Landlord Atlas

Washington Mobile Home Park Laws

Verified August 18, 2026 All Washington topics →

Washington's Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act, RCW chapter 59.20, governs the tenancy of a resident who owns the home and rents the lot beneath it in a community of two or more homes, and it is one of the most detailed such acts in the country: lot rent may not rise by more than five percent in any twelve-month period and not at all during the first twelve months, an increase needs three months' written notice on a form printed in the statute, a tenancy may be ended only for one of thirteen listed grounds, and closing the community takes two years' notice unless the owner pays relocation money to shorten it to eighteen or twelve months.

Cited to RCW ch. 59.20 and 7 more sources · Verified August 18, 2026

When the community is put up for sale, residents must be told before it is marketed and again when an offer arrives, and they get a structured window to organize and make their own offer, though the owner is not required to accept it. The attorney general runs a dispute resolution program funded by an annual assessment on every home, and a separate state fund pays relocation assistance to low-income households when a community closes.

Governing actManufactured/Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act — RCW ch. 59.20
Federal lender protections already required by state law8 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 Washington 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 Washington law Source
State agency with a role in park tenancies Washington State Attorney General, through the manufactured/mobile home dispute resolution program, with the Department of Commerce on closures and relocation assistance The attorney general runs a complaint and dispute resolution program for community landlords and tenants, may investigate, may order corrective action, and may fine a landlord up to $250 per violation per day for a violation left uncorrected for fifteen business days. The Department of Commerce receives closure notices, administers the relocation fund and keeps the registry of organizations that may compete to buy a community. Communities register annually with the Department of Revenue. RCW 59.30.030; RCW 59.30.040 (5); RCW 59.21.030; RCW 59.30.050
Resident may sue under the act Yes A resident may sue under the act, and the prevailing party in any action arising out of the act is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs. On rent-increase violations a resident or the attorney general may bring the action. RCW 59.20.110; RCW 59.20.370 (4)(a); RCW 59.20.220
Minimum park size for the act to apply (lots) 2 lots A mobile home park is any real property rented or held out for rent for the placement of two or more mobile homes, manufactured homes or park models for the primary purpose of producing income. The act covers a resident who rents the lot and has no ownership interest in the property. RCW 59.20.030 definition of "mobile home park"; RCW 59.20.040
Other size thresholds that switch rules on No state rule No lot-count threshold switches any rule on or off. Every rule in the act applies once two or more lots are rented out. The one proportional threshold in the act is a share of residents rather than a count of lots: a residents' organization that wants to compete to buy the community must represent a majority of the residents based on home sites. RCW 59.20.030 definition of "mobile home park"; RCW 59.20.040; RCW 59.20.330
Park-owned rental homes Ordinary landlord-tenant law applies The act closes with the point directly: renting the home itself, as opposed to the lot beneath it, is governed by the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, chapter 59.18 RCW. RCW 59.20.040 final sentence
RVs and park-model homes Included Park models are covered outright, and a recreational vehicle is covered when it is used as a primary residence. Transient recreational-vehicle occupancy falls outside the act, with eviction governed by chapters 59.12 and 59.18 RCW. Once a closure notice has been given, a landlord may offer short-term recreational-vehicle agreements on lots that are or become vacant, and those agreements sit outside the act. RCW 59.20.080 (4); RCW 59.20.030 definitions of "park model" and "recreational vehicle"; RCW 59.20.095
Local rent regulation of park lots Preempted — local governments may not regulate lot rents State law reserves rent control to the state and bars cities, towns and counties from regulating the rent charged for residential rental structures or sites, which reaches the lot in a manufactured-home community. The exceptions are property in public ownership or under public management and low-income housing provided under a joint public-private agreement, and a local government may still agree with a private owner to limit rent. A separate provision of the act preempts local ordinances on the community-sale notice, apart from local laws already in effect before May 1, 2023. RCW 35.21.830; RCW 36.01.130; RCW 59.20.320

