Mobile home park fees in Utah

Utah's Mobile Home Park Residency Act (Utah Code Title 57, Chapter 16) tightly controls park fees: it bans the most abusive ones outright, caps service charges at cost, and requires full disclosure in the lease. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone disputing a specific charge should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Utah.

What the statute says

Section 57-16-7(3) is the core ban: "No mobile home park may charge an entrance fee, exit fee, nor installation fee, but reasonable landscaping and maintenance requirements may be included in the mobile home park rules. The resident is responsible for all costs incident to connection of the mobile home to existing mobile home park facilities and for the installation and maintenance of the mobile home." Section 57-16-7(4) allows only "a reasonable initial security deposit."

Disclosure and cost limits come from §57-16-4. The lease must include "a full disclosure of all rent, service charges, and other fees presently being charged" and how utility charges are calculated (§57-16-4(3)(c)), and "annual income to the park for service charges may not exceed the actual cost ... of providing the services" (§57-16-4(4)(c)). "Fees" is defined broadly to include "late fees, charges for pets, charges for storage of recreational vehicles, charges for the use of park facilities, and security deposits" (§57-16-3(3)).

How it works in general

A Utah park can't charge an entrance, exit, or installation fee at all — those are banned. It can require a reasonable initial security deposit (returned under Utah's general renter's-deposit law), and it can set reasonable landscaping and maintenance rules, but the resident bears their own connection and installation costs. Every fee and service charge has to be disclosed in the written lease, and the park can't profit on the services it bills — its annual service-charge income can't exceed its actual cost. Increases in fees follow the same 60-day notice rule as rent (see the Lot Rent guide).

Common scenarios

General examples Utah park residents commonly encounter:

• A park tries to charge a move-in "entrance fee" or move-out "exit fee." Both are banned (§57-16-7(3)).
• A park marks up the utilities it bills. Its annual service-charge income can't exceed actual cost (§57-16-4(4)(c)).
• A new fee appears that wasn't in the lease. All fees must be disclosed in the lease (§57-16-4(3)).

Other authorities that may apply

The Mobile Home Park Residency Act (§§57-16-3, 57-16-4, 57-16-7) governs park fees, with a private right of action and attorney fees for a violation (§57-16-19); the deposit return is governed by Utah's Residential Renters' Deposits Act (Title 57, Chapter 17). The written lease defines the remaining charges within these limits. Federal law can apply in particular situations.