Mobile home eviction rules in Massachusetts

Massachusetts's Manufactured Housing Community law, M.G.L. Chapter 140, limits eviction to listed grounds, requires 30 days' notice with a chance to cure, bars retaliatory evictions, and gives an evicted resident time to sell the home. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone facing a specific notice should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Massachusetts.

What the statute says

M.G.L. c.140 §32J limits the grounds: a tenancy "may be terminated by the licensee ... only for one or more of the following reasons: (1) nonpayment of rent; (2) substantial violation of any enforceable rule of the manufactured housing community; (3) violation of any laws or ordinances which protect the health or safety of other ... residents; (4) a discontinuance in good faith ...; (5) in the case of an existing tenancy at will, to create a new tenancy at will at an increased rent." A good-faith discontinuance is not valid against a home the licensee sold (with a site made available) "for a period of five years from the date of said sale."

On notice, no action may be maintained unless the park "has given at least thirty days' written notice, delivered by certified or registered mail, stating the reasons for termination and notifying the ... resident that he has fifteen days from the date of the mailing of the notice in which to pay the overdue rent, or cure the substantial violation." A repeat of the same substantial violation within six months may proceed "without further notice or opportunity to cure." After eviction, "a resident ... shall have one hundred and twenty days ... in which to sell the resident's manufactured home." Reprisals are barred by §32N, and a discontinuance requires the two-year notice in §32L(8).

How it works in general

A park cannot evict at will. It needs a §32J ground — nonpayment, a substantial rule violation, a health/safety law violation, or a good-faith discontinuance — and must give at least 30 days' written notice by certified or registered mail stating the reason and giving the resident 15 days to pay or cure. A second identical violation within six months can proceed without another cure period. If eviction occurs, the resident keeps 120 days to sell the home (no one may live in it meanwhile), and on a resident's death the tenancy continues in the estate for a year. None of this may be used as a reprisal for reporting violations, and discontinuing the community requires two years' notice.

Common scenarios

General examples Massachusetts park residents commonly encounter:

• A 30-day notice arrives. It must state a §32J reason and give 15 days to pay or cure.
• A resident is threatened after calling the board of health. Section 32N makes that a reprisal with damages up to five months' rent.
• A resident is evicted but still owns the home. They have 120 days to sell it (§32J).

Other authorities that may apply

Title 32F–32S sets the grounds, notice, and anti-reprisal rule, and the eviction is brought as a summary process; a violation is an unfair or deceptive practice under c.93A (§32L(7)). A community discontinuance triggers the two-year notice and relocation protections of §32L(7A)–(8). Federal protections — the Fair Housing Act and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act — can also apply.