B. Lot rent, fees and utilities

Rule Washington law Source
Notice before a lot-rent increase 90 days The statute states the period in months: a landlord raising the rent must notify the resident in writing three months before the increase takes effect. Ninety days is the day-count equivalent recorded here, and a three-month period may run to ninety-one or ninety-two days depending on the months it spans. The notice must follow the form set out in the act, state the facts supporting any claimed exemption, and be served in the manner the act prescribes. RCW 59.20.090 (2); RCW 59.20.390; RCW 59.20.370 (2)
How often rent may be raised No increase during the first twelve months of a tenancy, and no more than one increase in any twelve-month period. Two rules combine. A rental agreement may not let the landlord change the rent due date or raise the rent during the term of an agreement shorter than two years, or more often than annually where the initial term is two years or more. Separately, rent may not be raised at all during the first twelve months after the tenancy begins, and the five percent limit runs against any twelve-month period of the tenancy. RCW 59.20.060 (2)(c); RCW 59.20.370 (1)
Statewide limit on lot-rent increases
  • Flat percentage cap on lot rent: 5 percent.
  • Base: any 12-month period of the tenancy, with no increase at all during the first 12 months after the tenancy begins.
  • Exemptions: Lots owned by a public housing authority, a public development authority, or a nonprofit whose maximum rents are set by other affordable-housing requirements; a qualified low-income housing development owned by one of those; the first twelve months after a community is bought by an eligible organization whose mission aligns with long-term preservation and affordability, to the extent needed to cover the purchase cost and approved by a majority of the home owners; and a one-time increase at the first renewal after a rental agreement is transferred with the sale of a home.
  • No sunset.
Washington's lot-rent limit is a flat five percent with no inflation component, which is a different and tighter rule than the limit for ordinary residential tenancies under chapter 59.18 RCW. It carries no expiration date, unlike the residential limit, which ends July 1, 2040. While a closure notice is outstanding, an escalation clause may not raise rent by more than one percentage point above the United States consumer price index for all urban consumers, housing component. 		RCW 59.20.370 (1); RCW 59.20.380; RCW 59.20.060 (2)(c)
How a resident can challenge an increase A resident gives the landlord a written demand to bring the increase down to the lawful amount, and may end the agreement on thirty days' notice before the increase takes effect; a resident or the attorney general may then sue. A resident who ends the agreement this way owes rent for the full month in which they move out and may not be charged a fine or fee. A court that finds a violation awards the excess rent, fees and costs paid, damages of up to three months of the unlawful rent, fees or other charges, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs. The attorney general may sue without waiting for the demand and may recover civil penalties of up to $7,500 for each violation. A landlord may not report a resident to a tenant screening service for the unlawfully increased portion of the rent. The attorney general's dispute resolution program is a further route. RCW 59.20.370 (3), (4), (6); RCW 59.30.040
Entrance fee prohibited Yes A rental agreement may not allow the landlord to charge an entrance fee. The single exception is an entrance fee charged as part of a continuing care contract. RCW 59.20.060 (2)(e)
Exit or removal fee prohibited Yes A rental agreement may not allow the landlord to charge an exit fee, and unlike the entrance-fee bar this one has no exception. Any prohibited provision written into an agreement is unenforceable. RCW 59.20.060 (2)(e), (3)
Undisclosed fees uncollectible No state rule The act requires the written agreement to state the terms for paying rent and any additional charges, and to list the utilities, services and facilities available and the nature of any fees for them. It does not take the further step of making a charge the landlord failed to disclose uncollectible. What governs instead is the disclosure duty itself and the rule that a prohibited provision is unenforceable. RCW 59.20.060 (1)(a), (1)(j), (3)
Utility billing rules A landlord may not charge a utility fee above the actual utility cost, and may not cut off a resident's utility service except for repairs of reasonable duration. The agreement must list the utilities, services and facilities available and the nature of any fees, and rent must be reduced proportionally if a utility that had been included later becomes separately charged. The landlord must keep all utilities it provides in good working condition, with responsibility divided at the point where the home's hook-ups meet the landlord's or utility company's lines. Disconnection is restricted during a heat-related alert, and a resident may ask for reconnection under a repayment plan that meets the statute. RCW 59.20.070 (6), (7); RCW 59.20.130 (6); RCW 59.20.060 (1)(j)
Submetering required or regulated No state rule The section that caps utility charges and the section that requires the agreement to list utilities and their fees both regulate what may be charged, not how a utility is measured. Neither requires individual meters or sets rules for a submetering system. Metering is left to the agreement and to the utility's own arrangements. RCW 59.20.070 (6); RCW 59.20.060 (1)(j)
Lot security deposit rules For agreements entered into on or after May 7, 2025, move-in fees and the security deposit together may not exceed one month's rent, or two months' rent where the resident has pets. A deposit may be charged only under a written rental agreement, and the agreement must state the conditions for keeping any of it. The landlord must hold the deposit in a trust account at a Washington financial institution or licensed escrow agent and give the resident a written receipt naming the depository. Within fourteen days after the resident moves out the landlord must deliver a statement of the basis for keeping any part of the deposit and refund the rest; nothing may be kept for ordinary wear. A landlord that misses the deadline owes the full refund. RCW 59.20.170 (1), (2); RCW 59.20.160; RCW 59.20.180

