Landlord Atlas

Rhode Island Mobile Home Park Laws

Verified August 19, 2026 All Rhode Island topics →

Rhode Island's Mobile and Manufactured Home Act, chapter 31-44 of the General Laws, governs the tenancy of a resident who owns the home and rents the lot beneath it in a community of four or more occupied homes, and it is one of the more detailed such acts in the country: a change in lot rent or fees takes 60 days' written notice, a lot tenancy may be ended only on one of six listed grounds and never on less than 60 days' notice, and closing a community by selling or leasing it takes a full year's certified-mail notice plus relocation money of up to $4,000 a household.

Cited to R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-44 and 18 more sources · Verified August 19, 2026

Residents who incorporate an association holding 51 percent of the homeowner households gain a true right of first refusal, with a 12-item information package and 180 days to complete a purchase. The lease must run at least a year, no security deposit may be taken for a lot, and either side may bring a dispute about community rules to the Department of Business Regulation for a hearing. There is no statewide limit on how much lot rent may rise, and no period after an eviction in which to sell the home in place.

Governing actMobile and Manufactured Home Act — R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-44
General law that also appliesRhode Island Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 34-18
Federal lender protections already required by state law6 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island law Source
State agency with a role in park tenancies Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation, Division of Commercial Licensing and Regulation The Department of Business Regulation licenses every community and hears complaints about park rules under this chapter. Its director may investigate a park owner, order rents paid into a departmental escrow account until the owner shows compliance, and refer written complaints to the attorney general's consumer protection division. Two subjects are carved out of the director's jurisdiction: rent increases and evictions. The Department of Health surveys parks every three years. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-16 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1.7 (a)-(c); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-9.1; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-9.2; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-19; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1.8
Resident may sue under the act Yes A resident may sue in court to enforce any provision of the chapter or of a park's license. The right sits alongside the departmental complaint route rather than replacing it, and a violation of most of the chapter's substantive sections is also an unfair and deceptive trade practice. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-9 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-9 (b)
Minimum park size for the act to apply (lots) 4 lots The chapter applies to a plot of ground holding four or more mobile and manufactured homes occupied for residential purposes. The figure counts occupied homes rather than platted lots. A manufactured home that is not in a park, and that meets the zoning definition in § 45-24-31, is outside the chapter entirely. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1 (9); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-23
Other size thresholds that switch rules on No state rule No lot-count threshold switches any rule on or off. Once a plot of ground holds four or more occupied homes, every requirement in the chapter applies to it. The one proportional figure in the chapter is a share of households rather than a count of lots: the purchase right runs to an incorporated association holding at least 51 percent of the homeowner households as members. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1 (9); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 opening sentence; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (a)
Park-owned rental homes Partly covered by this act Some of the chapter reaches a home rented from the community owner, and the rest of the tenancy is governed by Rhode Island's general residential act. A resident is defined as an owner or a renter occupying a home in a park, the community owner must keep every home it rents structurally sound, and the security-deposit section is written for the lease of a home. The lot-rent, closure, sale-of-home and purchase-right provisions are written for a resident who owns the home. Chapter 34-18 supplies the rest, and its list of excluded arrangements does not reach these tenancies. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1 (16); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1 (19); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (1)(v); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7.1; R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-8
RVs and park-model homes Excluded Recreational vehicles are outside the chapter. Its definition of a mobile and manufactured home reaches only a detached residential unit designed for long-term occupancy, with sleeping accommodations, a flush toilet, a tub or shower and kitchen facilities, and permanent plumbing and electrical connections for attachment to outside systems. The chapter carries no separate park-model category. The licensing regulation counts a site holding a recreational vehicle as an occupied site when the annual license fee is calculated, which is a fee question rather than a tenancy one. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1 (8); 230-RICR-30-15-1
Local rent regulation of park lots No statute addresses local regulation of lot rents No Rhode Island statute preempts or authorizes local regulation of lot rents in a manufactured-home community. The chapter's only precedence clause is narrower: the grounds and notice limits for ending a lot tenancy take precedence over any conflicting state statute or local ordinance. Elsewhere the chapter acknowledges that local ordinances give municipalities superintending control over mobile and manufactured home business or use, without saying anything about rents. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1.4 (a)(3)

