Mobile home titles in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania titles a manufactured home through PennDOT, taxes an anchored home as real estate, and provides a title-cancellation path to merge the home into the real property. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone with a specific title question should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania.

What the statute says

A manufactured or mobile home is titled under the Vehicle Code (75 Pa.C.S. Chapter 11), and the Department of Transportation (PennDOT) issues the certificate of title and records any liens.

On a sale, 75 Pa.C.S. §1111.1(a) requires that a home "anchored to the ground to facilitate connections with electricity, water and sewerage" carry a real-estate tax clearance: the seller "shall obtain a tax status certification from the tax claim bureau of the county ... showing the county, municipal and school district real estate taxes due," and "the transferor shall pay the delinquent real estate taxes in full" before the transfer is completed. That confirms an anchored home is taxed as real estate by the county, municipality, and school district.

To convert the home fully into the real estate, 75 Pa.C.S. §1140(a) provides: "The department may cancel a certificate of title for a mobile home affixed to real property. ... Upon cancellation, the ownership interest in the mobile home, together with all liens and encumbrances thereon, shall be transferred to and shall encumber the real property to which the mobile home has become affixed." The owner can later obtain a new certificate of title (§1140(b)).

How it works in general

A Pennsylvania manufactured home is titled like a vehicle — PennDOT issues the certificate of title that records ownership and any lien, and a sale transfers that title. Once the home is anchored and used as a residence it is taxed as real estate by the county, so a sale requires a county tax-status certification and payment of any delinquent real estate taxes first. When the home is permanently affixed to land, the owner can ask PennDOT to cancel the certificate of title, which moves the ownership interest (and any liens) onto the real property — the home becomes part of the real estate. The certificate of title, the county tax-status certification, and the deed are the key documents.

Common scenarios

General examples Pennsylvania residents commonly encounter:

• A home sits on a rented lot. It is held by a PennDOT certificate of title and sold by transferring that title.
• A home is sold while anchored as a residence. The seller must obtain a county tax-status certification and clear delinquent real estate taxes first (§1111.1).
• An owner permanently affixes the home to owned land. PennDOT can cancel the title, merging the home into the real property (§1140).

Other authorities that may apply

PennDOT issues and cancels the certificate of title (75 Pa.C.S. Ch. 11); the county tax claim bureau and assessment office handle the real estate tax and tax-status certification (§1111.1). The home's construction follows the federal HUD code and the Pennsylvania Manufactured Housing Improvement Act, and the certificate of title, deed, and any financing documents also control.