C. Lease, rules and disclosure

Rule Washington law Source
Written lease Required No home may be moved into a community until a written rental agreement has been signed, and the agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties. The landlord must offer a term of one year or more and may not make that term more burdensome than a month-to-month one. A resident may waive the one-year term in writing, and may demand a written one-year agreement at any anniversary date. The requirement does not apply where the community faces condemnation or where the parties are employer and employee. RCW 59.20.050 (1), (2); RCW 59.20.060 (1)
Minimum lease term that must be offered 12 months Unless the parties agree otherwise, a rental agreement runs for one year, and an agreement of whatever duration renews automatically for the term of the original agreement unless a different term is agreed. The landlord's duty is to offer a term of one year or more. RCW 59.20.090 (1); RCW 59.20.050 (1)
Notice to end a tenancy without cause No state rule There is no notice period for ending a lot tenancy without cause, because there is no route to do so. A landlord may not terminate or fail to renew a tenancy of whatever duration except for one of the grounds the act lists, each of which carries its own notice period. RCW 59.20.080 (1)
Notice before park rules change 30 days A new or amended community rule binds a resident only after thirty days' written notice. A three-month grace period then runs, during which a violation of the new rule draws a warning rather than a termination notice. RCW 59.20.045 (6)
Disclosure document A disclosure document with state-prescribed contents The act sets the wording of several documents rather than one handbook. The rental agreement must carry a warning, in bold type larger than the surrounding text and enclosed in a box above the resident's signature, that the community may be sold or transferred and closed, alongside a fifteen-item list of required contents that includes the past five years' rent charged for the lot. The rent-increase notice must follow a form printed in the statute. The closure notice must follow a form printed in the statute, and the Department of Commerce must publish it in the ten most widely spoken languages in the state. The attorney general must produce a notice summarizing residents' rights and the complaint process and require the landlord to post it in the community's common areas. RCW 59.20.060 (1)(g), (1)(o); RCW 59.20.390 (3); RCW 59.21.030; RCW 59.30.030
Residents' right to meet and organize Yes A landlord may not prohibit residents or their guests from distributing information or holding meetings within the community to discuss community living and affairs, including political forums, speeches by public officials or candidates, and meetings of organizations representing residents, in public or common areas or, with the home owner's consent, inside a home. Public officials, housing assistance organizations and candidates may not be kept from meeting residents in their homes. RCW 59.20.070 (3), (4)
Owner entry onto the lot or into the home The landlord may enter the land the home sits on to maintain utilities, to check compliance with codes, the agreement and community rules, and to protect the community, at any reasonable time or in an emergency. Entry may not be made in a manner or at a time that would interfere with the occupant's quiet enjoyment. The right runs to the lot only; the act gives the landlord no right of entry into the home itself. RCW 59.20.130 (7)
Retaliation prohibited Yes A landlord may not evict, terminate or decline to renew an agreement, raise rent or other obligations, cut services or change community rules in retaliation for a complaint, a legal action or participation in a homeowners association. Where the landlord acts within 120 days after such an act by the resident, or after a government inspection that followed one, retaliation is presumed and the landlord carries the burden of proof. Two limits: a complaint made within 120 days after notice of a rent increase is presumed not to have been made in good faith, and no presumption runs against a rent increase where the landlord states reasonable grounds in the notice. RCW 59.20.070 (5); RCW 59.20.075

