Landlord Atlas

Vermont Mobile Home Park Laws

Verified August 18, 2026 All Vermont topics →

Vermont's Mobile Home Parks chapter covers land laid out for more than two mobile homes and sets three headline rules: lot rent may rise only on 60 days' written notice given on the State's own form to the residents and to the Commissioner of Housing and Community Development, a park may close only on 18 months' notice, and a lot tenancy may be ended only for nonpayment, a substantial lease violation, a change of use, or termination of the park.

Cited to 10 V.S.A. chapter 153 (Mobile Home Parks), §§ 6201-6266 and 23 more sources · Verified August 18, 2026

There is no ceiling on lot rent. Instead an increase above a percentage the Department publishes each year, 5.00 percent for increases effective in 2026, can be taken to state-paid mediation on a petition by a majority of the affected leaseholders, where the park owner carries the burden of showing the increase is reasonable, and from there to a Superior Court action to abate an increase that is clearly excessive. If the owner fails to notify either the leaseholders or the Commissioner, the increase is ineffective and unenforceable. Before selling, a park owner must tell every home owner and the Commissioner in writing, may not finally accept an offer for 45 days, and must then negotiate in good faith for a further 120 days if a majority of the home owners give notice that they intend to consider buying; residents get an opportunity to negotiate rather than a right to match another buyer's offer, and selling without complying costs the owner $10,000 or half the gain, whichever is greater.

Governing actMobile Home Parks — 10 V.S.A. §§ 6201–6266
Federal lender protections already required by state law4 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 Vermont 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 Vermont law Source
State agency with a role in park tenancies The Department of Housing and Community Development, acting through its Commissioner, with the Attorney General and State's Attorneys able to enforce a violation as a consumer protection violation. A park owner who fails to comply with the chapter violates Vermont's consumer protection law. The Department may impose an administrative penalty of up to $5,000 per violation, bring a civil action for damages or an injunction, or refer the matter to the Attorney General or a State's Attorney. The Commissioner is also a party to routine park events: lot rent increase notices, closure notices and notices of intent to sell are all filed with the Commissioner, the Department runs and pays for lot rent mediation, and every park registers with the Department each year. 10 V.S.A. § 6205 (a)-(b); 10 V.S.A. § 6201 (8), (11); 10 V.S.A. § 6254 (a)
Resident may sue under the act Yes A leaseholder may sue a park owner for a violation of sections 6236 through 6243, but only after giving the owner written notice of the violation by certified mail at least 30 days before filing. Separate actions exist for an illegal eviction, for retaliation, for a breach of the warranty of habitability, and, for a majority of affected leaseholders, for abatement of a lot rent increase. 10 V.S.A. § 6205 (c)(1), (c)(3); 10 V.S.A. § 6246 (a); 10 V.S.A. § 6247 (b)
Minimum park size for the act to apply (lots) 3 lots A mobile home park is land under single or common ownership or control that contains, or is laid out to accommodate, more than two mobile homes, so the chapter reaches parks of three or more. Land used only to store or display homes is excluded, as is a parcel used solely on a seasonal basis for vacation or recreational homes. 10 V.S.A. § 6201 (2)
Other size thresholds that switch rules on
  • 4 lots — An agricultural employer's parcel providing up to four mobile homes to full-time workers as a benefit or condition of employment is not a mobile home park.
  • 2 lots — A park closed under the closure section that keeps no more than two occupied leased lots must obtain all required State permits before occupancy again exceeds two lots.
Both lines sit at the edge of the definition rather than switching individual rules on or off. 		10 V.S.A. § 6201 (2); 10 V.S.A. § 6231 (c)
Park-owned rental homes Partly covered by this act The chapter defines a leaseholder to include a resident lawfully occupying a mobile home owned by the park owner, so the chapter's protections reach residents of park-owned homes. Vermont's residential rental agreements law also applies to the occupancy and rental of a mobile home, and eviction of a resident by a home owner who is not the park owner is governed by the general residential eviction statute rather than by this chapter. 10 V.S.A. § 6201 (5); 10 V.S.A. § 6204 (c); 10 V.S.A. § 6237 (d)
RVs and park-model homes Excluded The chapter does not apply to the rental or use of campsites occupied for vacation or recreational purposes by camping units, and the list of excluded units names motor homes, folding camping trailers, travel trailers, fifth wheel trailers, truck campers, van campers and conversion vehicles, along with tents, yurts, tepees, lean-tos and camping cabins. Land used solely on a seasonal basis for vacation or recreational mobile homes is also outside the park definition. 10 V.S.A. § 6204 (f); 10 V.S.A. § 6201 (2)
Local rent regulation of park lots Authorized by state law; no local ordinance identified The chapter contains no preemption clause. It says a municipality may impose more restrictive requirements on mobile home parks and mobile homes than the chapter contains, to the extent the municipality is authorized to do so under other legislation, and that more restrictive other laws and rules prevail. The chapter separately allows municipalities to adopt supplemental lot security deposit ordinances. Because the permission is conditional, a Vermont municipality wanting to limit park lot rent would need that separate authority; the statute listing municipal ordinance powers does not include rent regulation, and no Vermont municipality is known to set park lot rents. 10 V.S.A. § 6204 (a)-(b); 10 V.S.A. § 6244 (g); 24 V.S.A. § 2291