B. Lot rent, fees and utilities

Rule Rhode Island law Source
Notice before a lot-rent increase 60 days A change in lot rent or in the fees associated with a lot takes at least 60 days' notice to the resident before the effective date. A resident who believes the change violates the chapter may complain to the director within 20 days of receiving the written notice. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (6)
How often rent may be raised Lot rent may not be raised during the term of the rental agreement, and the standard term is one year. Lot rent may not be raised during the term of the rental agreement, and the standard term is one year. A lease may not let the owner increase the total rent or change the payment arrangements mid-term; the single exception is a prorated increase for increased taxes, and only where the original lease says so. Once a notice of discontinuance has issued, a separate rule applies: rent and fees may not be increased unless a year has passed since the last increase. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (6)(iii); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (1)(xiv); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.2 (a)(3)
Statewide limit on lot-rent increases No state rule Rhode Island sets no statewide ceiling on ordinary lot-rent increases. The chapter carries one numeric limit, and it applies only after a community has given notice that it is closing: from the date of that notice the annual rent may rise by no more than the increase in the consumer price index for urban consumers plus the resident's share of any documented increase in real estate taxes or other municipal fees, and in no event by more than 10 percent of the previous year's annual rent. That limit reaches only residents already under a notice of discontinuance, so it is not a limit on covered communities generally. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.2 (a)(3); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (6)(iii)
How a resident can challenge an increase A resident may file a complaint with the director of business regulation within 20 days of the written notice of a rent or fee change. A resident may file a complaint with the director of business regulation within 20 days of the written notice of a rent or fee change, stating how the change violates the chapter. Two other tools sit alongside it: a rent change that does not apply uniformly to residents of a similar class creates a rebuttable presumption that it is unreasonable, and a resident may bring a civil action to enforce the chapter. The chapter also states that the director has no jurisdiction over issues relative to rent increases, and the two provisions have not been reconciled in the text. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (6); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (3); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-16 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-9 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-17
Entrance fee prohibited Yes A prospective resident may not be charged an entrance fee for the privilege of leasing or occupying a lot. Two exceptions are written into the chapter: an entrance fee may be charged when a home is transported into the community, though not if the community owner took a commission on the sale of that home, and a licensee in the business of selling homes may impose an entrance fee on a newly created lot. A reasonable charge for the owner's cost of obtaining, preparing and maintaining a lot, or of placing a home on it, is a hook-up or maintenance fee rather than an entrance fee and must appear on the fee schedule filed with the department and posted in the community. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (8); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (b); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (6)(iv); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (10)
Exit or removal fee prohibited No state rule No provision addresses a fee for removing a home or for ending the tenancy. The chapter's fee rules run the other way, at entry: a community owner may not require any person to pay a fee of any kind as a precondition to renting or occupying a space unless services are actually rendered, and it may not perform a service unless asked to in writing. What governs an exit charge instead is the lease, read against the requirement that every charge be itemized in the rental agreement and in any billing. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (s); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (8); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (4)
Undisclosed fees uncollectible No state rule The chapter requires disclosure but does not say that an undisclosed fee cannot be collected. Before a lease is signed the licensee must disclose in writing the rent for the lot and any charges, including service charges, together with the rent and charges in effect for the three preceding years; every charge must be itemized in the rental agreement and in any billing; and the fee schedule must be filed with the department and posted in the community. The stated consequence of breaking those rules is different: a violation is an unfair and deceptive trade practice. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (9); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (4); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (10); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-9 (b)
Utility billing rules A community that buys electricity, gas or water and resells it may not charge more than the supplying utility charged it, and must post that utility's rate schedule. A community that buys electricity, gas or water and resells it may not charge more than the supplying utility charged it, and must post that utility's rate schedule in a conspicuous place. Where the owner has spent money bringing service to individual homes or installing individual meters, it is entitled to a return on that investment. The owner must keep the utilities it provides in good working order up to and including the connection to each home, give 24 hours' written notice before repairs or construction except in an emergency, finish within 72 hours absent good cause, and not cut a utility for more than three consecutive hours unless the city or town engineer has reviewed the plans. If the owner does not comply, the resident may give written notice, wait 14 days or less in an emergency, hire a contractor and deduct the actual and reasonable cost from the rent against an itemized statement. There may be no extra water charge because a resident has children. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (4)(ii); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (4)(iii); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (4)(iv); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (1)(vi); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (1)(vii); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (1)(viii)
Submetering required or regulated Yes Metering is optional, but the billing that follows it is regulated. The chapter caps what a community may charge for resold electricity, gas or water at what the supplying utility charged, expressly allows the owner a return on the cost of installing individual meters, and requires the serving utility's rate schedule to be posted where residents can see it. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (4)(ii); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (4)(iii); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (4)(iv)
Lot security deposit rules No security deposit may be required for the rental of a lot or space. No security deposit may be required for the rental of a lot or space. Where the home itself is rented, the deposit may not exceed one month's rent, it earns 3 percent interest a year payable annually or at the end of the tenancy, and it must be held in a savings account earmarked as a security deposit account and used for nothing else. Within 30 days of the end of the tenancy the owner must return the deposit with interest or give the resident a written itemized list of damages beyond ordinary wear and tear and return the difference. Failing to return the deposit or pay the interest exposes the owner to damages of up to twice the deposit and three times the interest due, and a lease may not waive any of it. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7.1 (8); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7.1 (1)-(4); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7.1 (6)-(7); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (6)(vi)