D. Termination and eviction

Rule Washington law Source
Just cause required to end a tenancy Yes A landlord may not terminate or fail to renew a tenancy of whatever duration except for one or more of the thirteen grounds the act lists. Non-renewal at the end of a term is subject to the same limit as termination during one. RCW 59.20.080 (1)
Grounds for termination
  • Substantial violation, or repeated or periodic violations, of an enforceable community rule or of the resident duties the act imposes.
  • Nonpayment or late payment of rent or other charges specified in the rental agreement.
  • Conviction of a crime that threatens the health, safety or welfare of other residents.
  • Failure to comply with local ordinances and state laws relating to mobile, manufactured or park model homes, after notice from a government agency.
  • Change of land use of the community, including closure or conversion to another use.
  • Criminal activity that threatens the health, safety or welfare of other residents, including a requirement to register as a sex offender.
  • A material misstatement in the tenancy application that induced approval, acted on within one year of the resident starting to pay rent.
  • Three valid twenty-day notices to comply or vacate served within a twelve-month period, other than for late rent.
  • Failure to comply with municipal, county and state codes, statutes, ordinances and regulations, including the act itself.
  • Disorderly or substantially annoying conduct on the premises that destroys other residents' peaceful enjoyment and use.
  • Creating a nuisance that materially affects the health, safety and welfare of other residents.
  • Any other substantial just cause that materially affects the health, safety and welfare of other residents.
  • Failure to pay rent by the due date three or more times in a twelve-month period, after service of a fourteen-day notice to comply or vacate.
Notice periods differ by ground: twenty days for a community-rule violation, fourteen days for nonpayment, fifteen days for a qualifying conviction, a code violation, disorderly conduct or other substantial just cause, and five days for a nuisance. Where the violation follows a material change in the rules about pets, minors or recreational facilities, the resident gets six months to come into compliance or move. On an allegation of criminal activity the landlord may go straight to an unlawful detainer action. 		RCW 59.20.080 (1)(a)–(m)
Notice for nonpayment of lot rent 14 days Fourteen days' written notice to pay the rent or other charges, or to vacate. For agreements entered into or renewed on or after May 7, 2025 no late fee may be charged if the rent arrives within five days of the due date, though the landlord may still serve the notice any time after the due date. RCW 59.20.080 (1)(b); RCW 59.20.060 (2)(j)
Notice for a rule or lease violation 20 days For a community-rule or resident-duty violation the written notice must require the violation to stop at once and state that failure to do so, or any later violation of that or any other rule, ends the tenancy and the resident must move within twenty days. Other grounds carry shorter periods: fifteen days for a code violation, disorderly conduct or other substantial just cause, and five days for a nuisance. RCW 59.20.080 (1)(a), (1)(i)–(l)
Repeat-violation rule Three valid twenty-day notices to comply or vacate within a twelve-month period are themselves a ground for termination, and so is paying rent late three or more times in a twelve-month period after a fourteen-day notice. The twelve-month period starts on the date of the first violation. The three-notice rule covers failure to comply with material terms of the agreement or with enforceable community rules, other than failure to pay rent by the due date, which has its own three-strikes rule. The general rule-violation ground also reaches repeated or periodic violations directly. RCW 59.20.080 (1)(a), (1)(h), (1)(m)
Time to sell or remove the home after termination 120 days A resident who has been evicted has 120 days to sell the home in place within the community, provided they stay current on rent falling due after the eviction and pay any past due rent, reasonable attorney's fees and court costs when the rental agreement is assigned to the buyer. The 120 days are not available after an eviction for a qualifying conviction or for criminal activity. RCW 59.20.080 (3); RCW 59.20.073
Abandoned-home procedure No state rule The act defines an abandoned home as one where the resident has defaulted in rent and, by absence and by words or actions, reasonably indicates an intention not to continue the tenancy. It then carves abandonment out of the eviction procedures it borrows from chapter 59.18 RCW, but sets out no procedure of its own for dealing with the home that is left. What governs instead is the landlord's lien under chapter 60.72 RCW, the rules making a secured party liable for rent once it takes possession, and, at closure, the landlord's own responsibility for demolition or disposal of homes left behind. RCW 59.20.030 definition of "abandoned"; RCW 59.20.040; RCW 59.20.074
Mediation or dispute-resolution requirement Mediation is mandatory for an eviction based on a community-rule or resident-duty violation: within five days of the notice the landlord and resident must submit the dispute to mediation. The parties may agree in writing on an independent third party or use industry mediation procedures, and if they cannot agree the dispute goes to industry mediation procedures. Both must take part in good faith for ten days, and a landlord that does not gives the resident a defense to the eviction. For every other kind of dispute, mediation and arbitration are available only by written agreement, while the attorney general's dispute resolution program is open to either side without the other's consent. RCW 59.20.080 (2); RCW 59.20.250; RCW 59.20.260; RCW 59.30.040

