Pennsylvania Mobile Home Park Laws
Pennsylvania's Manufactured Home Community Rights Act governs the lease of a space in any community of three or more manufactured homes, requiring a written lease, allowing a community owner to end or refuse to renew that lease only for four listed reasons, and requiring written notice within 60 days of a decision to close the community with at least 180 days before residents must leave and a relocation payment from the owner.
Cited to Manufactured Home Community Rights Act, 68 P.S. §§ 398.1–398.16.1 (Act 261 of 1976) and 4 more sources · Verified August 19, 2026
Lot rent may change only once in a 12-month period and may not rise during a lease term, but the Commonwealth sets no limit on the size of an increase; an increase carried by a new or renewed lease needs 60 days' notice, and any increase in rent, fees or service charges is unenforceable until 30 days after notice is posted and mailed. Overdue rent carries a seasonal cure period, 20 days for a notice given between April 1 and September 1 and 30 days for one given between September 1 and April 1. Entrance and exit fees are barred, undisclosed charges cannot be collected, and residents may sell a home where it stands, with the community able to approve the buyer as a lessee so long as approval is not unreasonably withheld. Residents learn of a sale only after an agreement is signed, and their chance to buy arises on closure, when the owner must consider and negotiate in good faith over an offer from an association representing at least a quarter of the spaces.
| Governing act | Manufactured Home Community Rights Act — 68 P.S. §§ 398.1–398.16.1 (Act 261 of 1976, §§ 1–17, as amended by Act 80 of 2010 and Act 156 of 2012) |
|---|---|
| General law that also applies | The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, 68 P.S. § 250.101 et seq. (Act 20 of 1951) |
| Federal lender protections already required by state law | 3 of 8 (see the table) |
Each row below is a state rule (with its citation) or an honest "no state rule" with what governs instead — lease terms and the general landlord-tenant law still apply where the park act is silent. This page covers a resident who owns the home and rents the lot; a home rented from the park is an ordinary Pennsylvania tenancy.
On this page: Scope · Lot rent, fees and utilities · Lease, rules and disclosure · Termination and eviction · Closure and change of use · Sale of the park · The resident's home · Federal lender protections · Common questions · Citations
A. Scope — who and what the act covers
| Rule | Pennsylvania law | Source |
|---|---|---|
| State agency with a role in park tenancies | The Office of Attorney General, with the district attorney of the county; the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and the Department of Community and Economic Development have closure roles. The Attorney General enforces the act, and the district attorney of the county where the community sits may act as well. The act names the Office of Attorney General as the agency, and either official may sue to restrain a prohibited practice. The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency receives community sale and closure notices and forwards them to a public list of interested parties, and the Department of Community and Economic Development publishes the relocation figures each year. | 68 P.S. § 398.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 2) definition of "Agency"; 68 P.S. §§ 398.14, 398.15 (Act 261 of 1976, §§ 14, 15); 68 P.S. § 398.11.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.3) (a), (b) |
| Resident may sue under the act | Yes A resident may sue under the act. Any community owner, operator or resident aggrieved by a violation may bring a private action for damages, for treble damages where the act provides them, or for restitution, and nothing may restrict that action. A violation is also an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the state's consumer protection law, carrying that law's private rights of action. | 68 P.S. § 398.13 (Act 261 of 1976, § 13) (a); 68 P.S. § 398.15 (Act 261 of 1976, § 15); 68 P.S. § 398.16.1 (Act 261 of 1976, § 16.1) (a) |
| Minimum park size for the act to apply (lots) | 3 lots The act applies to any site, lot, field or tract of land holding three or more manufactured homes occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes. Privately and publicly owned land both count, and the act applies whether or not a charge is made for the accommodation. | 68 P.S. § 398.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 2) definition of "Manufactured home community" |
| Other size thresholds that switch rules on | No state rule No further size threshold switches rules on or off. The act applies the same way to every community of three or more manufactured homes, and the only other numeric threshold is the 25% of spaces a resident association needs before a closing community owner must consider its purchase offer. | 68 P.S. § 398.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 2) definition of "Manufactured home community"; 68 P.S. § 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.2) (b) |
| Park-owned rental homes | Partly covered by this act Someone who rents a home from the community, rather than owning it, is covered only in part. The act's core rights run to residents who own a home and lease the space under it, and the definition of a resident excludes a person who rents a home. But a tenant renting a home in the community must receive the sale notice and the closure notice, and may end the lease without penalty once notice of a planned closing arrives. | 68 P.S. § 398.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 2) definitions of "Manufactured home resident" and "Manufactured home tenant"; 68 P.S. §§ 398.11.1, 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, §§ 11.1, 11.2) 11.1(a); 11.2(a)(1), (f) |