C. Lease, rules and disclosure

Rule Rhode Island law Source
Written lease Required Every term and condition of the occupancy must be disclosed in a written lease given to a prospective resident a reasonable time before the rental or occupancy begins, and no community may rent a lot until the lease is signed by both the resident and the owner. The one way out is the resident's: a resident who states in writing that he or she does not want a written lease need not have one. The lease must also carry, printed verbatim and conspicuously, the four-paragraph notice set out in the chapter. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 opening sentence; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-8; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (1)(xiv); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (7)
Minimum lease term that must be offered 12 months The lease must run for at least one year unless the resident asks in writing for a shorter term or states in writing that he or she does not want a written lease. A prospective resident may instead take over the balance of the current resident's leasehold; where fewer than 60 days of that term remain, notice of any rent increase must be given to the incoming resident. The same one-year rule is repeated in the notice every resident receives before occupancy. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (1)(xiv); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-8
Notice to end a tenancy without cause No state rule Termination is only for the statutory grounds, so there is no no-cause notice period. No tenancy in a community may be ended by the owner except on one of the six listed reasons, and never on less than 60 days' written notice. A non-renewal, or a refusal to offer a lease, within six months of a resident's protected lawful action is presumed to be a reprisal. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (b); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-5 (b)
Notice before park rules change 45 days Adding, changing, deleting or amending a community rule takes at least 45 days' notice before the effective date. A new copy of all the rules must go to every resident and be filed with the department for review and recording, and the resident's copy must be signed by both the owner and the resident. A resident who believes the change violates the chapter has 20 days from receiving the written notice to complain to the director. A separate provision governs enforcement: an amended rule the resident has not acknowledged in writing supports an eviction only after three months' written notice. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (5); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (a)(5)
Disclosure document A disclosure document with state-prescribed contents The chapter prints a notice that must be given to the resident before occupancy and reproduced verbatim in the lease. It states that the tenancy is governed by the Mobile and Manufactured Home Act, that community rules must be fair and reasonable and unreasonable rules cannot be enforced, that no lot may be rented until a written lease is signed and that the term is at least one year, that the resident may not be tied to a particular fuel dealer or merchant unless health or safety requires it and then not above the prevailing local price, and that a rent increase, non-renewal, refusal to offer a lease or termination taken as a penalty for reporting a violation is a prohibited reprisal. Separate written disclosures cover the rent and charges for the lot with the three preceding years' figures, and the three preceding years' rental history of the land for a prospective buyer of a home. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-8; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (7); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3 (9); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (n)
Residents' right to meet and organize Yes No bylaw, rental agreement, regulation or rule may infringe the right of home owners to assemble peaceably in an open public meeting for any lawful purpose, at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner, in the community's common or recreational areas. Residents may also meet among themselves to discuss community problems, in the common areas, in halls or centers or in any resident's home, and the owner may not unreasonably restrict the use of a facility, including utilities, when asked. Written notice of the time and place must go to management, and the meeting must be open to all residents. Canvassing residents for association dues or other association matters may not be prohibited. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-13 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-13 (b); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-13 (c)
Owner entry onto the lot or into the home Where only the lot is rented, the owner may enter the home only with the resident's permission and only after notice. Where only the lot is rented, the owner may enter the home only with the resident's permission and only after notice, and must respect the resident's privacy. Separately, utility repairs or construction anywhere in the community take 24 hours' written notice to each resident except in an emergency. Where the home itself is rented, the general residential act supplies the access rule: two days' notice of an intent to enter, entry only at reasonable times, and no use of access to harass. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (1)(ix); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (1)(vi); R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-26
Retaliation prohibited Yes A community may not take a reprisal against a resident, a prospective resident or a homeowners' association formed to buy the community. A rent increase, a non-renewal, a refusal to offer a lease or a termination within six months after a protected lawful action creates a rebuttable presumption of reprisal, and reprisal may be pleaded as a defense in any proceeding brought against the resident. Protected lawful action covers reporting a violation of the chapter or of a building or health code, any other justified complaint to a governmental authority, and any other justified lawful act. The remedies are those the general residential act gives for retaliatory conduct. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-5 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-5 (b); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1 (13); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-5 (c); R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-46