B. Lot rent, fees and utilities

Rule Vermont law Source
Notice before a lot-rent increase 60 days Written notice of any lot rent increase must go to the Commissioner and to every affected leaseholder no later than 60 days before the effective date, and it must be given on the form the Department provides. The notice must state the amount of the increase, the effective date, the percentage increase from the current base lot rent, a copy of the leaseholder's rights, and, where a capital improvement surcharge is included, the estimated cost of the improvements and the surcharge's duration in 12-month increments. If the owner fails to notify either the leaseholders or the Commissioner, the proposed increase is ineffective and unenforceable. 10 V.S.A. § 6251 (a), (c); 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (c)
How often rent may be raised A lease provision governing rent and utility charges must stay in effect for at least one year, so lot rent generally rises no more than once in twelve months. Two exceptions run the other way. A new leaseholder in a park with a uniform rent schedule affecting all lots at once may be given an initial lease that states the coming increase. And rent and utility charges may rise within a year if the park's operating expenses go up by 20 percent or more that year because of legislative action that could not have been anticipated, and then only to the extent needed to cover that rise. Rent increase notices may not be given in the six months before a closure notice or while a closure notice is in effect. Proprietary leases in limited equity housing cooperatives are outside this rule. 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (c)
Statewide limit on lot-rent increases No state rule Vermont sets no ceiling on lot rent. The sections that would carry one regulate the notice, the form, the frequency and the challenge instead. The one percentage figure in the chapter is the annual threshold above which an increase can be taken to mediation, and the court's later test of whether an increase is clearly excessive is applied case by case rather than as a limit set in advance. 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (c); 10 V.S.A. § 6253 (c)
How a resident can challenge an increase A majority of the affected leaseholders may petition for mediation of any increase above a percentage the Department publishes each year, and if mediation does not settle it they may ask the Superior Court to abate the increase. The mediation threshold is one percentage point above the annual change in the housing component of the U.S. Consumer Price Index for the twelve months ending in August, published by the Department after the first business day in October for increases effective the following calendar year. For increases effective in 2026 the threshold is 5.00 percent. The petition goes to the Commissioner and the park owner within 15 business days. The parties pick a mediator from the Department's roster within five business days or the Commissioner appoints one, and the Department pays the mediator. The park owner carries the burden of producing information showing the proposed increase is reasonable, must supply supporting documents five days before the first session, and mediation must finish at least 10 days before the effective date. A majority of leaseholders may then file in the Superior Court within 30 days after the effective date claiming the increase is clearly excessive, meaning unreasonable in light of the owner's total reasonable or documented expenses, debt service and a reasonable return on investment measured against comparable investments. Leaseholders pay the increase while the case runs and the owner pays the disputed portion into court; the court may abate the increase in whole or in part, and the Commissioner may provide legal representation. An increase that resulted from a completed park sale, was a condition of a bona fide purchase and sales agreement, and was noticed at least six months ahead is exempt from the court action. 10 V.S.A. § 6252 (a)-(c); 10 V.S.A. § 6253 (a)-(g); Housing Division Rules Part II (lot rent disputes), Code Vt. R. 11-020-002 § 4; Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development, 2026 Lot Rent Increase Notice and Worksheet
Entrance fee prohibited Yes A prospective leaseholder or other person may not be charged an entrance fee for the privilege of leasing or occupying a lot. A reasonable charge for the fair value of services in placing a home on a lot is not an entrance fee. One narrow exception: a limited equity cooperative, or a 501(c)(3) organization or its wholly owned subsidiary organized to preserve housing for low income families, may charge an initial lessee of an eligible site a site improvement fee of up to $8,000 covering site clearing, grading, the home pad, utility improvements and municipal fees, and an owner who collects it may not terminate or change the site's use without first offering to sell the park to the home owners. 10 V.S.A. § 6238 (a)-(b)
Exit or removal fee prohibited No state rule The chapter's charges and fees section prohibits only an entrance fee; no provision addresses an exit, removal or transfer fee. What limits charges instead is the lease rule that no charge other than a properly disclosed charge for rent, utilities or other reasonable incidental services may be imposed or collected. 10 V.S.A. § 6238 (a); 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (e)(1)
Undisclosed fees uncollectible Yes Every lease must state the rental and utility charges and any other reasonable incidental service charges, and no charge other than a properly disclosed charge for rent, utilities or other reasonable incidental services may be imposed or collected. 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (e)(1)
Utility billing rules Utility charges must be stated in the lease, may not be raised more than once a year in the ordinary case, and the park owner must deliver adequate and reliable service to each lot and may not willfully cut it off. The park owner's warranty of habitability requires adequate and reliable utility services, including safe electrical service, potable water and sewage disposal, to a point on each lot from which they can be connected to the home. A lease provision governing rent and utility charges holds for at least one year. No charge other than a properly disclosed utility charge may be collected. A park owner may not willfully cause the interruption or termination of any utility service to a home except for temporary interruptions for necessary repairs. 10 V.S.A. § 6262 (a); 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (c), (e)(1); 10 V.S.A. § 6245 (a)
Submetering required or regulated No state rule Neither the lease terms section, the charges and fees section, nor the park owner obligations section mentions meters, submetering or a rate at which a park owner may resell a utility. The owner's duty runs only to delivering service to a connection point on each lot, and what the resident pays is the disclosed utility charge in the lease. 10 V.S.A. § 6262 (a); 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (e)(1)
Lot security deposit rules A lot security deposit must be returned with an itemized statement within 14 days after the tenancy ends, and a willful failure costs the park owner double the amount wrongfully withheld plus fees. A security deposit is any advance, deposit or prepaid rent refundable at the end of the occupancy. The owner may keep it for unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid utilities or charges owed the owner, and the cost of removing abandoned items. The 14 days run from removal of the home, execution of a bill of sale or a writ of possession, and the deposit must be hand delivered or mailed to the last known address. Failing to comply forfeits the right to withhold anything, and a willful failure costs double the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Deposits pass to a new owner when the park is sold. Municipalities may adopt supplemental ordinances, including ones requiring interest or sending disputes to a local housing board. The chapter sets no limit on the size of the deposit. 10 V.S.A. § 6244 (a)-(g)

