based on the information in this pamphlet.
Pamphlet Updated: October 2008
Copyright © 1998 Northwestern Legal Services. All rights reserved
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