Housing
Mobile Home Park Rules
Mobile home owners who rent lots in a mobile home park for their mobile homes have some special protections from eviction, in addition to the normal protections available to any tenant in Michigan. The special protections come from the Michigan Mobile Home Commission Act. Under this law, a mobile home park owner must:
1. Offer a tenant a written lease for one or more years. This protects the tenant by setting the amount of rent and other conditions during the lease. The lease can be ended earlier only if both parties agree to it. If a tenant chooses not to sign the written one-year lease, the park owner can require the tenant to sign a written refusal.
2. The park owner must give the tenant a copy of the park rules and regulations covering topics such as maintenance, pet ownership, fees and charges. The rules must apply equally to all residents. Before renting a site at a park, you should read these rules over to determine if they are too restrictive for you. Some park rules are very controlling.
3. The park owner must give park residents a one-year notice before converting the use of the mobile home park property.
4. The park owner must comply with the Michigan Security Deposit Act, like all other landlords.
A Mobile Home Park Owner cannot:
- Charge a fee for entering or leaving a mobile home park.
- Charge more than 1½ times the monthly rent as a security deposit.
- Require someone to buy a mobile home from another person as a condition of renting a space in the park.
- Require someone to purchase, rent, or lease goods as a condition for renting space in the park. This prevents park owners from requiring a specific model mobile home to be admitted in the park, or requiring the renter to get her LP gas only from the park's dealer.
- Prohibit a resident from selling her mobile home to anyone, provided the potential buyer qualifies for tenancy and the mobile home meets the conditions set out in the park rules and regulations. A park owner may require an inspection.
- Prohibit a resident who sells a mobile home in the park to a buyer, from having the mobile home remain in the park, solely because of the age or size of the mobile home.
- Charge a tenant more than $30.00 to inspect a mobile home before a sale of the home.
- Prohibit children from residing in the park.
- Prohibit pets that were approved under prior park rules unless the pet is a dangerous animal.
Mobile Home Evictions
The owner of a mobile home, renting a mobile home park lot, may be evicted for only two reasons: non-payment of rent or just cause. Eviction for non-payment of rent is handled just as it is for other renters. Just cause, however, is limited to the following list of circumstances:
1. Using the mobile home site for an unlawful purpose.
2. Breaking the terms of the written lease.
3. Failing to live by the rules and regulations of the park on:
- Health, safety or welfare of other tenants or employees of the park;
- Ruining the quiet enjoyment of other tenants in the park;
- Keeping up maintenance of the mobile home, or the rented site.
4. Causing intentional physical injury to another tenant or employee of the park.
5. Causing intentional physical damage to mobile home park property or other tenant's property.
6. Failing to comply with local ordinances or state laws.
7. Making late rental payments three or more times in a twelve month period. Before a park owner can evict for this reason, the owner must serve a Notice to Quit on the resident for nonpayment. The Notice to Quit must include the sentence: "Notice: three or more late payments of rent during any 12 month period is just cause to evict you."
8. Continuing to cause "substantial annoyance" to others despite being told to stop. Playing loud music late into the night could fit into this category.
9. Violating public health and safety codes and regulations.
Special Eviction Timeliness for Mobile Homes
A mobile home park tenant has the right to request an in-person conference with the owner, after receiving the Notice to Quit. The tenant must ask for this conference within 10 days of getting the Notice, and the conference must be held within 20 days of the request.
If after going to court, the mobile home park owner gets a judgment to evict the mobile home, the resident has 90 days to move or attempt to sell the mobile home. The tenant must continue to pay the lot rent during these 90 days, and keep the mobile home and lot up to park rules.
