Articles of incorporation
The founding document filed with the state to create a corporation, including the nonprofit or cooperative entity behind a resident-owned community.
Published May 31, 2026
Articles of incorporation are the founding document filed with a state to legally create a corporation. For manufactured housing, they come up most often in the context of a resident-owned community, which is usually organized as a nonprofit or cooperative corporation.
The articles typically state the entity's name, its purpose, where it is located, and basic information about how it is structured. Filing them with the state is what brings the corporation into existence. Day-to-day governance — meetings, voting, officers, member rights — is then handled by the bylaws.
When residents buy their community, the corporation created by its articles is usually the entity that owns the land and the entity each household becomes a member of. The articles, the bylaws, and the state's nonprofit or cooperative corporation law work together as the legal framework.
This is general information, not legal advice.