What Belongs in a Mobile Home Park Lease (and What Definitely Doesn't)

Most park leases we see were copied from an apartment lease at some point. That's a problem — apartment leases assume the tenant doesn't own the structure. Park leases need to handle the home-on-chassis reality, the lot-rent vs. home-rent distinction, and a half-dozen MHP-specific scenarios apartments don't have. Here's what belongs.

The 23 clauses every MHP lease should have

Bucket them into four groups.

• Identification: parties, lot number, home description, term
  Be specific about the lot and the home. The home description matters when ownership questions surface later.
• Rent: lot rent, home rent (if POH), payment schedule, late fees, NSF fees
  Separate lot rent from home rent. Apartments don't have to; you do.
• Utility responsibilities: who pays what, billback method
  List each utility and who is on the meter. Submetering policy if applicable.
• Maintenance responsibilities: tenant vs. operator, common-area scope
  Apartment leases default to operator-handles-everything. Park leases need explicit tenant responsibilities for the home itself.
• Pet and vehicle clauses
  Breed restrictions, weight limits, registered vehicles, inoperable vehicle removal policy.
• Park rules incorporation
  Rules document is incorporated by reference. Update notice period (usually 30–60 days).
• Termination, holdover, and notice provisions
  State-specific notice periods. Holdover terms.
• Default and remedies
  What constitutes default, cure period, operator remedies including eviction process.
• Right of entry
  Operator's right to enter the lot for maintenance. Notice required.
• Sale of home provisions
  If TOH, the operator's right to approve incoming buyers/new residents.
• Damage to home or lot
  Insurance requirements on the resident, operator's subrogation.
• Severability and governing law
  State the governing law. Sever-out unenforceable provisions.

Three apartment clauses that don't belong

We see these copied in regularly and they don't translate.

First, "the operator may enter the unit at any time for any reason" — apartments use this; courts often invalidate it for parks because the home is the resident's property, not the operator's. Second, "common-area furnishings remain operator's property" — meaningless when there are no common-area furnishings. Third, "resident shall not paint walls or alter fixtures" — apartments yes, parks no, because the home interior is the resident's.

State-specific additions

Many states have MHP-specific landlord-tenant statutes layered on top of general residential statutes. California, Florida, Oregon, Washington, and several others require specific lease disclosures. Don't write a national template — write a state-specific one and update it when the legislature changes.