| RVs and park-model homes | Excluded Recreational vehicles and park model units are outside the act. It reaches only a home that meets the federal manufactured housing definition or the Vehicle Code's definition of a mobile home, which is a trailer designed and used exclusively for living quarters or commercial purposes that exceeds the size limits for highway operation and goes on a highway only incidentally. | 68 P.S. § 398.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 2) definition of "Manufactured home"; 75 Pa.C.S. § 102 definition of "Mobile home" |
| Local rent regulation of park lots | No statute addresses local regulation of lot rents No Pennsylvania statute says whether a municipality may regulate manufactured home lot rents. The act carries no preemption section and no grant of local authority, and the Commonwealth sets no statewide ceiling of its own. | 68 P.S. §§ 398.1–398.16.1 (Act 261 of 1976, §§ 1–17) |
B. Lot rent, fees and utilities
| Rule | Pennsylvania law | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Notice before a lot-rent increase | 60 days A rent increase carried by a new, renewed or extended lease needs 60 days' written notice and cannot take effect before the 61st day after the resident receives it. Separately, any increase in rent, fees, service charges or assessments payable to the community is unenforceable until 30 days after notice is posted in the community office and mailed to the resident, and rent may not be increased during the term of a lease. A lease longer than 60 days must itself state that increases carry at least 60 days' advance notification. | 68 P.S. § 398.13 (Act 261 of 1976, § 13) (e); 68 P.S. § 398.6 (Act 261 of 1976, § 6) (c), (e)(2) |
| How often rent may be raised | Ground rent may not change more than once in a 12-month period. Lot rent may change only once in any 12-month period. Rent also may not be increased during the term of a lease, and an increase tied to a new, renewed or extended lease cannot be collected until that lease is signed. | 68 P.S. § 398.4a (Act 261 of 1976, § 4.1) (b); 68 P.S. § 398.6 (Act 261 of 1976, § 6) (c); 68 P.S. § 398.13 (Act 261 of 1976, § 13) (e) |
| Statewide limit on lot-rent increases | No state rule Pennsylvania sets no limit on how much lot rent may be raised. The act limits timing rather than amount: ground rent may change only once in a 12-month period, rent may not rise during a lease term, and an increase needs advance notice. Bills that would add a limit based on the Consumer Price Index are before the General Assembly and none has become law. | 68 P.S. § 398.4a (Act 261 of 1976, § 4.1) (b); 68 P.S. § 398.6 (Act 261 of 1976, § 6) (c) |
| How a resident can challenge an increase | No state rule There is no hearing, petition or mediation route for contesting the amount of a lot-rent increase. A resident's route is a court action, and the grounds are procedural rather than about the amount: rent and fees never disclosed in writing cannot be collected, an increase is unenforceable until 30 days after notice is posted and mailed, and rental charges must be applied uniformly to residents of the same or similar category. | 68 P.S. § 398.6 (Act 261 of 1976, § 6) (c); 68 P.S. § 398.4 (Act 261 of 1976, § 4) (b); 68 P.S. § 398.13 (Act 261 of 1976, § 13) (a) |
| Entrance fee prohibited | Yes Entrance fees may not be charged. The ban is flat, and the notice of rights the act requires every community to hand each resident on entering a lease repeats it. | 68 P.S. § 398.8 (Act 261 of 1976, § 8); 68 P.S. § 398.4 (Act 261 of 1976, § 4) (b) |
| Exit or removal fee prohibited | Yes Exit fees may not be charged. A fee for installing or removing a home may not exceed the community's actual cost, and it must be refunded if the community takes back the space within a year of installation for any reason other than nonpayment of rent or breach of the lease; a community that fails to refund it owes treble the amount plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees. | 68 P.S. § 398.8 (Act 261 of 1976, § 8); 68 P.S. § 398.9 (Act 261 of 1976, § 9) (a) |
| Undisclosed fees uncollectible | Yes Rent, fees, service charges and assessments that were not disclosed in writing are void and unenforceable in court. The disclosure must come before the community accepts any initial deposit, fee or rent and before the lease is signed, and a first-time resident who never received it may void the rental agreement during the first year of occupancy. | 68 P.S. § 398.6 (Act 261 of 1976, § 6) (a), (c); 68 P.S. § 398.13 (Act 261 of 1976, § 13) (b), (c) |
| Utility billing rules | Utility and service charges must be disclosed in writing before any deposit, fee or rent is accepted, and undisclosed charges cannot be collected. Pennsylvania regulates lot utility billing through disclosure rather than rates. Electricity, piped gas, trash removal, sewage, water, Internet and cable are all service charges under the act, and every lease longer than 60 days must state how each service is provided and by whom, how pass-through charges are assessed, what service charges are currently charged and how they may rise, and what a prior resident paid in utility fees for that space over the previous 12 months. Government citations requiring corrective action, including water and sewage citations from the Department of Environmental Protection, must be disclosed and posted until the work is done. | 68 P.S. § 398.6 (Act 261 of 1976, § 6) (a), (c), (e)(1), (4), (5), (6), (9); 68 P.S. § 398.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 2) definition of "Service charges" |
