Mobile home storm rules in Connecticut

Connecticut addresses storm and disaster safety through the owner's broad maintenance duties, the State Building and Fire Safety Codes, the federal HUD construction code, and strong protections if a change of land use forces residents out. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone dealing with a specific situation should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Connecticut.

What the statute says

Conn. Gen. Stat. §21-82(a) lists the owner's duties: maintain the premises and "regrade them when necessary to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water and to prevent the detrimental effects of moving water"; "maintain the ground at such a level that the mobile manufactured home will not tilt"; keep common areas "in a clean and safe condition"; "make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep" the park "in a fit and habitable condition"; "maintain all electrical, plumbing, gas or other utilities ... in good working condition" (emergency repairs within 72 hours); "maintain all water and sewage lines and connections in good working order"; and "maintain any road within the park in good condition." The park must also "conform to the requirements of the State Building Code, the Fire Safety Code and local ordinances" (§21-68).

The home's construction follows the federal HUD code, and §21-79(b) presumes a home "safe and sanitary if it is established that the mobile manufactured home was constructed in accordance with any nationally recognized building or construction code." If a change in the use of the land forces residents out, §21-80(b)(1)(E) requires at least 545 days' written notice, and §21-70a entitles a displaced home owner to relocation expenses to a park within 100 miles "up to a maximum of ... ten thousand dollars."

How it works in general

For the park itself, Connecticut puts broad maintenance duties on the owner that matter most in a storm: keeping the ground graded so water doesn't pool or wash, keeping the home level, keeping roads passable, and keeping the supplied utilities and water and sewage systems working (with a 72-hour emergency-repair deadline). The park also has to meet the State Building and Fire Safety Codes. For the home itself, Connecticut relies on the federal HUD code's construction and anchoring standards, and it doesn't require a park to provide a storm shelter, so disaster preparation and assistance run through state and federal emergency management. If a storm pushes a park toward a change of use, residents get an unusually long 545 days' notice and relocation payments of up to $10,000.

Common scenarios

General examples Connecticut park residents commonly encounter:

• A storm leaves standing water or washes out a road. The owner must regrade against stagnant and moving water and keep roads in good condition (§21-82(a)).
• The park's supplied utilities fail. The owner must repair an emergency outage within 72 hours (§21-82(a)(10)).
• A disaster pushes a park toward closure. A change of use requires 545 days' notice plus relocation payments up to $10,000 (§21-80(b)(1)(E), §21-70a).

Other authorities that may apply

The dedicated act (Conn. Gen. Stat. §§21-68, 21-82, 21-70a) sets the maintenance duties, code compliance, and the change-of-use protections; the federal HUD code governs home construction and anchoring. Connecticut's Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and FEMA administer disaster assistance, and a homeowner's insurance policy — not statute — usually governs storm-damage claims.