Can a Maine park stop a resident from selling in place?

It cannot unreasonably interfere. Under §9094(4), 'a mobile home park owner may not unreasonably interfere with or discourage a tenant's attempt to sell a mobile home situated on a park lot,' and under §9094(1) it may not restrict reasonable advertising (though the seller must notify the park before posting a 'for sale' sign). A buyer who is told the home can stay but is then refused tenancy may rescind within 30 days under §9094(3).

What happens to residents if the whole park is sold in Maine?

Residents get a first option to purchase. Under §9094-A, the park owner must give written notice of intent to sell to each home owner and to the Maine State Housing Authority, and may not finally accept an offer earlier than 60 days after that notice — giving a group of home owners or a home owners' association the first option to buy the park on matching terms.

Selling a mobile home in Maine

Q: Can a Maine park take a commission when a resident sells their home?

Only under a written agency contract. Under 10 M.R.S. §9094(1), a park may not 'exact a commission or fee with respect to the price realized by the seller ... unless the park owner or operator has acted as agent for the mobile home owner in the sale under a written contract,' and may not require a tenant to designate the park as the sale agent. This is general information, not advice about a specific sale — consider consulting a licensed attorney in Maine.

Maine's mobile home park law, 10 M.R.S. Chapter 953, gives residents real protection when they sell a home on a rented lot, and gives the whole community a first chance to buy if the park itself is sold. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone selling should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Maine.

What the statute says

10 M.R.S. §9094(1) limits what a park may do around a resident's sale. A park may not "exact a commission or fee with respect to the price realized by the seller of the mobile home unless the park owner or operator has acted as agent for the mobile home owner in the sale under a written contract," may not require the tenant to designate the park as agent, and may not "restrict in any manner the reasonable advertising for sale of any mobile home in that park," except that the owner must notify the park before placing a "for sale" sign. Section 9094(4) adds that a park "may not unreasonably interfere with or discourage a tenant's attempt to sell a mobile home situated on a park lot." And §9094(3) gives the buyer a 30-day right to rescind if the seller represented the home could stay but "the buyer is not permitted to keep the mobile home in that mobile home park or the buyer is not accepted as a tenant."

If the park itself is sold, §9094-A requires the owner to give written notice "to each owner of a mobile home in the mobile home park and to the Maine State Housing Authority," and bars a "final unconditional acceptance of an offer ... earlier than the 60th day" after the notice, so that "a group of mobile home owners or a mobile home owners' association ... has the first option to purchase the mobile home park."

How it works in general

A resident generally may sell their home where it sits. The park cannot take a sale commission unless it actually served as the seller's agent under a written contract, cannot force the resident to use the park as agent, and cannot restrict reasonable advertising beyond requiring notice before a yard sign goes up. The park also cannot unreasonably interfere with or discourage the sale. Because the buyer typically wants to keep the home in the park, the buyer usually must be accepted as a tenant — and if the seller said the home could stay but the buyer is then refused, the buyer can rescind within 30 days. Separately, if the park is being sold, residents collectively get advance notice and a first option to purchase it.

Common scenarios

General examples Maine park residents commonly encounter:

A park demands a cut of the sale price. It may not, unless it acted as the seller's agent under a written contract (§9094(1)).
A park tries to block a "for sale" sign or discourage buyers. Reasonable advertising can't be restricted, and the park can't unreasonably interfere (§9094).
The whole park goes up for sale. Residents get notice and a 60-day first option to buy as a group or association (§9094-A).

Other authorities that may apply

Chapter 953 governs the sale of a home in place (§9094) and the sale of the park itself (§9094-A), and bars eviction "solely for the purpose of making the tenant's space ... available for a person who purchased a mobile home from the owner of the mobile home park" (§9096). The Maine State Housing Authority receives park-sale notices. How ownership of the home transfers depends on its title status (see the Maine title guide), and the bill of sale and any financing documents also control.