Co-op vs. corporate mobile home parks
A plain-language comparison of resident-owned cooperative communities and investor-owned (corporate) manufactured home parks — how ownership, rent, decision-making, and resident rights tend to differ.
Published June 4, 2026
Manufactured home communities generally fall into two broad ownership models: resident-owned cooperatives ("co-op" parks) and investor-owned ("corporate") parks. The model shapes who sets the rent, who makes the rules, and how much say residents have. This article compares the two in plain language. It is general information, not legal or financial advice; for a specific community, consider consulting a licensed attorney.
Corporate (investor-owned) parks
Most communities are corporate parks. An owner — which can be a local landlord, a national company, a private-equity firm, or a real-estate investment trust — owns the land and rents lots to residents who own their homes. The owner sets the lot rent and community rules, subject to the lease and state law, and keeps any profit. Residents' protections come from their lease and from state landlord-tenant and mobile-home-park statutes (which vary widely), not from any ownership stake in the land.
Co-op (resident-owned) parks
In a resident-owned community, the residents collectively buy the park and hold it through a cooperative corporation. Each participating household usually becomes a voting member, and members elect a board and vote on the annual budget, the lot rent (set to cover costs, not to profit an outside owner), and the community rules. National nonprofits such as ROC USA help residents organize, finance, and run these purchases. Ownership brings both benefits and responsibilities — a voice in decisions and more rent stability, but also shared governance duties and a share of community obligations.
How they tend to compare
| Feature | Corporate park | Co-op park |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the land | Outside investor or landlord | The residents' cooperative |
| Who sets lot rent | The owner (within lease and state law) | The members, to cover costs |
| Decision-making | The owner | Elected board + member votes |
| Resident protections | Lease + state law | Lease + state law + ownership voice |
| Resident responsibilities | Pay rent, follow rules | Governance, budgeting, shared obligations |
These are general tendencies, not guarantees — a well-run corporate park can be stable, and a co-op can face its own challenges.
Where to learn more
If residents are interested in converting a corporate park to resident ownership, the FightMyPark article on resident-owned communities (ROCs) explains the model, and the right-of-first-refusal article and your state's guide explain whether residents get notice or a chance to buy when a park is sold. A licensed attorney and a nonprofit like ROC USA can advise on a specific community.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a co-op (resident-owned) park?
- It is a manufactured home community owned collectively by the residents through a cooperative corporation. Each participating household typically becomes a member, the co-op holds title to the land, and members elect a board and vote on the budget and rules. This is a general overview, not legal or financial advice; consider consulting a licensed attorney about a specific community.
- What is a corporate park?
- A corporate (investor-owned) park is owned by a private landlord — an individual, a company, a private-equity firm, or a real-estate investment trust — that rents lots to residents for profit. Residents own their homes but not the land, and the owner sets the lot rent and rules within the limits of the lease and state law.
- Is a co-op park always cheaper?
- Not necessarily, but in a co-op the residents themselves set the budget and lot rent to cover costs rather than to generate a profit for an outside owner, which can keep increases more predictable. Co-ops also carry shared responsibilities — governance, maintenance decisions, and a share of any community debt.