Selling a mobile home in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's Manufactured Home Community Rights Act (68 P.S. §398.1 et seq.) protects a resident's right to sell the home where it sits: the park can't block the sale, can't take an unearned commission, and can only reasonably screen the buyer. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone selling should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania.

What the statute says

Section 11(a) protects the sale: "Any rule, regulation or condition of a lease purporting to prevent the sale of a manufactured home belonging to a lessee shall be void and unenforceable. The manufactured home community owner or operator may reserve the right to approve the purchaser of said manufactured home as a lessee, but such approval may not be unreasonably withheld. Any claim for a fee or commission in connection with the sale ... shall be void and unenforceable unless the claimant shall in fact have acted as a bona fide licensed manufactured home sales agent ... pursuant to a separate written fee agreement."

Section 11(b) protects the buyer: before offering the home for sale, the seller must obtain the park's current disclosure document and give the buyer a boldface notice stating that the buyer "shall have a minimum of 5 calendar days after receiving this disclosure ... to void the transaction," with a refund of deposits and rents. Failure to get the buyer's dated acknowledgment "may be grounds for cancellation of the sale by the buyer" (§11(c)).

If the community itself is sold or leased, Section 11.1 requires the owner to give "written notice to the residents and tenants of the community and to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency ... within 30 days after any agreement of sale is signed," and the new owner must identify itself within 30 days of taking title.

How it works in general

A Pennsylvania resident who owns the home can sell it in place — any lease term that tries to prevent the sale is void. The park keeps the right to approve the buyer as a new lessee, but it can't unreasonably refuse a qualified buyer, and it can't take a commission unless it actually acted as the owner's licensed sales agent under a written agreement. The seller gives the buyer the park's current fee-disclosure document, and the buyer gets at least five days to back out with a refund. Separately, if the whole community is sold, residents and the state housing finance agency must be notified within 30 days. Ownership of the home transfers through its PennDOT certificate of title.

Common scenarios

General examples Pennsylvania park residents commonly encounter:

• A lease says the home can't be sold in the park. That term is void (§11(a)).
• A park demands a commission on the sale. Barred unless the park was the owner's licensed sales agent under a written agreement (§11(a)).
• The whole community is being sold. Residents and the Housing Finance Agency must be notified within 30 days (§11.1).

Other authorities that may apply

The Manufactured Home Community Rights Act (§§11, 11.1) governs the sale, commissions, buyer approval, and community-sale notice; a violation is enforceable by the Attorney General, a district attorney, or a private suit. The home transfers through its PennDOT certificate of title. Federal law such as the Fair Housing Act can apply to buyer screening, and the bill of sale and any financing documents also control.