Selling a mobile home in Connecticut

Connecticut's dedicated park law (Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 412) strongly protects a resident's right to sell the home in place: the park can't force a conforming home out, it bears the burden of proving a home is unsafe, buyer approval can't be withheld without good cause, and there's no commission unless the resident hired the park. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone selling should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Connecticut.

What the statute says

Under Conn. Gen. Stat. §21-79(a), "no owner or operator of a mobile manufactured home park shall require a resident who owns a mobile manufactured home which is safe, sanitary and in conformance with aesthetic standards to remove the home from the development at the time such mobile manufactured home is sold," provided the buyer "shall assume and be bound by the rental agreement" and the park rules. A home "shall be presumed to be safe and sanitary if it is established that the mobile manufactured home was constructed in accordance with any nationally recognized building or construction code" (§21-79(b)), and the owner "shall bear the burden of showing that a mobile manufactured home is unsafe, unsanitary, or fails to meet the aesthetic standards" — and may not apply an aesthetic standard about size, original color, or original materials that can't be changed without undue hardship (§21-79(c)).

Buyer approval is controlled by §21-79(d): a purchaser may become a resident if they meet entry requirements "equally applied by the owner to all purchasers," and approval "may not be withheld except for good cause," which means a reasonable belief the buyer intends an illegal or disturbing use or is "financially unable to pay the rent." The owner must state reasons in writing within ten days, and "failure to deliver such notification within ten days shall be deemed to be approval." Section 21-79(e) bars a commission "unless he has acted as agent for the seller ... pursuant to a written contract." And even after an eviction judgment, §21-80(d) lets a resident move to stay execution to "sell the mobile manufactured home in place ... subject to the provisions of section 21-79."

How it works in general

A Connecticut resident who owns the home can sell it where it sits, and the park can't make a safe, sanitary, conforming home leave just because it changed hands. If the park claims the home is unsafe or doesn't meet aesthetic standards, the park — not the resident — has to prove it, and it can't use unchangeable cosmetic standards as a pretext. The buyer applies under the park's normal, equally-applied entry requirements, and the park can refuse only for genuine good cause (illegal use, disturbance, or inability to pay); if it doesn't respond in writing within ten days, the buyer is deemed approved. The park can't take a commission unless the resident hired it under a written contract, and it can't charge the buyer a higher lot rent than other lots. Even a resident who has lost an eviction case can usually get time to sell the home in place.

Common scenarios

General examples Connecticut park residents commonly encounter:

• A park tells a seller the home must be hauled out. A safe, sanitary, conforming home can stay (§21-79(a)).
• A park sits on a buyer's application. No written denial within ten days is deemed approval (§21-79(d)).
• A park demands a commission on a sale it didn't broker. Barred unless it was the resident's agent under a written contract (§21-79(e)).

Other authorities that may apply

The dedicated act (Conn. Gen. Stat. §§21-79, 21-80(d)) governs the right to sell, buyer approval, and commissions; the disclosure statement (§21-70) must spell out the conditions for a resale. The home is conveyed by bill of sale and taxed locally. Federal law such as the Fair Housing Act can apply to buyer screening, and the bill of sale and any financing documents also control.