| Submetering required or regulated | No state rule Nothing in the act addresses submetering or individually metered utility billing. It requires instead that the lease state how each utility and service reaches the space, who provides it, how pass-through charges are assessed and what a prior resident paid for the space in utility fees over the previous 12 months. | 68 P.S. § 398.6 (Act 261 of 1976, § 6) (a), (e)(1), (4), (5) |
| Lot security deposit rules | A lot deposit may not exceed two months' rent in the first year of a lease or one month's rent in the second and later years, and the balance must be returned with an itemized list of damages within 30 days. A community may require a reasonable lot security deposit, capped at two months' rent in the first year and one month's rent afterward. The act reaches this rule by expressly preserving the deposit provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 alongside its own limits on installation fees. Once a resident has held the space five years or more, a rent increase does not entitle the community to a larger deposit. Deposits over $100 must sit in an escrow account at a regulated financial institution, and after the second anniversary the interest belongs to the resident and is paid annually, less one percent a year the community may keep for administration. A community that fails to give the itemized list within 30 days of the end of the lease forfeits the right to withhold anything, and one that fails to pay the balance within 30 days is liable for double the excess. | 68 P.S. § 398.9 (Act 261 of 1976, § 9) (b); 68 P.S. § 250.511a (Act 20 of 1951, § 511.1) (a)–(f); 68 P.S. § 250.511b (Act 20 of 1951, § 511.2) (a)–(c); 68 P.S. § 250.512 (Act 20 of 1951, § 512) (a)–(c) |
C. Lease, rules and disclosure
| Rule | Pennsylvania law | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Written lease | Required Every lease of a manufactured home space must be in writing. The act defines a lease as a written contract of reciprocal rights and duties, and the rights and duties it creates cannot be waived by any written or oral agreement. | 68 P.S. § 398.4a (Act 261 of 1976, § 4.1) (a); 68 P.S. § 398.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 2) definition of "Manufactured home space lease"; 68 P.S. § 398.12 (Act 261 of 1976, § 12) |
| Minimum lease term that must be offered | 1 month The lease term is one month unless both sides agree to a longer one, and it is renewable. More than 60 days before a lease expires the community owner must offer a renewal for the same term and on the same provisions, unless it gives the resident written notice of any changes at least 60 days before expiry. After 60 days' notice of an intent to offer a new lease, the resident has 30 days to accept or to give notice of intent to vacate within 30 days. | 68 P.S. § 398.4a (Act 261 of 1976, § 4.1) (a), (c); 68 P.S. § 398.13 (Act 261 of 1976, § 13) (e) |
| Notice to end a tenancy without cause | No state rule A community owner may not end or refuse to renew a lot lease without cause, so there is no no-cause notice period. Termination, refusal to renew and eviction are allowed only for the four reasons the act lists, and the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 separately bars a park owner from recovering a space from a resident who is following the rules, paying the rent and wanting to stay, whatever the length of the lease. | 68 P.S. § 398.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 3) (a); 68 P.S. § 250.501 (Act 20 of 1951, § 501) (c.1), (c.2) |
| Notice before park rules change | No state rule The act sets no notice period for a change to community rules. New rules must be fair and reasonable, related to the health, safety and upkeep of the community, neither arbitrary nor capricious, included in any written lease, delivered to existing residents and posted in the community office or another conspicuous place. A change to the terms of the lease itself is different: it requires written notice at least 60 days before the lease expires. | 68 P.S. § 398.4 (Act 261 of 1976, § 4) (a), (b); 68 P.S. § 398.4a (Act 261 of 1976, § 4.1) (c) |
| Disclosure document | A disclosure document with state-prescribed contents The community must give a written disclosure whose contents and typography the act prescribes. It opens with a cover sheet whose wording the act sets out in 12-point sans-serif type, with the words "five days" in 16-point bold, and gives the resident five calendar days to cancel. Nine categories of information follow, among them how a rent increase will be set, the factors that may affect the lot rent, the rent history of the space for the three preceding full calendar years, and any government citations requiring corrective action. Residents must separately receive a printed notice of rights in capital letters or ten-point bold on entering the lease, and a resident selling a home must pass the current disclosure to the buyer with a printed 12-point statement of the buyer's five-day cancellation right. | 68 P.S. § 398.6 (Act 261 of 1976, § 6) (a), (d), (e)(1)–(9); 68 P.S. § 398.4 (Act 261 of 1976, § 4) (b); 68 P.S. § 398.11 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11) (b) |
| Residents' right to meet and organize | No state rule The act gives residents no express right to meet or organize. It does recognize resident associations, defining one as an organization open to all residents whether structured as a cooperative, a corporation or otherwise, and requiring a closing community owner to consider a purchase offer from an association representing at least 25% of the spaces. Residents also keep the right to invite social and business visitors to their homes without a fee, and action taken within six months of a resident asserting rights under the act is presumed retaliatory. | 68 P.S. § 398.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 2) definition of "Resident association"; 68 P.S. § 398.10 (Act 261 of 1976, § 10); 68 P.S. § 398.16 (Act 261 of 1976, § 16) |
