Before your tenants begin the process of moving a mobile home out of a park, it’s a good idea to have some well thought out policies in place. These policies will help your park run smoothly by providing your tenants with proper guidelines for removing their home.
Policies to have in place for moving a mobile home out of a park
Moving a mobile home out of a park can be a huge undertaking. Here are a few policies you would do well to have established in your park.
60-day notice
First, require your tenants to provide 60-day notice in regards to his or her intentions to move their home. This is important because it will give park management a heads up on the moving process. Professional mobile home movers will have to come into the park with their large moving vehicle and escorts.
Additionally, this gives you a period of time to begin advertising an empty lot. As one tenant is leaving, perhaps you can have a new one coming into your park. The less time you have to deal with vacancies, the better it is for your park and business.
Second, make it clear in your policies that payment of rent (per their contract) is still due during this period of time. You are merely asking your tenants to give you a heads up on their intentions to move and move the mobile home out of the park with them.
Utility responsibilities
Additionally, requiring your tenant to communicate their intentions is a necessity to you. Your availability is vital to help with the process. As management, you may need to contact the utility companies to ensure everything is turned off. You’ll also want to verify that the mobile home owner is responsible to hire a professional to disconnect the utilities from their home. Or, provide your own contractor if you prefer.
Moving conditions
If your tenant is in good standing with your park, no trouble should take place when moving their mobile home out of the park. Obviously, your policies should state that they are only allowed to move under the condition that the mobile home is in the tenant’s name. If they are in a rent-to-own situation, then it must be completely paid for before hitting the road.
Should your tenant find himself or herself behind on rent or with property damages, then they will not be able to move their home. In general, things must first be made right between the tenant and the landlord. Make sure to make this clear in your policies given to the tenants when they first move into the park. In this way, there is no question of proper procedures if the issue is taken before a court of law.
Dealing with permanent improvements
Depending on the state you live in, there are various nuances involved with permanent improvements that may have been made. In some states, the owner of the land cannot require their current tenants to make permanent improvements. In other cases, the landlord may have that right, in which case it can be argued that those improvements are not the tenant’s responsibility.
Look up your state law and get in touch with an attorney
To verify the legitimacy of the policies you wish to have in place, it’s important that you reach out to the right people. Visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development site for pertinent information on tenant rights. You don’t want to end up on the misinformed side of a squabble with your tenants.
After you’ve established your policies, it’s time to reach out to a lawyer. Look up lawyers who are well versed on the topic of landlord and tenant rights. This lawyer will be able to help you analyze and fine-tune your policies.
Your lawyer will point out things you missed, tweak wording for clarity, and remove anything that is outside of lawful landlord and tenant relationships. You should have coherent policies to refer to on the topic of moving a mobile home out of a park.
Now you can put your policies together!
With the right knowledge, you can have a good policy for moving a mobile home out of a park. This will ensure that your tenant is informed and in the know on proper procedure. And it will help you understand what your responsibilities are when these situations arise.
While we’re on the topic of writing policies, have you established your park’s policies on pets? Whether or not you’re a fan of Spot and his like, it’s important to have clear rules established on pet presence in your park. It will help you avoid some major problems down the road.
About Dan Leighton
