Mobile home titles in Utah

Utah titles a mobile or manufactured home through the Motor Vehicle Division as personal property, and provides an affidavit-of-affixture path to convert the home to real property. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone with a specific title question should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Utah.

What the statute says

A mobile or manufactured home is titled by the Motor Vehicle Division of the Utah State Tax Commission under the Motor Vehicle Act (Title 41, Chapter 1a); the Mobile Home Park Residency Act refers a park to that Division for ownership and lienholder records (Utah Code §57-16-4(7), referencing §41-1a-116).

Under Utah Code §70D-2-401(1), "a manufactured home or mobile home is considered personal property," unless the requirements of the section are met. It becomes "an improvement to real property" and is "considered as real property" if it is "permanently affixed to real property," the owner "owns the manufactured home or mobile home" and owns (or qualifyingly finances a lease of) "the real property to which the [home] is permanently affixed," and "the affidavit of affixture" and "the receipt of surrender of ownership documents" are "recorded by the county recorder" (§70D-2-401(3)). The affidavit includes the home's identification numbers, the legal description of the land, and a county-assessor certification about the home's tax status.

How it works in general

A Utah mobile home starts as titled personal property: the owner holds a Motor Vehicle Division certificate of title, and a sale transfers that title. While the home sits on a rented park lot it stays personal property. When the owner permanently affixes the home to land they own (or a qualifying financed lease), they can convert it to real property by completing an affidavit of affixture, surrendering the ownership documents to the Motor Vehicle Division, and recording the affidavit and the surrender receipt with the county recorder. The county assessor is notified and assesses the home as real property from then on. The certificate of title, the affidavit of affixture, and the recorded documents are the key records.

Common scenarios

General examples Utah residents commonly encounter:

• A home sits on a rented park lot. It is titled personal property through the Motor Vehicle Division (§70D-2-401(1); Title 41, Chapter 1a).
• An owner affixes the home to land they own. Recording an affidavit of affixture and surrendering the ownership documents converts it to real property (§70D-2-401).
• A park needs ownership or lienholder information. It can request it from the Motor Vehicle Division under §57-16-4(7) and §41-1a-116.

Other authorities that may apply

The Motor Vehicle Division of the State Tax Commission issues the certificate of title (Title 41, Chapter 1a); the county recorder records the affidavit of affixture and the county assessor assesses the home (Title 70D, Chapter 2, Part 4; Title 59, Chapter 2, for property tax). The home's construction follows the federal HUD code, and the certificate of title, deed, and any financing documents also control.