| Owner entry onto the lot or into the home | No state rule The act sets no rules for a community owner entering a resident's lot or home. It addresses entry only after a home has been determined abandoned, when the community may enter to secure appliances, furnishings and other personal property, disconnect utilities and otherwise exercise ordinary care. | 68 P.S. § 398.10.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 10.2) (a)(1) |
| Retaliation prohibited | Yes Retaliation is presumed unlawful. Any action by a community owner or operator to recover possession, or to change the lease, within six months of a resident asserting rights under the act or any other legal right raises a presumption that the action is a retaliatory and unlawful eviction in violation of the act. The owner may rebut the presumption with competent evidence in court. | 68 P.S. § 398.16 (Act 261 of 1976, § 16) |
D. Termination and eviction
| Rule | Pennsylvania law | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Just cause required to end a tenancy | Yes A community owner may terminate a lease, refuse to renew it or evict only for one of four reasons the act lists. Self-help is barred, written notice of the particular breach must go out by certified or registered mail first, and no eviction may proceed where there is proof the rule the resident is accused of breaking is not enforced against other residents or nonresidents on the premises. | 68 P.S. § 398.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 3) (a), (b), (c); 68 P.S. § 250.501 (Act 20 of 1951, § 501) (c.2) |
| Grounds for termination |
| 68 P.S. § 398.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 3) (a)(1)–(4); 68 P.S. § 250.501 (Act 20 of 1951, § 501) (c.1), (c.2) |
| Notice for nonpayment of lot rent | 20 days Overdue lot rent carries a seasonal cure period: 20 days if the notice is given on or after April 1 and before September 1, and 30 days if it is given on or after September 1 and before April 1. The notice must go out in writing by certified or registered mail before any eviction proceeding begins, and only one such notice need be sent in any six-month period, so a further nonpayment within six months of it can lead to immediate proceedings. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 adds its own notice to quit for a park space on the same seasonal pattern, 15 days in the warmer half of the year and 30 days in the colder half, and lets a resident stop the writ of possession at any time before it is executed by paying the arrears and costs. | 68 P.S. § 398.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 3) (b)(2)(i); 68 P.S. § 250.501 (Act 20 of 1951, § 501) (c); 68 P.S. § 250.503 (Act 20 of 1951, § 503) (c) |
| Notice for a rule or lease violation | No state rule The act sets no number of days for a rule or lease violation other than nonpayment. It requires written notice by certified or registered mail describing the particular breach, and eviction may rest only on a second or subsequent violation within six months, with proceedings begun within 60 days of the last violation. For a lease of less than a year or of indeterminate length, the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 requires a 30-day notice to quit on a forfeiture for breach of the lease, or three months where the lease runs a year or more. | 68 P.S. § 398.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 3) (b)(2)(ii); 68 P.S. § 250.501 (Act 20 of 1951, § 501) (c) |
| Repeat-violation rule | A second or subsequent violation of the community rules within a six-month period is a ground for eviction, and proceedings must begin within 60 days of the last violation. One rule violation is not a ground for eviction; a second within six months is. The community must have given written notice describing the first breach, and once a second or subsequent breach occurs within six months it may start eviction proceedings at any time within 60 days of the last one. Overdue rent works the same way: only one notice need be sent in any six-month period, and a further nonpayment within six months of that notice can lead to immediate proceedings. | 68 P.S. § 398.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 3) (a)(2), (b)(2)(i), (b)(2)(ii); 68 P.S. § 398.4 (Act 261 of 1976, § 4) (b) |
| Time to sell or remove the home after termination | 60 days A resident who turns down a new, renewed or extended lease has 60 days from the date of the notice of intent to vacate to contract to sell the home or to move it, and no increased rent or lease charge applies during that period. The window follows a declined renewal rather than a court eviction; the act gives no comparable period after an order of possession. Where a home is treated as abandoned, the resident and any lienholder have 60 days from the mailing of the notice to claim and remove it before the community may sell or dispose of it. | 68 P.S. § 398.13 (Act 261 of 1976, § 13) (f); 68 P.S. § 398.10.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 10.2) (a)(2)(i), (d)(1) |
| Abandoned-home procedure | Yes The act sets out a full abandonment procedure. A home counts as abandoned only after a judgment for possession, execution on that judgment and a court determination that the home has been abandoned, or else a written statement of voluntary abandonment from the resident. A magisterial district court makes the determination, weighing at least 30 days' absence and 30 days' nonpayment together with signs such as cut utilities, canceled insurance or removed belongings. The community must give 60 days' written notice, by certified mail or receipted first-class mail and posted in the community, before moving or disposing of the home, and sale proceeds go first to moving, storage and sale costs, then arrears, then taxes, then liens, with any balance to the resident. | 68 P.S. § 398.10.1 (Act 261 of 1976, § 10.1) (a)–(d); 68 P.S. § 398.10.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 10.2) (a), (c), (d); 68 P.S. § 398.10.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 10.3) |