E. Closure and change of use

Rule Washington law Source
Notice before closure or change of use 24 months A change of land use, including closing the community or converting it to a use other than for mobile, manufactured or park model homes, requires two years' notice in the form of a closure notice meeting the statutory requirements. Five situations shorten or remove that period. RCW 59.20.080 (1)(e); RCW 59.21.030
Variants (by trigger or park size)
  • The community has been acquired for, or is under imminent threat of, condemnation: The two-year requirement does not apply (The act lifts the two-year period without substituting a shorter one).
  • The community is sold or transferred to a county to reduce conflicting residential uses near a military installation: The two-year requirement does not apply (The same sale is also exempt from the notice of opportunity to compete to purchase).
  • The community is sold to an eligible organization: The two-year requirement does not apply (An eligible organization is one of the community land trusts, resident cooperatives, nonprofits, tribes, local governments or housing authorities the act names).
  • The landlord pays relocation assistance and additional compensation to each resident: 12 months (The landlord must pay at least $15,000 for a multisection home or at least $10,000 for a single-section home at some point during the closure notice period and before the change of use or sale, set up a simple, straightforward and timely compensation process, and compensate residents the greater of 50 percent of their home's assessed market value in the tax year before the closure notice or $5,000. Residents then get written notice of at least twelve months to move, with Department of Commerce contact details for financial and technical assistance).
  • The landlord pays relocation assistance: 18 months (The landlord must pay at least $15,000 for a multisection home and at least $10,000 for a single-section home on the same timing. Residents then get written notice of at least eighteen months to move, with the same Commerce contact details).
Under both the twelve-month and eighteen-month routes the resident keeps paying rent while they remain, may still move the home under the relocation assistance chapter, stays eligible for state relocation assistance, and the landlord remains responsible for demolishing or disposing of homes left behind while staying eligible for those costs from the relocation fund. 		RCW 59.20.080 (1)(e)(i)–(v)
Relocation payment required Yes Two duties run side by side. A state relocation fund pays eligible low-income households when a community closes or converts, financed by an annual per-home registration assessment and by vehicle registration fees. Separately, a landlord that wants a closure notice shorter than two years must itself pay the statutory relocation amounts. RCW 59.21.021; RCW 59.20.080 (1)(e)(iv), (v)
Relocation amounts
  • State relocation fund — multisection home: up to $17,000 — Paid from the state relocation fund to a low-income household when the community closes or converts; $12,000 of it is paid as cash assistance and the rest once the resident transfers title to the community owner, moves the home or demolishes it.
  • State relocation fund — single-section home: up to $11,000 — Same conditions; $8,000 of it is paid as cash assistance and the rest on the same terms.
  • Landlord payment to shorten the closure notice — multisection home: at least $15,000 — Paid by the landlord during the closure notice period and before the change of use or sale; on its own it reduces the notice to eighteen months, and with the additional compensation below to twelve.
  • Landlord payment to shorten the closure notice — single-section home: at least $10,000 — Same conditions and same effect on the notice period.
  • Additional compensation for the twelve-month route: the greater of 50 percent of the home's assessed market value in the tax year before the closure notice, or $5,000 — Paid by the landlord under a simple, straightforward and timely compensation process, on top of the relocation assistance above.
  • Community owner reimbursement from the fund: $4,000 for a multisection home or $2,500 for a single-section home, plus documented costs up to $4,500 or $3,000 — Paid back to the community owner where the resident did not move or demolish the home by the closure date and the owner carried the demolition and disposal cost.
Eligibility for the state fund is limited to a low-income household, meaning one whose adjusted income is less than 80 percent of the median family income for the county, adjusted for household size. A resident who gave notice of intent to move before any closure notice, or who bought or moved a home into the community after a closure notice with actual prior notice of it, is not eligible; but no one is denied for having given notice if they stayed and kept paying rent for at least six months before the closure notice arrived. 		RCW 59.21.021; RCW 59.21.010 definition of "low-income household"; RCW 59.21.040; RCW 59.20.080 (1)(e)(iv), (v)
Who pays relocation Shared between the owner and a state fund The state relocation fund carries the assistance paid to eligible low-income households, financed by a $15 annual assessment on each home in a registered community, $5 of which goes to the relocation fund and up to $5 of which the landlord may pass on to the resident. The landlord itself pays only where it chooses to shorten the two-year closure notice. RCW 59.21.021; RCW 59.30.050; RCW 59.20.080 (1)(e)
Notice to a government body on closure Yes The closure notice must go in writing to the director of the Department of Commerce or the director's designee as well as to every resident, must be posted conspicuously at all community entrances, and must be recorded in the land records of the county where the community sits. Within ten business days the owner must send the director a good-faith timetable for removal, the reason for the closure and a list of residents, and within ten business days of receiving the notice the department must mail residents the relocation assistance application and information. RCW 59.21.030