C. Lease, rules and disclosure

Rule Vermont law Source
Written lease Required All terms governing the use and occupancy of a lot must be in a written lease, the owner must promulgate reasonable and fair terms and give each leaseholder an initial copy, and a prospective leaseholder must get the proposed lease before agreeing to occupy. Any term that obstructs a leaseholder's ability to act under the chapter is unenforceable, as is any term not uniformly applied to leaseholders of the same or a similar category, except that a different lot rent rate is allowed for a park, or for new lots in an expanded park, built after June 1, 1995. On request the owner must give a leaseholder a copy of the current lease for the lot. 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (a), (c), (f)
Minimum lease term that must be offered No state rule The lease terms section prescribes what a lease must contain, not how long a term the park owner must offer. The nearest rule fixes the rent and utility provisions for at least a year, which sets the price for twelve months rather than the length of the tenancy. Security of tenure comes instead from the rule that a leaseholder may be evicted only on the statutory grounds, whatever the lease's end date. 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (c); 10 V.S.A. § 6237 (a)
Notice to end a tenancy without cause No state rule Termination is available only on the statutory grounds, so there is no way to end a lot tenancy without cause and no notice period for doing so. A sale or a change in the form of ownership of the park is expressly not a ground for eviction. 10 V.S.A. § 6237 (a), (c)
Notice before park rules change 30 days A copy of all new lease terms must reach every leaseholder at least 30 days before any amendment, addition or deletion takes effect. Because all terms governing the use and occupancy of a lot must be in the written lease, park rules are lease terms and change on this notice. A changed term must still be reasonable, fair and uniformly applied, and may not obstruct a leaseholder's ability to act under the chapter. 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (f); 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (a)
Disclosure document A disclosure document with state-prescribed contents Where any lot in the park is wholly or partly in a flood hazard area on the effective flood insurance rate map, the lease must carry a clear and conspicuous flood hazard notice, in a separate document substantially in the form the Department of Housing and Community Development prescribes, attached as an addendum to the proposed lease; the Department develops the model form. The lease itself must also state the charges, the park owners' names and addresses, the two non-discrimination notices, the requirement to get permission before selling a home or assigning a lot lease, the notice a leaseholder must give to end the lease, and an effective date. Separately, a lot rent increase must be noticed on the Department's own form. 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (e)(8); 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (e)(1)-(7); 10 V.S.A. § 6251 (a)
Residents' right to meet and organize Yes A park owner may not change rental agreement terms, or bring or threaten an action, against a resident who has organized or become a member of a residents' association or similar organization, and a resident who suffers retaliation may recover damages and reasonable attorney's fees. A lease term that obstructs a leaseholder's ability to act under the chapter is unenforceable, and a park owner may not restrict Department representatives' access to leaseholders. The protection works through the retaliation ban and the lease rule rather than through a separately worded right to hold meetings. 10 V.S.A. § 6247 (a)(2)(C), (b); 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (a)
Owner entry onto the lot or into the home A park owner may enter a lot with the resident's consent, which may not be unreasonably withheld, or between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on at least 12 hours' notice for listed purposes. The listed purposes are inspecting the premises, making necessary or agreed repairs, alterations or improvements, supplying agreed services, and showing the lot to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, residents, workers or contractors. An owner may enter without notice or permission where repairs already under way in the park unforeseeably require it, after trying to reach the resident by any telephone number held and in person at the home. An owner may enter the home or the lot without notice or permission when there is a reasonable belief of a likelihood of imminent injury to a person, damage to property or interruption of utility services. 10 V.S.A. § 6241 (a)-(d)
Retaliation prohibited Yes A park owner may not establish or change rental agreement terms, or bring or threaten an action, against a resident who has complained in writing to a government agency about a building, housing or health violation materially affecting health and safety, complained in writing to the park owner about a violation of the chapter, or organized or joined a residents' association. The resident may recover damages and reasonable attorney's fees and may raise the conduct as a defense to a possession action. 10 V.S.A. § 6247 (a)-(b)