| Mediation or dispute-resolution requirement | No state rule No mediation or other dispute-resolution step is required. Disputes go to court: a resident may bring a private action for damages, treble damages where the act provides them, or restitution, and a magisterial district court decides possession and whether a home has been abandoned. The Attorney General or the district attorney may separately sue to restrain a prohibited practice. | 68 P.S. § 398.13 (Act 261 of 1976, § 13) (a); 68 P.S. § 398.14 (Act 261 of 1976, § 14); 68 P.S. § 398.10.1 (Act 261 of 1976, § 10.1) (c) |
E. Closure and change of use
| Rule | Pennsylvania law | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Notice before closure or change of use | 6 months Closing a community, in whole or in part, takes written notice within 60 days of the decision, and residents must be given at least 180 days from the date of that notice before they are expected to vacate. The statute counts in days, not months; 180 days is stated here as six months. The notice must give both the estimated vacate date and the estimated closing date. | 68 P.S. § 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.2) (a)(1); 68 P.S. § 398.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 3) (a)(3), (a)(4) |
| Variants (by trigger or park size) |
| 68 P.S. § 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.2) (a)(1), (a)(2), (e); 68 P.S. § 398.11.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.3) (c), (d) |
| Relocation payment required | Yes A closing community must pay each home owner the cost of relocating the home, up to a ceiling adjusted every year. Where a resident is unable or unwilling to find a reasonably suitable replacement site, the community pays at least $2,500 or the home's appraised value, whichever is greater, instead. No resident may be required to remove the home when the community closes or made liable for the cost of removing or disposing of it, though the community may ask a departing resident to assign the title to it. | 68 P.S. § 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.2) (c), (d), (g) |
| Relocation amounts |
| 68 P.S. § 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.2) (c), (d); 56 Pa.B. 1150 (Department of Community and Economic Development notice, February 28, 2026) |
| Who pays relocation | The park owner The community owner pays. There is no state fund and no cost sharing, and the payment is owed to the owner of each manufactured home in the closing community. | 68 P.S. § 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.2) (c), (d) |
| Notice to a government body on closure | Yes The closure notice must go to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and to the municipality where the community sits, alongside residents, tenants and any resident association. The agency's copy goes by certified mail to its legal department, and the agency forwards copies to a published list of interested parties by regular or electronic mail within ten calendar days of receiving one. | 68 P.S. § 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.2) (a)(1); 68 P.S. § 398.11.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.3) (a), (b) |
F. Sale of the park
| Rule | Pennsylvania law | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Residents must be told the park is for sale | Yes Residents and tenants must be told in writing when the community is sold or leased. The notice is due within 30 days after an agreement of sale is signed, goes to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency as well, and must be posted where the community rules are posted. Within 30 days of the transfer of title the new owner must mail residents and tenants its name and contact details and post the same information. | 68 P.S. § 398.11.1 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.1) (a), (b) |
| What triggers the notice | The signing of an agreement to sell or lease the community, with the notice due within 30 days afterward. The trigger is a signed agreement of sale, not a decision to market the community. Nothing requires notice while the community is being offered or negotiated, so residents learn of the sale after the agreement exists; a second notice follows within 30 days of the transfer of title, naming the new owner or operator. | 68 P.S. § 398.11.1 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.1) (a), (b) |
| Residents' purchase right | A purchase right that arises only on closure or change of use Residents get a chance to buy only when the community is closing. A closing community owner must consider any offer to purchase made by a resident association representing at least 25% of the spaces, or by a nonprofit corporation acting at the request of residents of at least that many spaces, and must negotiate in good faith with whoever makes it. There is no right of first refusal, no obligation to match an outside offer, and no advance notice that the community is being marketed. | 68 P.S. § 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.2) (b); 68 P.S. § 398.11.1 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.1) (a) |
