Mobile home utilities in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's Manufactured Home Community Rights Act (68 P.S. §398.1 et seq.) handles utilities mainly through disclosure: a community must put every utility charge in writing before the lease, can't collect an undisclosed charge, and must give 30 days' notice of an increase. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone disputing a specific charge should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania.

What the statute says

Section 2 defines "service charges" broadly: "Charges for electricity, gas service which is underground and piped directly to individual units within a manufactured home community, trash removal, sewage, water, Internet, cable and all other utilities."

Section 6 requires those charges to be disclosed up front: all rent, fees, service charges, and "utility charges for water, sewer, trash, Internet, cable, electricity and fuel charges payable to the owner and notice of any other utility charges for which the lessee may be responsible ... shall be fully disclosed in writing" before the community accepts any deposit, fee, or rent and before the lease is signed. "Failure to disclose ... shall render them void and unenforceable," and any increase "shall be unenforceable until 30 days after notice thereof has been posted ... and mailed to the manufactured home lessee" (§6(c)).

The Act does not set a markup cap or a required submetering formula for utilities a community bills.

How it works in general

In Pennsylvania, the protection on park utilities is disclosure and notice rather than a rate cap. A community has to spell out, in writing before the lease, exactly which utilities the resident will pay and how — water, sewer, trash, gas, electricity, internet, cable — and a charge it failed to disclose can't be collected. Any later increase in a service charge isn't enforceable until 30 days after the community posts and mails written notice. The Act stops there: it doesn't cap the amount a community can charge or require a particular metering method, so the written lease and disclosure control the terms, and regulated utility service and rates fall to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

Common scenarios

General examples Pennsylvania park residents commonly encounter:

• A utility charge appears that wasn't disclosed before signing. It's void and uncollectible (§6).
• A community raises a water or trash charge. The increase isn't enforceable until 30 days after posted-and-mailed notice (§6(c)).
• A resident questions a utility markup. The Act requires disclosure and notice, not a cap; regulated service and rates fall to the Public Utility Commission.

Other authorities that may apply

The Manufactured Home Community Rights Act (§§2, 6) governs disclosure and notice of utility charges; the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (66 Pa.C.S.) regulates jurisdictional utility service and rates. Because the Act sets no markup cap, this guide flags that gap honestly. The written lease and disclosure set the billing terms.