F. Sale of the park

Rule Washington law Source
Residents must be told the park is for sale Yes The owner must give a notice of opportunity to compete to purchase to every resident, to the officers of any known qualified residents' organization, to the Department of Commerce, to the local government with jurisdiction, to any housing authority with jurisdiction, and to the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. The agency copies must go out within ten days of the resident notices. RCW 59.20.325 (1), (2)
What triggers the notice Before the owner markets or lists the community for sale, and again when the owner receives an offer to purchase that it intends to consider. The notice must state the date it was served, that the owner is considering a sale, that residents may compete to purchase through a qualified organization, that they have seventy days to form or identify one and tell the owner, and where the Department of Commerce's resources can be found. A separate earlier notice of sale, triggered within fourteen days after any advertisement or listing, was repealed effective July 27, 2025, so the opportunity-to-compete notice is now the single trigger. RCW 59.20.325 (1), (3); RCW 59.20.335
Residents' purchase right Notice plus an opportunity to negotiate a purchase This is not a right of first refusal. Residents get notice and a structured window in which to organize, obtain the community's financial information and make an offer, and the owner must consider that offer in good faith and in a commercially reasonable manner, give residents the same information it gives commercial buyers, tell them when a preferred offer arrives, and keep their financial information confidential. The owner may keep negotiating with other buyers throughout and is not required to match or accept a residents' offer. Both sides owe a good-faith negotiation duty, and an owner may record an affidavit of compliance that later purchasers and title companies may rely on. RCW 59.20.325; RCW 59.20.330; RCW 59.20.335; RCW 59.20.305; RCW 59.20.345
Time for residents to respond 70 days Residents have seventy days after the notice is delivered to form or identify a single qualified organization and tell the owner in writing. After that the timetable runs: twenty days for written requests for the asking price, financial information or proof of funding intent; twenty-one days to answer those requests unless the parties agree otherwise; twenty-one days after the information arrives for the residents to form a nonprofit cooperative or join with an eligible organization and submit a written offer; and ten days for the owner to accept, reject or counter. RCW 59.20.330; RCW 59.20.325 (3)
Resident-association threshold 50% The statute states a majority rather than a fixed percentage: a qualified residents' organization must be made up of a majority of the residents in the community, based on home sites, so the operative threshold is more than half. Membership must be open on the sole condition of being a resident. Residents may instead join with an eligible organization from the list the act sets out. RCW 59.20.330; RCW 59.20.030 definition of "qualified tenant organization"
Transfers exempt from the sale rules
  • Sale to a person who would inherit if the owner died without a will.
  • Transfer by gift, devise or operation of law.
  • Transfer between a corporation and an affiliate.
  • Transfer from a partnership to any of its partners.
  • Transfer among shareholders who own the community.
  • Transfer to a family member or a family trust.
  • Sale of less than a controlling interest in the entity that owns the community.
  • An interest conveyed incidental to the financing of the community.
  • Sale between joint tenants or tenants in common.
  • A bona fide tax-deferred exchange under section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code already commenced through a qualified exchange agent.
  • Purchase by a government body using its eminent domain power.
  • Sale or transfer to a county to reduce conflicting residential uses near a military installation.
The first eleven come from the exemptions section of the act; the last is a separate provision that also lifts the good-faith negotiation duty and the civil penalty for that one kind of sale. 		RCW 59.20.340; RCW 59.20.360
Residents may assign the right to a nonprofit or municipality Yes Residents may make their offer through a nonprofit cooperative they form or by joining with an eligible organization, and that term is defined to include community land trusts, resident nonprofit cooperatives, local governments, housing authorities, federally recognized tribes and regional or statewide nonprofit housing organizations whose mission aligns with preserving manufactured-home communities. The Department of Commerce keeps a public registry of eligible organizations that ask to receive these notices and gives a copy to anyone who asks. RCW 59.20.330; RCW 59.20.030 definition of "eligible organization"; RCW 59.20.350
Penalty for violating the sale rules An owner that sells or transfers a community and willfully fails to give the required notices or negotiate in good faith owes the state a civil penalty of $10,000, recoverable by the attorney general in superior court. That penalty is stated to be the exclusive state remedy for those violations. Separately, where the owner's substantial non-compliance prevented residents or an eligible organization from competing, they may obtain an injunction against a sale to a buyer not formed by or associated with the residents and recover actual damages of up to twice the monthly rent for each resident. Misuse of the community's confidential financial information supports actual damages against whoever misused it. RCW 59.20.355 (1), (2); RCW 59.20.335