D. Termination and eviction

Rule Rhode Island law Source
Just cause required to end a tenancy Yes A lot tenancy may be ended only for one of six reasons listed in the chapter, and those grounds and limits take precedence over any conflicting state statute or local ordinance. The eviction itself runs under the general residential act, with jurisdiction in the district court. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (b)
Grounds for termination
  • Nonpayment of rent, utility charges or reasonable incidental service charges.
  • Failure to comply with local ordinances or with state or federal law or regulations relating to mobile and manufactured homes or communities, after written notice and a reasonable opportunity to comply.
  • Damage by the resident to the demised property, beyond reasonable wear and tear.
  • Repeated conduct on the premises that disturbs the peace and quiet of other residents.
  • Failure to comply with the community's reasonable written rules, after written notice and a reasonable opportunity to comply.
  • Condemnation or change of use of the community.
These are the only six reasons for which a lot tenancy may be ended. Two of them carry a built-in cure step: a violation of law or of community rules supports an eviction only after written notice and a reasonable opportunity to comply. Nonpayment carries its own cure right, and the rules ground reaches an amended rule the resident has not acknowledged in writing only after three months' written notice. 		R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (a)(1)-(6)
Notice for nonpayment of lot rent 30 days A tenancy may be ended for nonpayment of rent on 30 days' written notice, rather than the 60 days every other ground takes. The resident defeats the action by paying or tendering all arrearages before the notice to quit expires, including a late charge of 5 percent of the monthly rent that may be added only after a seven-day grace period has run. A lease may not shorten that grace period or raise that late charge. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (b); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (a)(1); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (6)(i); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7 (6)(ii)
Notice for a rule or lease violation 60 days Ending a tenancy for a rule or lease violation takes written notice to remove from the premises within not less than 60 days. Before that notice may issue, the resident must first be given written notice of the failure to comply and a reasonable opportunity to comply; the chapter fixes no number of days for that cure step. The same two-step pattern applies to a violation of a local ordinance or of state or federal law. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (b); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (a)(5); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (a)(2)
Repeat-violation rule Repeated conduct that disturbs the peace and quiet of other residents is itself a ground for ending the tenancy. Repeated conduct that disturbs the peace and quiet of other residents is itself a ground for ending the tenancy, so a single incident of that kind does not support an eviction. Nothing in the chapter withdraws the cure right on a second or later rule violation: written notice and a reasonable opportunity to comply are required each time a rule violation is used as a ground. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (a)(4); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (a)(5)
Time to sell or remove the home after termination No state rule The chapter gives no period after a termination in which to sell or move the home. The time a resident has is the notice period itself: not less than 60 days on most grounds, 30 days for nonpayment. The right to sell the home in place is not tied to a termination, and the general residential act adds nothing here, giving the landlord a claim for possession and use and occupation after termination and making the resident pay the cost of moving personal property removed under a court execution. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (b); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-43; R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-50
Abandoned-home procedure No state rule The chapter sets out no procedure for a home left behind. The only place it addresses the subject is a deduction on closure: where a resident does not remove the home and the community owner has to, the relocation benefit is reduced by the owner's documented out-of-pocket cost of physically removing the unit. The general residential act's abandonment provisions are about re-renting a dwelling, not disposing of a home. They define abandonment as vacating without notice, evidenced by more than 15 days' nonpayment and removal of substantially all possessions, and require a certified letter and a seven-day reply period before the landlord re-rents at a fair rental. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.2 (a)(2); R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-40; R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-11
Mediation or dispute-resolution requirement No mediation is required, but either a resident or a community owner may take a dispute about community rules to the Department of Business Regulation. No mediation is required, but either a resident or a community owner may take a dispute about community rules to the Department of Business Regulation. The director screens the complaint, dismisses it in writing if it is frivolous or without merit, and otherwise sets a hearing within 60 days, with 20 days' written notice to the parties, counsel permitted and the common-law and statutory rules of evidence not binding. The decision is written with findings of fact; either side may seek a rehearing or appeal to the superior court within 30 days, and an unappealed decision is filed with the superior court clerk and enforced as a judgment. The director may use a mediator to resolve a rules dispute, but has no jurisdiction over rent increases or evictions. A separate 20-day petition route covers a refused home sale or a refused entry to the community. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-17; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-16 (b); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-16 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-18; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (f)(6)

