Selling a mobile home in Montana

Montana's Residential Mobile Home Lot Rental Act gives a home owner a strong, explicit right to sell the home in place: the landlord may not interfere or impose conditions, and the buyer separately arranges to become a tenant. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone selling should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Montana.

What the statute says

Mont. Code Ann. §70-33-305(3) is direct:

A mobile home owner who owns the mobile home but rents the lot has the exclusive right to sell the mobile home without interference or conditions by the landlord. The new purchaser shall make suitable arrangements with the landlord in order to become a tenant on the mobile home lot. The purchase of the mobile home does not automatically entitle the purchaser to rent the mobile home lot.

Subsection (2) adds that "the sale or rental of a mobile home located upon a lot does not entitle the purchaser or renter to retain rental of the lot unless the purchaser or renter enters into a rental agreement with the owner of the lot."

How it works in general

A Montana resident who owns the home but rents the lot may sell the home where it sits, and the landlord cannot interfere with the sale or attach conditions to it. The sale of the home and the buyer's tenancy are two separate steps: the buyer who wants to keep the home in the park must make suitable arrangements with the landlord and enter a new rental agreement, because buying the home does not automatically come with the right to rent the lot. Ownership of the home itself transfers through the Motor Vehicle Division certificate of title (see the Montana title guide). A seller should expect the park to screen the buyer as a prospective tenant, but the park can't block the sale of the home.

Common scenarios

General examples Montana park residents commonly encounter:

• A park tries to block the sale or set conditions. The owner has the "exclusive right to sell ... without interference or conditions by the landlord" (§70-33-305(3)).
• A buyer wants to keep the home in the park. The buyer must make arrangements with the landlord and sign a rental agreement (§70-33-305(2), (3)).
• Ownership changes hands. The home transfers by its Motor Vehicle Division certificate of title (see the Montana title guide).

Other authorities that may apply

The Residential Mobile Home Lot Rental Act protects the sale of the home; the buyer's tenancy is governed by the rental-agreement rules (§70-33-201) and the Act's screening and termination provisions. Ownership transfers by certificate of title, and a home converted to real property under §15-1-116 transfers with the land. Federal law such as the Fair Housing Act can apply to tenant screening, and the bill of sale and financing documents also control.