G. The resident's home

Rule Washington law Source
Right to sell the home in place Yes A landlord may not deny a resident the right to sell the home within the community, and may not require the home to be removed because of the sale. The rental agreement is assignable to the buyer, and a resident who has been evicted on most grounds has 120 days to sell in place. RCW 59.20.070 (1); RCW 59.20.073 (1); RCW 59.20.080 (3)
Park may not take a commission on the sale No state rule The section listing what a landlord may not do bars denying the right to sell, bars requiring the home to be removed because of the sale and protects the sign, but says nothing about a commission or fee on the sale. The fee section bars an entrance fee and an exit fee in the rental agreement without naming a sale commission. What governs a commission is therefore the agreement itself and whatever the parties negotiate. RCW 59.20.070 (1); RCW 59.20.060 (2)(e)
Park may screen the buyer Yes The landlord must approve or disapprove the assignment of a rental agreement on the same basis it approves or disapproves any new resident, any disapproval must be in writing, and consent may not be unreasonably withheld. RCW 59.20.073 (4), (6)
Buyer-approval standard and deadline Same basis as any new resident, in writing, with consent not to be unreasonably withheld, and a seven-day deadline for the landlord to answer. The selling resident must tell the landlord in writing at least fifteen days before the transfer, tell the buyer about these rules, and confirm that all taxes, rent and reasonable expenses on the home and the lot are paid. Within seven days the landlord must either refuse in writing or approve by handing over the written rental agreement, the rules and regulations and the other tenancy documents, and it may not take any payment from the buyer until it has done so. Failure to give the notice, failure of the buyer to try to arrange an interview, or failure to get written approval are grounds for refusing the transfer. RCW 59.20.073 (3), (4), (6), (7)
Home may not be rejected for age, size or style alone Yes A landlord may not prevent the entry of a home, or require its removal, for the sole reason that it has reached a certain age. The bar reaches age only; the act does not address the home's size or style. Exclusion remains possible where a state or local agency has issued fire or safety violations that have not been corrected. RCW 59.20.070 (9); RCW 59.20.073 (5)
Park may require repairs before sale Yes The landlord may require compliance with fire and safety standards, but only where a state or local agency has issued violations that remain uncorrected, and the disapproval must be withdrawn once they are corrected. It may not condition the sale on the home's age. RCW 59.20.073 (5); RCW 59.20.070 (9)
Right to post a For Sale sign Yes A landlord may not prohibit, in any manner, a resident from posting a commercially reasonable for-sale sign on the home or on the rented lot. It may adopt reasonable rules aimed at safety and may limit the number of signs to two per lot. RCW 59.20.070 (1)