D. Termination and eviction

Rule Vermont law Source
Just cause required to end a tenancy Yes A leaseholder may be evicted only for nonpayment of rent, a substantial violation of the park's lease terms, a change in use of the park land or part of it, or termination of the park, and only by the chapter's procedure. Self-help eviction is barred. A leaseholder may not be evicted where the lease terms in question are not enforced against other leaseholders or others on the park premises, and a sale or change in the form of ownership is not a ground. 10 V.S.A. § 6237 (a)-(c)
Grounds for termination
  • Nonpayment of lot rent.
  • A substantial violation of the park's lease terms.
  • A change in use of the park land or part of it.
  • Termination of the mobile home park.
  • Selling, leasing or subleasing a home, or subleasing or assigning a lot lease, without the park owner's written approval.
  • A resident's breach of the use and maintenance obligations the chapter places on residents.
The first four grounds are the ones the eviction section lists. The last two are treated as grounds by other sections of the chapter: the lease terms section makes an unapproved sale or assignment a ground, and the resident obligations section makes a breach of those duties a ground for termination under the eviction section. A criminal-activity case must be filed no later than 60 days after arraignment, and any other lease violation within 60 days of the last alleged violation. 		10 V.S.A. § 6237 (a), (a)(4); 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (d); 10 V.S.A. § 6261 (e)
Notice for nonpayment of lot rent 20 days Before starting any eviction proceeding the park owner must notify the leaseholder by certified or registered mail of the grounds and state that a proceeding may begin if the overdue rent is not paid within 20 days from the date the notice was mailed. The 20 days run from mailing rather than from receipt. 10 V.S.A. § 6237 (a)(2)(B)
Notice for a rule or lease violation No state rule The notice provision sets a day count only for overdue rent. For a lease or rule violation the park owner must still mail written notice of the grounds before starting a proceeding, but the chapter gives no cure period. What limits the owner instead is a filing deadline: a lease violation other than uncured nonpayment cannot support a judgment unless the proceeding starts within 60 days of the last alleged violation, or within 60 days after arraignment where the violation is criminal activity. Vermont's general residential rental agreements law, which carries the ordinary notice periods, applies to the rental and occupancy of a home rather than of a lot; only the court eviction procedure applies to a lot rental. 10 V.S.A. § 6237 (a)(2), (a)(4); 10 V.S.A. § 6204 (c)
Repeat-violation rule A substantial lease violation, or another nonpayment of rent, within six months of the first notice may lead to immediate eviction proceedings. The six months run from the giving of the notice of grounds, and the effect is that the 20-day cure for overdue rent is not repeated. The 60-day filing deadlines still apply to lease violations and to criminal-activity cases. 10 V.S.A. § 6237 (a)(3)
Time to sell or remove the home after termination 90 days An eviction judgment must give the leaseholder three months from the date the writ of possession is executed to sell the home or move it out of the park, or another period the court sets in its discretion. The statute states three months rather than a number of days; 90 is the day equivalent recorded here for comparison. The leaseholder stays responsible for lot rent accruing until the home is sold or removed, and a home not sold or removed within those three months may be treated as abandoned. 10 V.S.A. § 6237 (e), (f); 10 V.S.A. § 6248 (a)(2)
Abandoned-home procedure Yes A home is abandoned when a reasonable person would believe it is not occupied as a residence, lot rent is at least 30 days delinquent, and the park owner has tried to reach the owner at the home, at the last known employment and at the last known mailing address without success; or when the owner was evicted and did not sell or remove the home within three months after the writ was executed. The park owner then files a verified complaint in the Superior Court; the hearing is held at least 15 days and no more than 30 days after filing, with the complaint posted on the home, mailed by certified mail to the home owner, the last resident, every listed interest holder and the town clerk, and published in a local newspaper at least five days before the hearing. A lien holder who pays the rent due and starts enforcement can stay the case. If the owner proves ownership, abandonment, the sums due and compliance with the notices, the court orders a public auction within 15 days at a minimum bid it sets, and the proceeds are distributed to the sale conductor, then the park owner for court, publication and attorney's fees, then rent and charges, then the town for taxes, with the balance held in trust for the home owner and lien holders. A home proved unfit for human habitation against six listed criteria may instead be transferred to the park owner without a sale. Where property taxes are delinquent, the town clerk and tax collector get at least 20 days' certified-mail notice first. 10 V.S.A. § 6248 (a)-(b); 10 V.S.A. § 6249 (a)-(j)
Mediation or dispute-resolution requirement Mediation is required for lot rent increases above the annual threshold once a majority of the affected leaseholders petition, and the Department pays the mediator. The Department supplies a roster of qualified mediators, the parties must agree on one within five business days or the Commissioner appoints one, and the park owner must produce the information supporting the increase five days before the first session and carries the burden of showing the increase is reasonable. Sessions must be held in the period ending 10 days before the effective date, and the mediator's report is not admissible and the mediator may not testify in a later action about the increase. The chapter requires no mediation for evictions, closures or park sales. 10 V.S.A. § 6252 (a)-(c)