E. Closure and change of use

Rule Rhode Island law Source
Notice before closure or change of use 12 months Closing a community by selling or leasing it for a use that would end it takes at least one year's written notice, by certified mail with return receipt requested, to every resident. A condemnation or a change of use that does not involve a sale or a lease is instead a ground for ending the tenancy under the eviction section, which carries the chapter's ordinary notice of not less than 60 days. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.2 (a)(1); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (a)(6); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (b)
Variants (by trigger or park size)
  • Sale or lease of the community for a use that would end it: At least one year, in writing, by certified mail with return receipt requested to each resident (Carries the relocation benefit and a rental agreement running from the date of the notice on the prior terms, with rent limited to the consumer price index plus documented tax and municipal fee increases, capped at 10 percent a year and no more than once a year).
  • Condemnation or change of use without a sale or lease: Not less than 60 days' written notice (Handled as one of the six grounds for ending a tenancy rather than under the closure section).
  • Application to a government agency that may change the community's land use: Written notice to all affected residents when the application is made or becomes known (Required by the licensing regulation; the notice must state the reasons for the application and name the agency with its address and telephone number).
Rhode Island runs closure on two tracks, and a third rule catches the paperwork that often precedes one. A sale or lease that would end the community takes a year's certified-mail notice with relocation money; a condemnation or change of use without a sale or lease is handled as a termination ground on 60 days' notice; and any application to a government body that may change the community's land use must be reported to residents in writing. 		R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.2 (a)(1); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (a)(6); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2 (b); 230-RICR-30-15-1
Relocation payment required Yes A community owner that gives a discontinuance notice must pay relocation benefits to every resident entitled to that notice. The money is due within 10 days of the resident's departure and the removal of the home. A resident who moved in after the notice was mailed, received a copy of it in hand before signing a lease or placing a home in the community, and signed the acknowledgment form is not entitled to the benefit. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.2 (a)(2); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.2 (b); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.2 (c)
Relocation amounts
  • Relocation benefit on discontinuance: Up to $4,000, or the actual relocation expenses incurred, whichever is less — Paid by the community owner within 10 days of the resident's departure and the removal of the home; reduced by the owner's documented out-of-pocket moving costs where the owner has to remove a home the resident left behind.
The figure is fixed in the statute at $4,000, with no index and no annual published number. It is a ceiling rather than a flat payment: the resident receives actual relocation expenses up to that amount. 		R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.2 (a)(2)
Who pays relocation The park owner The community owner pays. Rhode Island has no state relocation fund for this purpose, and the chapter names no other source. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.2 (a)(2)
Notice to a government body on closure No state rule The closure notice runs to residents only. The discontinuance section requires certified-mail notice to each resident and names no agency, municipality or court. The chapter's other reporting duties are unrelated to closure: the court clerk mails final judgments in enforcement actions to the attorney general and, where licenses are involved, to the department, and a community must produce municipal land-use certification each year to renew its license. The licensing regulation runs the other way, requiring the community to tell residents about an application it has made to a government agency. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.2 (a)(1); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-6; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1.7 (c)(2); 230-RICR-30-15-1