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

ProtectionWashington lawBasis
One-year renewable lease term unless there is good cause for non-renewal Required A rental agreement runs for one year unless the parties agree otherwise and renews automatically, the landlord must offer a term of one year or more, and it may not terminate or fail to renew except on the statutory grounds. (RCW 59.20.090; RCW 59.20.050; RCW 59.20.080)
30-day written notice of rent increases Required The act requires three months' written notice before a lot-rent increase takes effect, on a form printed in the statute. (RCW 59.20.090; RCW 59.20.390)
5-day grace period for rent payments and the right to cure defaults on rent payments Required A nonpayment termination requires fourteen days' notice to pay or vacate, so the resident always has a cure window, and for agreements entered into or renewed on or after May 7, 2025 no late fee may be charged if rent arrives within five days of the due date. (RCW 59.20.080; RCW 59.20.060)
Right to sell the manufactured home without having to first relocate it out of the community Required A landlord may not deny the right to sell the home within the community or require its removal because of the sale, and the rental agreement is assignable to the buyer. (RCW 59.20.070; RCW 59.20.073)
Right to sell the manufactured home in place within 30 days after eviction by the community owner Required An evicted resident has 120 days to sell the home in place while staying current on rent, four times the sixty-day sale window the lease protections call for; the period is not available after an eviction for a qualifying conviction or for criminal activity. (RCW 59.20.080)
Right to sublease or assign the pad site lease for the unexpired term to the new buyer of the home without unreasonable restraint Required The rental agreement is assignable to any person to whom the resident sells or transfers title, and consent to an assignment may not be unreasonably withheld. (RCW 59.20.073)
Right to post "For Sale" signs that comply with the community's rules Required A landlord may not prohibit a commercially reasonable for-sale sign on the home or the rented lot, though it may set reasonable safety rules and limit signs to two per lot. (RCW 59.20.070)
Right to receive at least 60 days' notice of a planned sale or closure of the community Required Closure or change of use requires two years' notice, or eighteen or twelve months where the landlord pays the statutory relocation amounts, and a sale requires notice before the community is marketed and again when an offer arrives. (RCW 59.20.080; RCW 59.20.325)

Notes and caveats

Common questions: Washington 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 Washington park give before raising lot rent?
90 days. The statute states the period in months: a landlord raising the rent must notify the resident in writing three months before the increase takes effect.
Is there a limit on how much lot rent can go up in Washington?
Yes — 5% a year, none in the first 12 months. Washington's lot-rent limit is a flat five percent with no inflation component, which is a different and tighter rule than the limit for ordinary residential tenancies under chapter 59.18 RCW.
Can a Washington park owner end a lot tenancy without cause?
No — a Washington park may end a lot tenancy only for a listed cause. A landlord may not terminate or fail to renew a tenancy of whatever duration except for one or more of the thirteen grounds the act lists.
How much notice must a Washington park give before closing or changing use?
24 months. A change of land use, including closing the community or converting it to a use other than for mobile, manufactured or park model homes, requires two years' notice in the form of a closure notice meeting the statutory requirements.
Does a Washington park have to pay residents' relocation costs when it closes?
Yes — Washington law requires a relocation payment when a park closes or changes use. Two duties run side by side.
Do Washington residents get a chance to buy the park when it is sold?
Yes — notice plus an opportunity to negotiate a purchase. This is not a right of first refusal.
Can a Washington resident sell the home in place without moving it out of the park?
Yes — a Washington resident may sell the home in place. A landlord may not deny a resident the right to sell the home within the community, and may not require the home to be removed because of the sale.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Washington Mobile Home Park Laws (verified August 18, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/mobile-home-parks/washington/" — 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.