E. Closure and change of use

Rule Vermont law Source
Notice before closure or change of use 18 months At least 18 months before a closure of a park, or of any lot, that will evict a resident or leaseholder or force removal of a home, the park owner must give notice of the closure by certified mail to each affected resident or leaseholder and to the Commissioner. On request the Commissioner may waive some or all of the 18 months where closure is necessary for the health, safety or welfare of park residents. During the 18 months no eviction may be started except for nonpayment of rent or a substantial lease violation. The owner may bring a possession action when the 18-month notice expires, and the only defense to that action is improper notice. 10 V.S.A. § 6237a (a), (f)
Variants (by trigger or park size)
  • Closure of a park or of any lot that will evict a resident or leaseholder or force removal of a home: 18 months (Certified mail to each affected resident or leaseholder and to the Commissioner. Only nonpayment and substantial lease violations may be pursued as evictions during the period).
  • Closure necessary for the health, safety or welfare of park residents: Less than 18 months, at the Commissioner's discretion (The park owner must request the waiver; the Commissioner may waive some or all of the notice period).
  • Closure by an owner who has not first given the residents notice of an intent to sell: 18 months, plus a five-year hold on the land (The owner must keep the land for five years after the closure notice and, where required, record that restriction in the municipal land records. Selling within five years without having complied makes the owner liable to the State for $10,000 or 50 percent of the gain, whichever is greater. The Commissioner may grant relief where strict compliance would be an undue hardship).
  • Closure preceded by a notice of intent to sell: No closure notice until 45 days after the notice of intent to sell (Where the residents pursued a purchase, the closure notice also waits until the Commissioner is told negotiations have ended. A later notice of intent to sell voids any earlier closure notice and any evictions started under it).
Rent increases are frozen around a closure: an increase notice may not be given in the six months before a closure notice or while one is in effect, and every increase received in that six months must be returned to the affected leaseholders within seven days of the closure notice, unless the Commissioner finds the increase is needed to help remedy an emergency affecting residents' health, safety or welfare. 		10 V.S.A. § 6237a (a)-(f); 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (c)
Relocation payment required Yes Vermont requires no payment on an ordinary closure. Two defined situations do carry one. Where a park owner starts a closure within one year of receiving a state or municipal notice of a health, safety or environmental violation, or of a breach of the park owner's habitability duties, the Commissioner may require the owner to pay each affected leaseholder reasonable relocation costs of up to $3,500. And where a lot or a rented home is condemned because the owner willfully failed or refused to meet an obligation imposed by law, the owner must provide for the affected leaseholders' and residents' reasonable relocation costs, which they may recover along with court costs and reasonable attorney fees. Both are excused where the owner shows no financial capacity to comply. 10 V.S.A. § 6265 (a)-(b)
Relocation amounts
  • Closure begun within a year of a violation notice: Reasonable relocation costs up to $3,500.00 for each affected leaseholder — Paid by the park owner if the Commissioner requires it; not owed where the owner shows no financial capacity to comply.
  • Condemnation caused by the owner's willful noncompliance: Reasonable relocation costs, plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees if the resident has to sue — Paid by the owner of the lot or rented home; not owed where the owner shows no financial capacity to comply.
Neither figure is indexed. Vermont has no state fund that pays relocation; the Mobile Home Park Fund that the registration section creates pays for mediation and for legal representation of leaseholders, not for moving homes. 		10 V.S.A. § 6265 (a)-(b); 10 V.S.A. § 6254 (c)
Who pays relocation The park owner Both relocation payments are owed by the park owner, or by the owner of the lot or rented home in the condemnation case. No state fund contributes. 10 V.S.A. § 6265 (a)-(b)
Notice to a government body on closure Yes The closure notice goes to the Commissioner of Housing and Community Development by certified mail at the same time it goes to the affected residents and leaseholders. Where an owner closes without having first offered the park for sale, the five-year restriction on selling the land must, where required, be recorded in the land records of the municipality where the park sits. 10 V.S.A. § 6237a (a)-(b)