F. Sale of the park

Rule Rhode Island law Source
Residents must be told the park is for sale Yes Residents must be told, but only after they have taken the first step. Once an incorporated homeowners' association has sent the owner a certified letter showing it holds at least 51 percent of the homeowner households as members and has articles of incorporation empowering it to negotiate for, acquire and operate the community, the owner may not sell the community for any purpose, or lease it for a purpose that would end it, without notifying the association by certified mail with return receipt requested. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (a)
What triggers the notice A bona fide offer the owner intends to accept, or advertising the community for sale. A bona fide offer the owner intends to accept, or advertising the community for sale. The offer notice must go to the association before a sale for any purpose and before a lease for a purpose that would end the community. Separately, the owner must give notice of any intention to sell or lease the community for such a use within 14 days of any advertisement or other public notice that it is for sale or the land is for lease. The offer notice carries a 12-item information package: an affidavit from the buyer or lessee stating the offered price or lease payment, the terms of any seller and assumable financing, the legal description and appraised or assessed value of property in any land trade, proposed owner improvements or other concessions, and statements that the owner will allow reasonable access and will make available, within seven days of a signed purchase and sale agreement, easements, permits and licenses, a survey and legal description with three years of itemized operating expenses, the most recent rent roll with tenant, vacancy and vacancy-rate figures for three years, hazardous-waste data, water, sewer and electrical system data, and three years of income and operating expenses. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (b)
Residents' purchase right Right of first refusal (match the offer) The association may buy or lease the community by meeting the same price and the same terms and conditions as the offer it was notified of. The owner may not unreasonably refuse to enter into, or unreasonably delay executing, a purchase and sale or lease agreement with an association that has made such an offer. The right applies separately to each substantially different offer; where the same buyer repeats an earlier offer it revives only if the later offer comes more than six months after the first. The owner need not provide financing, and may require an association proposing to lease to hold the capitalized value of the proposed rent and to escrow up to two years' rent. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (c); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (d); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (l); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (k)
Time for residents to respond 45 days The association has 45 days from notice of the offer to execute a purchase and sale or lease agreement, then a further 135 days to obtain any necessary financing or guarantees. Missing either deadline ends the right. In total residents have 180 days from receiving notice of a bona fide sale to complete the transaction, extended day for day by the owner's delay in supplying the required information or by litigation over the sale or the marketability of title, unless that litigation is frivolous and brought only to delay. Both periods may be extended by agreement. If the association makes reasonable efforts and still cannot finance the purchase, its deposit is returned; if it defaults, the owner's only remedy is to keep the deposit as liquidated damages. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (c)(1); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (c)(2); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (h); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (i); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (j); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (f); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (g)
Resident-association threshold 51% The association must hold at least 51 percent of the homeowner households in the community as members, be incorporated, and have articles of incorporation specifying the power to negotiate for, acquire and operate the community for its members. The same 51 percent figure defines a qualified sale to a resident organization, which is exempt from the state real estate conveyance tax. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1 (14); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.3
Transfers exempt from the sale rules
  • A government taking by eminent domain or by negotiated purchase.
  • A forced sale under a foreclosure.
  • A transfer by gift, devise or operation of law.
  • A sale to a person who would take under the table of descent and distribution if the community owner died without a will.
These four transfers are outside the purchase right entirely. A further limit is about timing rather than the kind of transfer: the right applies separately to each substantially different offer, and where the same buyer repeats an earlier offer it applies only if the later offer comes more than six months after the first. 		R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (m); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (l)
Residents may assign the right to a nonprofit or municipality No state rule The chapter gives no right to assign the purchase right to an outside nonprofit or to a municipality. The right of first refusal inures to the homeowners' association itself for the periods the section sets. The residents' own vehicle is separately defined: a resident organization is a group of residents who have formed a nonprofit corporation, a cooperative corporation or another entity for the purpose of acquiring the community in which they live and converting it to resident ownership. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (l); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1 (17)
Penalty for violating the sale rules Breaking the sale rules is an unfair and deceptive trade practice, and the seller must record an affidavit of compliance. Breaking the sale rules is an unfair and deceptive trade practice under Rhode Island's deceptive trade practices law, with that chapter's enforcement provisions available on top of any other remedy; the same is true of a violation of the rules, closure, home-sale, reprisal, lease, security-deposit, notice and assembly sections. Where the association is not the successful buyer or lessee, the seller must prove compliance by filing an affidavit of compliance in the land records of the city or town within seven days of the sale or lease. Violating the licensing provisions carries a departmental fine of up to $5,000 and possible loss of the license after a hearing, and the director may order rents into a departmental escrow account until the owner shows compliance. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-9 (b); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1 (n); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-10; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-9.1

