Mobile home utilities in Rhode Island

Rhode Island's Mobile and Manufactured Homes Act (R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 31-44) protects residents on utilities: no markup on resold service, park responsibility for the system, advance notice of repairs, freedom to choose providers, and a repair-and-deduct remedy. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone disputing a specific charge or outage should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Rhode Island.

What the statute says

Section 31-44-3(4) protects against markups and forced providers. A park "shall not impose any conditions ... that restricts the ... owner in his or her choice of a seller of fuel, furnishings, goods, services, accessories, or other utilities" (subsection (i)), and a park that buys electricity, gas, or water to resell "shall not charge, demand, or receive ... any amount for the resale ... greater than that amount charged by the public utility or municipally owned utility ... from which the ... [utility] was purchased" (subsection (ii)). The park may recover documented costs of "bringing the utility service to individual units, or ... individual meters" (subsection (iii)) and "shall post ... the prevailing utility rate schedule" (subsection (iv)).

Section 31-44-7(1) makes the park maintain the system: it must "maintain all electrical, plumbing, gas, or other utilities provided by the licensee in good working condition," give "twenty-four (24) hours" notice before repairs (with no discontinuance "for more than three (3) consecutive hours" absent engineer review), and "maintain all utilities ... up to and including the connection to the individual ... home, and all water and sewage lines" (subsections (vi),(vii)). If the park fails, subsection (viii) lets the resident, after 14 days' written notice, "cause the work to be done by a contractor and ... deduct from the resident's rent the actual and reasonable cost."

How it works in general

In Rhode Island a park that resells electricity, gas, or water can't profit on it — the charge can't exceed what the utility billed the park, though the park may recover documented costs of running service to each home or metering, and must post the utility's rate schedule. Residents are also free to choose their own providers of fuel, goods, and services. The park has to keep the utility systems working up to each home's connection, give 24 hours' notice before planned repairs, and avoid cutting service for more than three hours without engineer review. If the park lets a utility problem linger past a 14-day written notice (or sooner in an emergency), the resident can hire a contractor and deduct the reasonable cost from rent.

Common scenarios

General examples Rhode Island park residents commonly encounter:

• A park bills more for water than the utility charged it. Barred — no markup above the utility's rate (§31-44-3(4)(ii)).
• A planned repair will cut the water. The park must give 24 hours' notice and not cut service more than three hours absent engineer review (§31-44-7(1)(vi)).
• The park won't fix a sewer line. After 14 days' written notice, the resident can repair and deduct the cost (§31-44-7(1)(viii)).

Other authorities that may apply

The Mobile and Manufactured Homes Act (§§31-44-3, 31-44-7) governs utility resale, maintenance, and the repair-and-deduct remedy; the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission regulates jurisdictional utility service and rates. The written lease sets the billing terms within these limits.