| Time for residents to respond | No state rule The act gives residents no deadline for responding to a closure or sale notice. It requires the closing community owner to consider any qualifying purchase offer and to negotiate in good faith, without saying how long residents have to organize or to make one. | 68 P.S. § 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.2) (b) |
| Resident-association threshold | 25% A resident association must represent at least 25% of the manufactured home spaces for its purchase offer to count. The same share of residents may instead ask a nonprofit corporation, community development corporation, housing authority or redevelopment authority to make the offer. An association is defined as an organization open to all residents, however it is structured. | 68 P.S. § 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.2) (b); 68 P.S. § 398.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 2) definition of "Resident association" |
| Transfers exempt from the sale rules | No state rule No transfer is exempt from the sale-notice requirement. The act states the duty for the sale or lease of a community without carving out family transfers, foreclosures or transfers between affiliated entities. The only related carve-out sits in the closure section: a closure caused by condemnation, eminent domain or other governmental action removes the relocation payments and leaves residents the remedies of condemnation law. | 68 P.S. § 398.11.1 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.1) (a); 68 P.S. § 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.2) (e) |
| Residents may assign the right to a nonprofit or municipality | Yes Residents may have another body make the purchase offer for them. A nonprofit corporation, including a community development corporation, a housing authority or a redevelopment authority, may make the offer at the request of the residents of at least 25% of the spaces, and the closing community owner must consider it and negotiate in good faith on the same terms as an offer from a resident association. | 68 P.S. § 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.2) (b) |
| Penalty for violating the sale rules | A violation is an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, and residents may seek an injunction to enforce the sale and closure sections. Breaking the sale or closure rules exposes a community to consumer protection liability. A violation of the act carries the enforcement provisions and private rights of action of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, and residents may separately seek injunctive relief to compel compliance with the sale-notice and closure sections. The act's general remedies also apply: a private action for damages, treble damages where the act provides them, or restitution, and a suit by the Attorney General or the district attorney to restrain a prohibited practice. A failure of notice does not undo a completed transfer of the real property. | 68 P.S. § 398.16.1 (Act 261 of 1976, § 16.1) (a), (b); 68 P.S. § 398.11.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.3) (b)(3); 68 P.S. §§ 398.13, 398.14 (Act 261 of 1976, §§ 13, 14) 13(a) |
G. The resident's home
| Rule | Pennsylvania law | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Right to sell the home in place | Yes A resident may sell the home where it stands. Any rule, regulation or lease condition purporting to prevent the sale of a resident's home is void and unenforceable in court, and what the community may reserve is the right to approve the buyer as the lessee of that same space. The buyer disclosure the act prescribes says as much, telling the buyer the community requires an approved application and a signed lease before the buyer may live there. | 68 P.S. § 398.11 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11) (a), (b) |
| Park may not take a commission on the sale | Yes The community may not take a commission on the sale of a resident's home. A claim for a fee or commission is void and unenforceable unless the claimant actually acted as a licensed manufactured home sales agent for the seller under a separate written fee agreement. | 68 P.S. § 398.11 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11) (a); 68 P.S. § 398.4 (Act 261 of 1976, § 4) (b) |
| Park may screen the buyer | Yes The community may screen the buyer. The act lets a community owner or operator reserve the right to approve the purchaser of a home as a lessee, subject to the limit that the approval may not be unreasonably withheld. | 68 P.S. § 398.11 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11) (a) |
| Buyer-approval standard and deadline | Approval of the buyer as a lessee may not be unreasonably withheld; the act sets no deadline for the decision. The standard is that approval may not be unreasonably withheld. The act gives the community no fixed number of days to decide and lists no approved criteria. Before offering the home the resident must obtain the community's current disclosure document and give the buyer a copy with a printed 12-point statement that the community requires an approved application and a fully executed lease, and the buyer may void the transaction within five calendar days of receiving it; a resident who does not obtain the buyer's dated acknowledgment may give the buyer grounds to cancel. | 68 P.S. § 398.11 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11) (a), (b), (c) |
| Home may not be rejected for age, size or style alone | No state rule The act does not bar a community from turning a home down for its age, size or style. What it does bar is any rule, regulation or lease condition that would prevent the sale of a resident's home, and the buyer-approval power it allows runs to approving the purchaser as a lessee rather than the home itself. Separately, the community may designate the type of material and manner of installation for skirting, awnings, porches, fences and other exterior additions, within the state's construction and manufactured housing codes. | 68 P.S. § 398.11 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11) (a); 68 P.S. § 398.5 (Act 261 of 1976, § 5) |