F. Sale of the park

Rule Vermont law Source
Residents must be told the park is for sale Yes A park owner must give each mobile home owner and the Commissioner of Housing and Community Development notice of an intention to sell the park, by certified mail with return receipt requested. Where delivery is refused or not possible, first-class mail to the last known address is enough. 10 V.S.A. § 6242 (a)
What triggers the notice The park owner's intention to sell the park. The notice starts a 45-day period during which the owner may not make a final unconditional acceptance of any purchase offer. The notice must state that the owner intends to sell; the price, terms and conditions on offer; a list of the affected home owners and the number of leaseholds each holds; the owner's compliance with applicable statutes, rules and permits and the reasons for any noncompliance; and the 45-day and further 120-day restrictions on accepting an offer. The notice stays good for one year after the 45 days end, or until a binding agreement with a resident group or approved nonprofit completes or expires, whichever comes first. A fresh notice is needed before the owner offers or accepts a price 5 percent or more below the noticed price, or less than 5 percent above the group's or nonprofit's final written offer. 10 V.S.A. § 6242 (a)(1)-(5), (f)
Residents' purchase right Notice plus an opportunity to negotiate a purchase Home owners have 45 days after the notice to decide whether to consider buying the park through a group representing a majority of them or through a nonprofit corporation a majority approves, and the owner may not accept a final unconditional offer during those 45 days. If a majority give notice that they intend to consider a purchase, the owner must refuse final unconditional outside offers for a further 120 days, 165 days in all, negotiate in good faith with the group or nonprofit, and consider their offers. Good faith is defined as honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable standards and fair dealing, with each side responding promptly and fairly to the other's offers, and the residents' side owes the same duty. There is no right to match a third party's offer, so this is an opportunity to negotiate rather than a right of first refusal. 10 V.S.A. § 6242 (b)-(c), (g); 10 V.S.A. § 6201 (9)
Time for residents to respond 45 days The 45 days run from the notice of intent to sell. Giving notice within them that a majority intend to consider a purchase adds 120 days during which the owner may not finally accept an outside offer. 10 V.S.A. § 6242 (b)-(c)
Resident-association threshold 50% A majority of the mobile home owners is required, counted as one vote per leasehold, and no single home owner may hold more than three votes or 30 percent of the aggregate park vote, whichever is less. A majority means more than 50 percent of the leasehold votes. 10 V.S.A. § 6242 (b)
Transfers exempt from the sale rules
  • A sale through foreclosure.
  • A transfer to a member of the park owner's family, or to a trust for the sole benefit of family members.
  • A transfer among the partners who own the park.
  • A transfer incidental to financing the park.
  • A transfer between joint tenants or tenants in common.
  • A taking by eminent domain.
  • A municipal tax sale.
Where the sale, transfer or conveyance is any one or more of these, the notice and negotiation rules do not apply. 		10 V.S.A. § 6242 (e)
Residents may assign the right to a nonprofit or municipality Yes The purchase may be pursued through a nonprofit corporation that a majority of the home owners approve, as well as through a group representing a majority of them. A seller who transfers the park land in a single purchase to such a group, or to a nonprofit representing one, may claim a Vermont income tax credit of 7 percent of the gain subject to federal income tax for the year, with a three-year carryforward. The chapter does not name a municipality as an eligible buyer. 10 V.S.A. § 6242 (b); 32 V.S.A. § 5828
Penalty for violating the sale rules An owner who sells without complying owes the mobile home owners $10,000 or 50 percent of the gain realized on the sale, whichever is greater. A sale, an offer to sell, or an attempt to sell without complying is also subject to the chapter's enforcement remedies, including actual and punitive damages. A related penalty applies on the closure side: an owner who sells the park within five years of a closure notice without having first offered it for sale owes the same measure, $10,000 or 50 percent of the gain, whichever is greater, to the State. 10 V.S.A. § 6242 (d); 10 V.S.A. § 6237a (e)

