Selling a mobile home in New Jersey

New Jersey's mobile-home-park statutes strongly protect a resident's right to sell the home where it sits, limit the park's buyer-approval power, and bar sale commissions unless the park acted as the seller's agent. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone selling should consider consulting a licensed attorney in New Jersey.

What the statute says

N.J.S.A. 46:8C-3(a) provides that "no mobile home park shall deny any resident ... the right to sell said resident's mobile home within the park or require the resident to remove the mobile home from the park solely on the basis of the sale thereof. The park may reserve the right to approve the purchaser ... as a tenant, but such permission may not be unreasonably withheld and the park shall 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 ... pursuant to a written contract." A selling resident "shall give written notice to the park owner or operator," and the buyer submits a tenancy application.

Subsection (b) requires the seller to advise the buyer in writing of the park's approval right where the home will stay, and subsection (c) provides that if the park "unreasonably withhold[s] approval," the seller or buyer "may institute an action in the Superior Court," recovering "all damages proximately caused by the unreasonable refusal ... together with the costs of the action and reasonable attorneys' fees," with the court empowered to "order the admission of the purchaser." Under N.J.S.A. 46:8C-9, the park may sell "the first mobile home to be located on each site."

How it works in general

A New Jersey resident may sell the home on its lot, and the park can't block the sale or force the home out just because it changed hands. The park may screen the buyer as a new tenant, but can't unreasonably refuse — and if it does, the seller or buyer can go to Superior Court for damages, fees, and a court order admitting the buyer. The park can't take a commission on the sale price unless it served as the seller's agent under a written contract. The seller gives the park written notice and provides the buyer a tenancy application, and must tell a buyer who plans to keep the home in the park about the approval requirement.

Common scenarios

General examples New Jersey park residents commonly encounter:

• A park tries to block the sale or force the home out. It can't deny the right to sell in place or require removal because of the sale (N.J.S.A. 46:8C-3(a)).
• A park demands a commission. None is allowed unless the park acted as agent by written contract (N.J.S.A. 46:8C-3(a)).
• A park drags out or refuses the buyer's approval. Unreasonable refusal can be challenged in Superior Court, with fees and a possible admission order (N.J.S.A. 46:8C-3(c)).

Other authorities that may apply

The mobile-home-park statutes (N.J.S.A. 46:8C-1 et seq.) protect the in-park sale and limit buyer approval and commissions, and these rights cannot be waived (N.J.S.A. 46:8C-5). Ownership of the home transfers by the MVC certificate of ownership (see the New Jersey title and taxes guide). Federal law such as the Fair Housing Act can apply to buyer screening, and the bill of sale and any financing documents also control.