Mobile home utilities in Colorado

Colorado's Mobile Home Park Act (C.R.S. Part 2 of Article 12) gives residents detailed utility protections — maintenance duties, an actual-cost limit on water, billing transparency, and leak protection. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone disputing a specific charge or outage should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Colorado.

What the statute says

On maintenance, C.R.S. §38-12-212.3(1)(a) makes the landlord "responsible for and shall pay the cost of the maintenance and repair of any sewer lines, water lines, utility service lines, or related connections owned and provided by the landlord," requires plumbing and utility connections to be "maintained in good working order," and requires that "running water and reasonable amounts of water are furnished at all times to each utility pedestal or pad space," subject to limited exceptions. The landlord must give "a minimum of forty-eight hours' notice" before a planned water disruption over two hours (§38-12-212.3(1)(c)).

On water billing, §38-12-212.4(3) bars charging "any costs in addition to the actual cost of water billed to the management," §38-12-212.4(4) requires a methodology that "is reasonable, equitable, and consistent," and §38-12-212.4(1), (2) require an annual (by January 31) disclosure of the billing methodology and the provider's rate schedule, plus a monthly water bill. The park "shall not bill a home owner or resident for any water usage that is caused by a leak in a water line inside the park" and must report a known leak within 24 hours (§38-12-212.4(5), (6)). For master-metered utilities, §38-12-212.7 requires the landlord to remit residents' utility payments to the utility within 45 days.

How it works in general

In Colorado, the park owns and has to maintain the water, sewer, and utility lines up to each home's pedestal, and has to keep running water flowing to every lot at all times (with narrow exceptions). If the park bills residents for water, it can only pass through the actual cost — no markup — and it has to use a fair, consistent method, give each resident a monthly bill, and once a year disclose how the bill is calculated and what the water provider charges. Residents can't be billed for water that leaked from the park's own lines, and the park has to flag a known leak within 24 hours. A planned water shutoff longer than two hours requires 48 hours' notice. Where the park collects payments for a master-metered utility, it has to forward the money to the utility within 45 days.

Common scenarios

General examples Colorado park residents commonly encounter:

• A water bill exceeds the actual cost. Charging above actual cost is barred (§38-12-212.4(3)).
• A park-side pipe leaks and the bill spikes. Residents can't be billed for a park-line leak (§38-12-212.4(6)).
• The park plans a long water shutoff. It must give 48 hours' notice (§38-12-212.3(1)(c)).

Other authorities that may apply

The Mobile Home Park Act (C.R.S. §§38-12-212.3, 38-12-212.4, 38-12-212.7) governs utility-line maintenance, water billing, and remittance; the Colorado Public Utilities Commission regulates jurisdictional utility service and rates. A home owner can enforce these through the Division of Housing's Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Program (§38-12-1104). The written rental agreement sets the billing terms.