G. The resident's home

Rule Vermont law Source
Right to sell the home in place Yes A purchaser or prospective purchaser of a home located in a park may not be refused entrance except for the inability of the purchaser and the purchaser's household to meet the terms of the proposed lease or to qualify under a valid admission policy of the park, and an approved purchaser must be offered a written lease. The park owner's approval of a sale may not be unreasonably withheld. The seller must give the park owner the prospective purchaser's name and mailing address by certified mail beforehand, but a failure to do so is not a ground to deny the purchaser's application. After an eviction judgment the leaseholder still has three months from execution of the writ to sell the home rather than move it. 10 V.S.A. § 6240 (a)-(b); 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (d); 10 V.S.A. § 6237 (e)
Park may not take a commission on the sale Yes A park owner may not charge or collect any commission on the sale of a home located in the park, unless the park owner is the one who contracts to sell the home. 10 V.S.A. § 6240 (c)
Park may screen the buyer Yes No one may sell, lease or sublease a home, or sublease or assign a lot lease, without first getting the park owner's written approval, and a breach is a ground for eviction. The approval power is bounded: it may not be unreasonably withheld, and entrance may be refused only on the two grounds the chapter lists. 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (d); 10 V.S.A. § 6240 (b)
Buyer-approval standard and deadline Approval may not be unreasonably withheld, and entrance may be refused only for the inability of the purchaser and the purchaser's household to meet the terms of the proposed lease or to qualify under a valid admission policy of the park. The lease must carry the chapter's non-discrimination notices, including the bar on discriminating because of the presence of minor children or because of age except as Vermont's fair housing law allows, with any age restriction and the parts of the park it covers set out in the lease. A purchaser who does not object in writing to the lease terms before occupying is treated as having accepted the lease. The chapter sets no deadline for the park owner to answer an application. 10 V.S.A. § 6240 (b); 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (d), (e)(3)-(4)
Home may not be rejected for age, size or style alone No state rule The sale section's only limit is about the purchaser, not the home, and nothing in the chapter bars a park from refusing a home because of its age, size or style. The chapter points the other way: a lease term requiring removal of a home that is detrimental to other residents for health, safety or aesthetic reasons is expressly not unreasonable or unfair. What governs instead is the park's own lease terms, which must be reasonable, fair and uniformly applied to leaseholders of the same or a similar category. 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (b); 10 V.S.A. § 6240 (b)
Park may require repairs before sale No state rule Neither the section on selling a home located in a park nor the lease terms section addresses repairs or upgrades demanded as a condition of a sale or of a buyer's entry. The chapter neither authorizes nor forbids such a demand; the lease terms govern, and they must be reasonable, fair and uniformly applied. 10 V.S.A. § 6240; 10 V.S.A. § 6236 (a)-(b)
Right to post a For Sale sign No state rule No provision in the chapter mentions signs. The sections on selling a home in a park and on goods and services are the ones that would carry the rule and do not; the goods and services section protects only a leaseholder's choice of vendors. Sign placement is left to the park's lease terms, which must be reasonable, fair and uniformly applied. 10 V.S.A. § 6240; 10 V.S.A. § 6239

H. The eight federal lender protections — which ones Vermont 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. Vermont law requires 4 of 8. All 50 states are compared in our research study, including the 2018 federal survey baseline.