| Park may require repairs before sale | No state rule The act does not address repairs a community may require before a home is sold. It voids rules and lease conditions that would prevent a sale, and separately allows fair and reasonable rules related to the health, safety and upkeep of the community so long as they are not arbitrary or capricious and are applied uniformly. | 68 P.S. § 398.11 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11) (a); 68 P.S. § 398.4 (Act 261 of 1976, § 4) (a), (b) |
| Right to post a For Sale sign | No state rule Nothing in the act protects a "For Sale" sign. The section on selling a home voids any rule, regulation or lease condition purporting to prevent the sale, but says nothing about signs or advertising, and no state regulation supplies the point. | 68 P.S. § 398.11 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11) (a); 68 P.S. § 398.4 (Act 261 of 1976, § 4) (a) |
H. The eight federal lender protections — which ones Pennsylvania law already requires
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require eight tenant site lease protections in every manufactured housing community loan they buy. Where state law already requires a protection of every park, a resident has it whether or not the park has agency financing. Pennsylvania law requires 3 of 8. All 50 states are compared in our research study, including the 2018 federal survey baseline.
| Protection | Pennsylvania law | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| One-year renewable lease term unless there is good cause for non-renewal | Partly | The cause limb is met and the one-year term limb is not: a community owner may terminate, refuse to renew or evict only for the four reasons the act lists, and must offer a renewal on the same terms 60 days before expiry, but the term the act sets is one month, with anything longer left to mutual agreement. (68 P.S. § 398.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 3); 68 P.S. § 398.4a (Act 261 of 1976, § 4.1)) |
| 30-day written notice of rent increases | Required | An increase in rent, fees, service charges or assessments is unenforceable until 30 days after notice is posted in the community and mailed to the resident, and an increase carried by a new, renewed or extended lease cannot take effect before the 61st day after the resident receives notice. (68 P.S. § 398.6 (Act 261 of 1976, § 6); 68 P.S. § 398.13 (Act 261 of 1976, § 13)) |
| 5-day grace period for rent payments and the right to cure defaults on rent payments | Partly | The cure limb is met and the fee-grace limb is missing: a resident always has 20 days to pay overdue rent if the notice comes between April 1 and September 1, or 30 days if it comes between September 1 and April 1, and may stop the writ of possession at any time before it is executed by paying the arrears and costs, but no statute gives a period after the due date in which a late fee may not be charged. (68 P.S. § 398.3 (Act 261 of 1976, § 3); 68 P.S. § 250.503 (Act 20 of 1951, § 503)) |
| Right to sell the manufactured home without having to first relocate it out of the community | Required | Any rule, regulation or lease condition purporting to prevent the sale of a resident's home is void, and what the community may reserve is approval of the buyer as the lessee of the same space, which the buyer disclosure the act prescribes spells out. (68 P.S. § 398.11 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11)) |
| Right to sell the manufactured home in place within 30 days after eviction by the community owner | Partly | The window exists before an eviction rather than after it: a resident who turns down a new, renewed or extended lease has 60 days from the notice of intent to vacate to contract to sell the home or move it at the old rent, but the act gives no period to sell in place once a court has granted an order of possession. (68 P.S. § 398.13 (Act 261 of 1976, § 13); 68 P.S. § 398.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 2)) |
| Right to sublease or assign the pad site lease for the unexpired term to the new buyer of the home without unreasonable restraint | Required | The community owner may reserve the right to approve the purchaser of the home as a lessee, but that approval may not be unreasonably withheld. (68 P.S. § 398.11 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11)) |
| Right to post "For Sale" signs that comply with the community's rules | Not required | Neither the act nor a state regulation mentions a "For Sale" sign; the section on selling a home voids rules that would prevent a sale but is silent on signs and advertising. (68 P.S. § 398.11 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11)) |
| Right to receive at least 60 days' notice of a planned sale or closure of the community | Partly | The closure limb is met and the sale limb is missing: closing a community takes written notice within 60 days of the decision and at least 180 days before residents must leave, but the sale notice is due within 30 days after an agreement of sale is signed and sets no minimum period before the sale completes. (68 P.S. § 398.11.2 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.2); 68 P.S. § 398.11.1 (Act 261 of 1976, § 11.1)) |
Notes and caveats
- Three homes is the threshold — The act reaches any site, lot, field or tract holding three or more manufactured homes occupied for dwelling or sleeping, on public or private land, whether or not a charge is made. There is no larger size threshold and no exemption for small communities.
