As a mobile home park owner, it’s your responsibility to ensure your park is operating within the law. You also want it to be safe for its inhabitants and visitors. This is part of your job. If your park isn’t legal or compliant, you could face some serious consequences.
If your park isn’t safe, someone could get hurt and later sue you. No one wants to see anyone getting hurt. And getting sued is a side effect you don’t want to deal with either.
So how do you ensure everything is legal, safe and compliant? Where do you begin to get all your ducks in a row?
Making sure your manufactured home park is legal, safe and complaint
You need to be responsible, avoid drama, and keep your residents safe. This is good for all who are involved – landlord, management, and tenants.
Keeping a legal and compliant mobile home park
To keep your mobile home park legal, it’s best to get in touch with your local city or town hall. They’ll put you in touch with the right person who will guide you in ensuring your park is legal.
Before you do anything in your park such as expanding the park or installing a bulletin board, you need to know what requirements for permits and inspections are in your jurisdiction.
Collect a database of any documents, receipts, certificates, etc – anything in connection with the mobile home park. A paper trail will help if you can’t remember whether or not you got a permit for something. Or if someone is in doubt that you did.
Proper eviction procedures
For the protection of tenants, you cannot simply evict anyone on a whim. Of course, you may not be the type of person to do such a thing, but there are laws in place to ensure that eviction of tenants doesn’t take place without cause.
It’s your responsibility to see what the proper procedure is for evictions in your state. Some places require thirty days notice, others more or less.
Additionally, if you’re evicting someone due to their disregard for park rules, you need to keep a paper trail of warnings you’ve sent them. Should they take you to court, you’ll be able to prove that you provided ample warning and that they disregarded it. Additionally, it will be important evidence if someone tried to sue you. Therefore, document your interactions with tenants as much as possible.
Mobile home installation by certified professionals
Bringing new homes into your park? Get things done right and legally by requiring that certified professionals install the homes and connect them to utilities.
Zoning compliance
Is your park compliant with local zoning laws? Sometimes these laws change as time goes on. Talk to your local zoning authority to see if you have the appropriate amount of lots on your property. Too many, and you could get penalized if you don’t resolve the situation.
Maintaining safety in your manufactured home park
Now that we’ve discussed the legal side of a manufactured home park, let’s look at things you can do to keep your tenants safe.
Encourage a unified park
Cultivate empathy, in your mobile home tenants, for one another. Especially if it is something that you believe is necessary. Host community events and encourage your residents to participate.
In creating empathy, your tenants will be more likely to look out for each other’s property and report any sketchy shenanigans. Rather than brush it off as nothing, they’ll likely pay more attention when a strange vehicle is prowling their neighbor’s yard.
Lease agreements that promote safety
As you craft your lease agreements, think of what’s important for a safe and happy park.
For example, you could require that dogs wear a leash or remain fenced in. Deal with trash on a weekly basis, and yards should be kept in a clean state.
Print and distribute literature on safety
Another wonderful service you can provide to park residents is educational literature. This literature can explain fire safety, winter safety, and how to properly dispose of potentially dangerous trash such as used fireworks.
This will help cultivate a safety-conscious environment.
Keeping it legal and safe is YOUR responsibility
Now that we’ve discussed the different ways to keep your manufactured home park legal, safe and compliant, let’s look at some tips for DIY repairs in your park. As a mobile home park manager, you have an important responsibility to keep costs down while giving tenants a quality living experience.
In this article, we’ll show you some ways to cut corners without sacrificing quality. Many repairs can save you big bucks if you’d simply handle them yourself. Of course, we’re talking about the simple problems you may encounter on a regular basis.
About Dan Paton