ProtectionVermont lawBasis
One-year renewable lease term unless there is good cause for non-renewal Partly A lot tenancy may be ended only for nonpayment, a substantial lease violation, a change of use or termination of the park, so it cannot be ended without cause when a lease expires; but Vermont sets no minimum lease term and does not require a one-year term to be offered, so the tenure half of the protection is met and the one-year-term half is not. (10 V.S.A. § 6237; 10 V.S.A. § 6236)
30-day written notice of rent increases Required At least 60 days' written notice of a lot rent increase, on the Department's form, to the leaseholders and to the Commissioner. (10 V.S.A. § 6251; 10 V.S.A. § 6236)
5-day grace period for rent payments and the right to cure defaults on rent payments Partly The right to cure is there: no eviction proceeding may begin unless the leaseholder fails to pay the overdue rent within 20 days from the mailing of the notice of grounds, though an additional nonpayment within six months of that notice may lead to immediate proceedings. The chapter sets no grace period before a late charge may be added, so the five-day-grace half of the protection is not met by statute. (10 V.S.A. § 6237)
Right to sell the manufactured home without having to first relocate it out of the community Required A purchaser may be refused entrance only for inability to meet the proposed lease terms or to qualify under a valid admission policy, the park owner's approval of a sale may not be unreasonably withheld, and no commission may be charged. (10 V.S.A. § 6240; 10 V.S.A. § 6236)
Right to sell the manufactured home in place within 30 days after eviction by the community owner Required An eviction judgment must allow three months from execution of the writ of possession to sell the home or remove it, which exceeds 30 days. (10 V.S.A. § 6237)
Right to sublease or assign the pad site lease for the unexpired term to the new buyer of the home without unreasonable restraint Required A lot lease may not be subleased or assigned without the park owner's written approval, which may not be unreasonably withheld. (10 V.S.A. § 6236)
Right to post "For Sale" signs that comply with the community's rules Not required The chapter says nothing about signs; the sections on selling a home in a park and on goods and services do not reach them, so sign rules are left to the lease. (10 V.S.A. § 6240; 10 V.S.A. § 6239)
Right to receive at least 60 days' notice of a planned sale or closure of the community Partly Closure notice is 18 months, far beyond 60 days, but on a sale the owner must give notice of the intention to sell and then hold off a final unconditional acceptance for 45 days rather than 60. (10 V.S.A. § 6237a; 10 V.S.A. § 6242)

Notes and caveats

Common questions: Vermont 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 Vermont park give before raising lot rent?
60 days. Written notice of any lot rent increase must go to the Commissioner and to every affected leaseholder no later than 60 days before the effective date, and it must be given on the form the Department provides.
Is there a limit on how much lot rent can go up in Vermont?
Vermont sets no state rule on this. Vermont sets no ceiling on lot rent.
Can a Vermont park owner end a lot tenancy without cause?
No — a Vermont park may end a lot tenancy only for a listed cause. A leaseholder may be evicted only for nonpayment of rent, a substantial violation of the park's lease terms, a change in use of the park land or part of it, or termination of the park, and only by the chapter's procedure.
How much notice must a Vermont park give before closing or changing use?
18 months. At least 18 months before a closure of a park, or of any lot, that will evict a resident or leaseholder or force removal of a home, the park owner must give notice of the closure by certified mail to each affected resident or leaseholder and to the Commissioner.
Does a Vermont park have to pay residents' relocation costs when it closes?
Yes — Vermont law requires a relocation payment when a park closes or changes use. Vermont requires no payment on an ordinary closure.
Do Vermont residents get a chance to buy the park when it is sold?
Yes — notice plus an opportunity to negotiate a purchase. Home owners have 45 days after the notice to decide whether to consider buying the park through a group representing a majority of them or through a nonprofit corporation a majority approves, and the owner may not accept a final unconditional offer during those 45 days.
Can a Vermont resident sell the home in place without moving it out of the park?
Yes — a Vermont resident may sell the home in place. A purchaser or prospective purchaser of a home located in a park may not be refused entrance except for the inability of the purchaser and the purchaser's household to meet the terms of the proposed lease or to qualify under a valid admission policy of the park, and an approved purchaser must be offered a written lease.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Vermont Mobile Home Park Laws (verified August 18, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/mobile-home-parks/vermont/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified).

Citations

Every row above links the section it rests on. This topic covers all 50 states; the topic hub compares them side by side.