G. The resident's home

Rule Rhode Island law Source
Right to sell the home in place Yes A community owner may not deny a resident the right to sell the home while it is in the community, or require the home to be removed because of the sale. A home that is safe, sanitary and in conformance with aesthetic standards may not be required to leave at the time of sale or foreclosure, except where the owner started the foreclosure as mortgagee. The owner may still refuse for good cause, and may require removal of a home whose age and condition do not meet the standards of homes in the community. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (a); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (f)(5); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (f)
Park may not take a commission on the sale Yes A community may not take a commission or fee out of the price the resident gets, unless it acted as the resident's agent under a written contract. The resident chooses how to sell: through his or her own efforts, through a licensed real estate broker at a commission of no more than 10 percent, or through the community owner at a commission of no more than 10 percent. No rule may require a resident to sell the home to the community owner. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (d); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (c); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (e)
Park may screen the buyer Yes The community may require the right to approve a buyer who will keep the home in the community, and may require the seller or the seller's agent to give notice of the sale before the closing. It may refuse for good cause, meaning reasonable cause to believe the buyer will not meet entry requirements applied equally to everyone, intends an illegal use or one that would disturb other residents' quiet enjoyment, or cannot pay the lot rent. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (p); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (f); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (f)(1)-(3)
Buyer-approval standard and deadline Approval may not be withheld from a buyer who can pay the rent and charges, unless the community reasonably determines from the buyer's prior tenancies that he or she will not follow its rules. Approval may not be withheld from a buyer who can pay the rent and charges, unless the community reasonably determines from the buyer's prior tenancies that he or she will not follow its rules. Entry requirements must be written, nondiscriminatory and applied equally to every purchaser and prospective resident. The community may not ask for more than three references, may not require a written report from a reference, and may not require personal income tax returns, though it may ask the buyer to document the amount and source of gross monthly income or means of support. A rejection must be explained in writing to the selling homeowner within 10 days, and withholding approval for a reason outside those the chapter allows exposes the community to all damages proximately resulting. A credit-report fee is credited toward the first month's rent, or refunded within 30 days if the buyer is rejected. An aggrieved resident or prospective resident may petition the director within 20 days; the hearing follows within 30 days and the decision within 15 days of its conclusion. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (p); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1 (3); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (o); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (q); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (r); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (f)(6)
Home may not be rejected for age, size or style alone No Age is an express ground: a community owner may require the removal of a home being sold whose age and condition do not meet the standards of homes in the community. The limits run the other way and are narrower. No aesthetic standard may be applied to a home if it relates to physical characteristics such as size, original construction materials or color that cannot be changed without undue hardship to the resident. The community owner carries the burden of showing a home is unsafe, unsanitary or fails the aesthetic standards, a home built to any nationally recognized building or construction code is presumed safe, and failing to meet a code may not be used as a reason to withhold approval of an on-site sale. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (f)(4); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (h); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (g)
Park may require repairs before sale Yes A resident who wants to sell must ask the community owner in writing for a statement of its intentions about the condition of the home. Within 10 days the owner must either approve the home's condition for resale or deliver a written statement specifying the ways the home is not safe, sanitary or in conformance with aesthetic standards; saying nothing for 10 days counts as approval. The owner bears the burden of proving the home falls short. On a resale or a move to a new site, the local building official will inspect on either party's request and issue a certificate of approval or of occupancy, for a fee of no more than $30. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (i); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (h); R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (j)
Right to post a For Sale sign Yes No rule or contract may take away or limit the resident's right to put for-sale signs on or in the home. The community may impose reasonable limits on size, quality and registration of signs, may require that a sign accompany a genuine effort to sell, and may require its removal once the home is off the market. No size or quality limit may reach a painted or printed sign two feet by two feet or smaller carrying no more than the words for sale, an address and a telephone number. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4 (e)

H. The eight federal lender protections — which ones Rhode Island 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. Rhode Island law requires 6 of 8. All 50 states are compared in our research study, including the 2018 federal survey baseline.

