Lot rent

Lot rent — sometimes called space rent, ground rent, or pad rent — is the recurring fee a manufactured-home resident pays for the right to keep their home on a particular lot in a community they do not own. It is common in situations where a person owns the home itself but rents the land underneath it.

What lot rent covers varies from one community to the next. It often includes use of the lot and shared roads, and it may bundle in services such as trash collection, water, sewer, or maintenance of common areas — or those may be billed separately as additional charges. The written agreement and a community's own rules generally describe what is and isn't included.

Lot rent is different from a mortgage or a chattel-loan payment, which go toward the home itself. A resident can owe lot rent to the community at the same time they owe a separate loan payment on the home. How much notice a community must give before raising lot rent, and whether any limits apply, depends on the state and is general information covered elsewhere on this site.