Mobile home titles in Tennessee

Tennessee titles a mobile or manufactured home through the county clerk and taxes it as personal property until it is affixed to owned land and converted to real property. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone with a specific title or tax question should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Tennessee.

What the statute says

A mobile or manufactured home is titled through the county clerk under Tennessee's certificate-of-title law (Tenn. Code Title 55, Ch. 3), administered by the Department of Revenue, and ownership transfers through the certificate of title. For taxation, Tenn. Code §67-5-802 assesses a mobile home that is on a foundation, underpinned, or connected to a utility "as real property as an improvement to the land where located." On a rented park lot, the home's owner "shall be responsible for the additional tax imposed by reason of the improvement," and the landowner must list each home on the property by April 1 each year and may obtain a lien for unpaid tax. When a home is permanently affixed to the owner's own land and the certificate of title is retired, it is taxed together with the land as part of the real estate.

How it works in general

A Tennessee mobile home starts as titled personal property: the owner holds a certificate of title issued through the county clerk, and a sale transfers that title. While the home sits on a rented lot it is assessed for property tax as an improvement to the land, with the home's owner responsible for that tax. When the owner permanently affixes the home to land they own, the title can be retired so the home becomes part of the real estate, conveyed and taxed with the land. The certificate of title, the county tax assessment, and any real-property conversion records are the key documents.

Common scenarios

General examples Tennessee residents commonly encounter:

• A home sits on a rented lot. It is titled personal property and assessed for property tax by the county (Tenn. Code title 55, ch. 3; §67-5-802).
• An owner affixes the home to land they own. The title can be retired so the home is treated as real property.
• A home changes hands. Ownership transfers by reassigning the county-clerk certificate of title.

Other authorities that may apply

The certificate-of-title law (Tenn. Code Title 55, Ch. 3) governs titling through the county clerk, administered by the Department of Revenue; the assessment of mobile homes (Tenn. Code §67-5-802) is handled by the county assessor of property. The home is built to the federal HUD code, and the certificate of title, the tax records, and any financing documents also control.