Michigan’s mobile home park law could get first overhaul in nearly 40 years

LANSING, MI – Michigan lawmakers are once again trying to update the state’s mobile home park laws, hoping to complete the first overhaul in nearly 40 years.

A bipartisan group of state senators introduced a six-bill package in late April that would strengthen oversight and expand protections for the state’s 474,000 mobile home park residents.

“For too long, the laws governing these communities have not kept up with the realities residents face on the ground, from water shutoffs and rising lot rents to their entire community being sold out from under them,” said sponsor state Sen. John Cherry, D-Flint, in a statement.

Michigan has roughly 1,200 licensed manufacturing housing communities with more than 140,000 homes, making it the thirteenth largest mobile home park state in the nation.

Advocates say it has become increasingly important modernize the laws as Michigan mobile home parks increasingly are bought up by large ownership groups and private investment firms.

This marks the third time in five years that legislation has been introduced to update the state’s 1987 mobile home park law, but two previous iterations failed to pass both chambers.

The latest round, Senate Bills 934-939, stems from a year of negotiations between lawmakers, industry leaders, resident advocates and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, according to the bills co-sponsors.

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Cherry says the outdated laws have allowed “bad actors” to undercut responsible park owners.

“This package benefits both the folks who own communities and the folks who own homes and live inside communities,” Cherry said.

The proposed legislation has support from both residents and an industry group.

The bills would tighten state’s oversight of mobile home parks by requiring inspections at least once a year, creating a public database of licensed parks and upping civil penalties against unlicensed parks to $250,000.

Currently, the penalty for operating a mobile home park without a valid license is up to one year in jail or a $500 fine per day. But this penalty rarely gets levied, and it’s unknown how many mobile home parks do not have valid licenses.

It was only two years ago when the first criminal charges were brought against an unlicensed mobile home park in Michigan. Homes of America, a subsidiary of the private equity firm Alden Capital and the owner of North Morris Estates was convicted of a misdemeanor and fined $25,000.

The Genesee County park was later sold to new owners.

Related: A $2M grant was supposed to revive a mobile home park. Then residents got 4 days to get out.

The legislation would also expand protections for residents by requiring parks to offer at least a one-year lease, the right to a lease renewal and 12 months’ notice before terminating tenancy.

Without this, residents can be left scrambling if a park closes suddenly, as was the case last year when the owner of Kristana Manufactured Home Park, near Lansing, initially gave tenants four days to move out.

The bills would also give residents the opportunity to purchase parks via homeowners’ associations or cooperatives when an owner intends to sell.

“This has been a long time coming, and I’m glad we were able to work with stakeholders to find a sensible solution,” said bill co-sponsor Sen. Roger Hauck, R-Mt. Pleasant. “This bill package aligns incentives, strengthens resident ownership opportunities, and respects the marketplace.”

The bills also include provisions that benefit park owners, including a streamlined process for obtaining the title of an abandoned home.

It can currently take months for park owners to get titles for homes that might need to be renovated or torn down, according to John Lindley, president and CEO of the Michigan Manufactured Housing Association, an industry group that supports the new legislation.

“In the meantime, that home could be causing a blight situation and a safety concern in the community,” he said. “We needed a process that provided fair due process for the prior homeowner but was also expedient in presenting a solution to an abandoned home.”

Related: As private equity buys up mobile home parks, Michigan ranks second highest

These bills were introduced as ownership of mobile home parks has become increasingly consolidated.

An MLive analysis of state data found nearly half of the licensed mobile home parks are operated by investment groups or owners with five or more communities. And Michigan ranks second nationally for the number of mobile home parks owned by private equity firms.

Six large mobile home park owners, including Homes of America and Michigan-based Sun Communities, are currently facing scrutiny from federal lawmakers for implementing steep rent increases and neglecting parks throughout the country.

These concerns have been echoed in Michigan, where residents of some investor-owned parks have described deteriorating conditions, water quality issues and feeling stuck with climbing rents.

Theo Gantos, a North Morris resident who has been pushing for changes to the law, says the legislation will help shore up enforcement.

“The bad thing about allowing a lot of these absentee private equity owners that just don’t care about these communities…that hurts the guys that are doing the right things,” he said. “So these bills are basically going to protect the good guys.”

The bills have been referred to the committee on Housing and Human Services, and Cherry hopes to get a quick hearing.

“Because we’ve done a lot of the negotiation prior to introduction, there’s an ability to move fast on this package and I intend to do everything I can to get them out of the Senate as quick as possible,” he said.

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