ProtectionRhode Island lawBasis
One-year renewable lease term unless there is good cause for non-renewal Required Both limbs. The lease must run for at least one year unless the resident asks in writing for less or states in writing that no written lease is wanted, a rule repeated in the notice every resident receives before occupancy, and a tenancy may be ended only on one of the six grounds listed in R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2(a). (R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-8; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2)
30-day written notice of rent increases Required A change in lot rent or in lot fees takes at least 60 days' notice before the effective date, for every community in the state, under R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3(6). (R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3)
5-day grace period for rent payments and the right to cure defaults on rent payments Required A lease may not give less than a seven-day grace period before a late charge, and the eviction section fixes the same seven-day grace, caps the late charge at 5 percent of the monthly rent, requires 30 days' notice for nonpayment and bars an action for possession where the resident pays or tenders all arrearages before the notice to quit expires. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2)
Right to sell the manufactured home without having to first relocate it out of the community Required A community owner may not deny a resident the right to sell the home while it is in the community or require its removal because of the sale, and a home that is safe, sanitary and in conformance with aesthetic standards may not be required to leave at the time of sale or foreclosure. The chapter leaves one exception, for a home whose age and condition do not meet the standards of homes in the community. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4)
Right to sell the manufactured home in place within 30 days after eviction by the community owner Not required No section gives an evicted resident a period to sell the home in place. The eviction section sets only the notice period, 60 days on most grounds and 30 for nonpayment, and the right to sell the home in the community is not tied to a termination. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-2; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4)
Right to sublease or assign the pad site lease for the unexpired term to the new buyer of the home without unreasonable restraint Required Approval of a buyer may not be withheld where the buyer can pay the rent and charges, unless the community reasonably determines from the buyer's prior tenancies that he or she will not follow its rules, and the lease section preserves a prospective resident's ability to assume the balance of the current resident's leasehold. A refused buyer or seller may petition the director within 20 days, with a hearing in 30 days and a decision in 15. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4)
Right to post "For Sale" signs that comply with the community's rules Required No rule or contract may take away or limit the right to post for-sale signs on or in the home, and no size or quality limit may reach a painted or printed sign two feet by two feet or smaller carrying the words for sale, an address and a telephone number. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4)
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 falls short. Closing the community by sale or lease takes a year's certified-mail notice to every resident. The sale notice, though, is owed only after an incorporated association has certified that it holds 51 percent of the homeowner households, and the period the chapter guarantees between that notice and a third-party sale is the 45 days allowed to sign a purchase and sale agreement, below 60. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.2; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1; R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1)

Notes and caveats

Common questions: Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island park give before raising lot rent?
60 days. A change in lot rent or in the fees associated with a lot takes at least 60 days' notice to the resident before the effective date.
Is there a limit on how much lot rent can go up in Rhode Island?
Rhode Island sets no state rule on this. Rhode Island sets no statewide ceiling on ordinary lot-rent increases.
Can a Rhode Island park owner end a lot tenancy without cause?
No — a Rhode Island park may end a lot tenancy only for a listed cause. A lot tenancy may be ended only for one of six reasons listed in the chapter, and those grounds and limits take precedence over any conflicting state statute or local ordinance.
How much notice must a Rhode Island park give before closing or changing use?
12 months. Closing a community by selling or leasing it for a use that would end it takes at least one year's written notice, by certified mail with return receipt requested, to every resident.
Does a Rhode Island park have to pay residents' relocation costs when it closes?
Yes — Rhode Island law requires a relocation payment when a park closes or changes use. A community owner that gives a discontinuance notice must pay relocation benefits to every resident entitled to that notice.
Do Rhode Island residents get a chance to buy the park when it is sold?
Yes — a right of first refusal (match the offer). The association may buy or lease the community by meeting the same price and the same terms and conditions as the offer it was notified of.
Can a Rhode Island resident sell the home in place without moving it out of the park?
Yes — a Rhode Island resident may sell the home in place. A community owner may not deny a resident the right to sell the home while it is in the community, or require the home to be removed because of the sale.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Rhode Island Mobile Home Park Laws (verified August 19, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/mobile-home-parks/rhode-island/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified).

Citations

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