- The relocation figures change every year — The act set $4,000 for a single-section home and $6,000 for a multisection home. The Department of Community and Economic Development adjusts both each year for the Consumer Price Index and publishes the result in the Pennsylvania Bulletin; for 2026 the figures are $5,649.68 and $8,474.52. The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency's own page still shows the 2021 figures, so the Bulletin notice is the current number.
- Sale notice comes after the deal is signed — Nothing requires a community owner to tell residents that the community is for sale or being marketed. The notice is due within 30 days after an agreement of sale is signed, and residents have no right of first refusal. The chance to buy arises only on closure, and then only as a duty to consider an offer and negotiate in good faith.
- Where the act is silent, the 1951 act often is not — The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 carries its own manufactured home park provisions: a 30-day notice to quit for a lease of less than a year, three months for a longer one, a seasonal 15-day or 30-day notice for overdue rent, a rule that a park owner may not recover a space from a resident who follows the rules, pays the rent and wants to stay, and the deposit limits that the act's own fee section preserves.
- Renters of homes in the community are only partly covered — The act's core rights belong to residents who own their home and lease the space. Someone renting a home inside the community must still receive the sale and closure notices and may end the lease without penalty once a closure notice arrives, but the rest of the act does not reach that tenancy.
- No limit on the size of a rent increase — Pennsylvania limits how often lot rent may change, not by how much. Bills that would add a limit based on the Consumer Price Index, and one that would add a right to purchase the community, are before the General Assembly; one of them has passed the House.
- Enforcement runs through consumer protection law — The Attorney General or the district attorney of the county may sue to restrain a prohibited practice, and a violation is also an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, carrying that law's private rights of action alongside the act's own damages and treble damages.
- A court rule on abandoned homes is under revision — The Supreme Court's Minor Court Rules Committee has proposed amending the magisterial district court rule on abandoned manufactured homes so that a judgment for possession and its execution must precede an abandonment determination rather than run alongside it. It was published for comment in January 2026 and has not been adopted.
Common questions: Pennsylvania mobile home park law
Each answer is the verified value from the tables above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.
- How much notice must a Pennsylvania park give before raising lot rent?
- 60 days. A rent increase carried by a new, renewed or extended lease needs 60 days' written notice and cannot take effect before the 61st day after the resident receives it.
- Is there a limit on how much lot rent can go up in Pennsylvania?
- Pennsylvania sets no state rule on this. Pennsylvania sets no limit on how much lot rent may be raised.
- Can a Pennsylvania park owner end a lot tenancy without cause?
- No — a Pennsylvania park may end a lot tenancy only for a listed cause. A community owner may terminate a lease, refuse to renew it or evict only for one of four reasons the act lists.
- How much notice must a Pennsylvania park give before closing or changing use?
- 6 months. Closing a community, in whole or in part, takes written notice within 60 days of the decision, and residents must be given at least 180 days from the date of that notice before they are expected to vacate.
- Does a Pennsylvania park have to pay residents' relocation costs when it closes?
- Yes — Pennsylvania law requires a relocation payment when a park closes or changes use. A closing community must pay each home owner the cost of relocating the home, up to a ceiling adjusted every year.
- Do Pennsylvania residents get a chance to buy the park when it is sold?
- Only when the park is closing. Residents get a chance to buy only when the community is closing.
- Can a Pennsylvania resident sell the home in place without moving it out of the park?
- Yes — a Pennsylvania resident may sell the home in place. A resident may sell the home where it stands.
Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Pennsylvania Mobile Home Park Laws (verified August 19, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/mobile-home-parks/pennsylvania/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified).
Citations
- Manufactured Home Community Rights Act, 68 P.S. §§ 398.1–398.16.1 (Act 261 of 1976) (verified 2026) Official source
- Act 156 of 2012 (P.L. 1267), adding §§ 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3 and 16.1 (verified 2026) Official source
- The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, 68 P.S. § 250.101 et seq. (Act 20 of 1951) §§ 250.501, 250.503, 250.511a, 250.511b, 250.512 (verified 2026) Official source
- 56 Pa.B. 1150, relocation figures for 2026 (Department of Community and Economic Development) (verified 2026) Official source
- Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, Manufactured Home Community Rights (verified 2026) Official source
Every row above links the section it rests on. This topic covers all 50 states; the topic hub compares them side by side.