Mobile home eviction rules in Virginia

Virginia's Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act (Va. Code Title 55.1, Chapter 13) limits how a park can end a tenancy, adds long notice for a change of use, bars retaliation, and gives an evicted resident time to sell the home. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone facing a specific notice should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Virginia.

What the statute says

For a change of use, Va. Code §55.1-1308(B) lets a landlord terminate "due to a change in the use of all or any part of a manufactured home park, including conversion to hotel, motel, or other commercial use, planned unit development, rehabilitation, or demolition," only by "delivering to each tenant, by certified mail, a 180-day written notice." Section 55.1-1308.1 adds that if the change of use follows a sale to a redeveloper, the landlord "shall provide to each manufactured home owner ... $5,000 in relocation expenses."

For tenant-fault evictions, §55.1-1315 allows eviction "for violation of the applicable building and housing code caused by a lack of reasonable care by the tenant," and §55.1-1311 incorporates the general landlord-tenant law (including its notice, cure, and court process) for nonpayment and lease violations. Section 55.1-1314 bars retaliatory eviction.

After an eviction judgment, §55.1-1316(A) gives the tenant "90 days after judgment ... in which to sell the manufactured home or remove the manufactured home from the manufactured home park," provided the tenant keeps paying lot rent and maintaining the lot.

How it works in general

A Virginia park can't simply order a resident out. Nonpayment and lease-violation evictions run through the general landlord-tenant law's notice and unlawful-detainer process in court — no self-help lockouts or utility shutoffs. A change of park use requires a non-waivable 180-day certified-mail notice (and a $5,000 relocation payment if it follows a redevelopment sale). The park can't evict in retaliation for a complaint or tenant organizing. And even after an eviction judgment, the resident has 90 days to sell the home or move it — and can rent it to an approved subtenant — as long as the rent keeps being paid.

Common scenarios

General examples Virginia park residents commonly encounter:

• The park is changing its use or closing. Each tenant gets a non-waivable 180-day certified-mail notice (§55.1-1308(B)).
• A resident is evicted. They get 90 days to sell or move the home while paying lot rent (§55.1-1316).
• A park retaliates after a complaint. Retaliatory rent hikes, service cuts, or evictions are barred (§55.1-1314).

Other authorities that may apply

The change-of-use, retaliation, and post-eviction rules are in §§55.1-1308, 55.1-1314, and 55.1-1316; the general notice and court process for nonpayment and lease violations comes through §55.1-1311 (applying the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act). A locality's attorney may seek injunctive relief for violations (§55.1-1319). Federal protections such as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and the Fair Housing Act can also apply.