Illinois Mobile Home Park Lease Law: What Operators Need to Include

What must a mobile home lot lease include in Illinois?

In Illinois, mobile home park lot leases are governed by the Mobile Home Landlord and Tenant Rights Act, 765 ILCS 745. It dictates both what your lease must contain and what it can never contain, and its protections generally cannot be waived except where the Act expressly allows.

At a minimum you must offer a written lease of at least 24 months (765 ILCS 745/6), include the covenants and park information listed in 765 ILCS 745/11, deliver the written disclosures required by 765 ILCS 745/6.5, keep out every clause banned by 765 ILCS 745/12, and attach park rules that meet the enforceability standards of 765 ILCS 745/14.

This is general information for operators, not legal advice. The Act is amended periodically — the disclosure and relocation rules were tightened effective January 1, 2023 — so confirm the current statutory text before finalizing a template.

The 24-month written lease and required contents

Before a lease is signed, the park owner must exhibit a copy of the park lease and offer every present and future tenant a written lease for a term of not less than 24 months (765 ILCS 745/6). A tenant may waive that term in writing and agree to a different or month-to-month term, but the 24-month offer must come first and you must be able to show the copy you exhibited. Tenants already in possession get 30 days after receiving the offer to accept or reject, and during that window you cannot raise rent or change any other term.

Section 11 fixes the substance of the lease. It must identify each tenant's lot area, list all services and facilities provided (for example lawn maintenance, snow removal, garbage disposal, and recreation facilities), disclose the full names and addresses of everyone holding legal or equitable title to the park, and name the custodian's office with its address and telephone number. It also carries the owner's maintenance covenants for utilities, subsurface water and sewage lines, and park roads.

These are covenants read into the tenancy, so leaving them out of the paper does not relieve you of the duty — it just makes the lease non-compliant.

Required written disclosures, including the 3-year rent projection

Section 6.5 requires a written disclosure with every lease, sale, and renewal. It must cover the rent charged over the past 5 years, the park owner's responsibilities, any fees on top of base rent, late-payment terms, any applicable privilege tax, how security deposits are held and returned, the contact information for the entity that owns the park or its agent, and any posted inspection notice, along with a statement that the tenant's right to a jury trial cannot be waived.

The disclosure must also include a 3-year rent-increase projection covering the two lease years plus the year immediately following. The basis may be a fixed amount, a not-to-exceed amount, a formula, an index, or a combination. Update the disclosure at least once a year and tell renewing tenants what changed. These requirements apply to disclosures and ownership changes on or after January 1, 2023.

Because the projection binds your credibility with residents and regulators, keep the elected methodology (fixed, not-to-exceed, formula, or index) consistent with how you actually raise rent.

Prohibited provisions and enforceable park rules

Section 12 voids five lease provisions no matter what the tenant signs: a late fee that does not allow at least 5 days beyond the due date; a security deposit greater than one month's rent; any fee not specified in the lease; any right to transfer or move the home to a different lot during the term; and any waiver of the tenant's right to a trial by jury. Section 19 separately bars conditioning tenancy on buying fuel, gas, or services from a particular dealer and bars restricting a tenant's choice of seller absent a genuine health or safety need.

Park rules bind a tenant under Section 14 only if a copy was delivered before signing, the rule promotes tenant convenience, safety, and welfare, preserves park property, or fairly distributes services, is reasonably related to that purpose, applies to all tenants fairly, is explicit enough to inform conduct, and is not a device to evade the owner's obligations. A rule adopted mid-term is enforceable only with 30 days written notice and only if it does not violate the lease.

A citation note for anyone updating a template: the prohibited-provisions list is Section 12 (not Section 8) and the park-rules standard is Section 14 (not Section 7); Sections 7 and 8 actually govern the effect of an unsigned lease and lease renewal.

Lease requirements at a glance in Illinois

• Written 24-month lease offer
  765 ILCS 745/6: exhibit the lease and offer every present and future tenant a written lease of at least 24 months before signing; a tenant may waive it in writing for a shorter or month-to-month term, and existing tenants get 30 days to accept with no rent or term changes during that period.
• Required lease contents
  765 ILCS 745/11: state all services and facilities provided, disclose the full names and addresses of all title holders, identify each tenant's lot area, name the custodian's office, and include maintenance covenants for utilities, water/sewer lines, and roads.
• Written disclosures
  765 ILCS 745/6.5: disclose past 5 years of rent, owner responsibilities, added fees, late-payment terms, any privilege tax, security-deposit handling, ownership/agent contact, inspection notices, and the non-waivable jury-trial right.
• 3-year rent projection
  765 ILCS 745/6.5: include a 3-year rent-increase projection (the two lease years plus the following year), update it at least annually, and flag changes at renewal; in force for disclosures/ownership changes on or after January 1, 2023.
• Prohibited provisions
  765 ILCS 745/12: no late fee without at least 5 days grace, no security deposit over one month's rent, no fees not specified in the lease, no forced relocation of the home to another lot during the term, and no waiver of the right to a jury trial.
• Enforceable park rules
  765 ILCS 745/14: rules bind a tenant only if delivered before signing, reasonable, purpose-related, applied fairly, and explicit; mid-term rules need 30 days written notice and cannot violate the lease.
• Freedom to choose sellers
  765 ILCS 745/19: cannot restrict a tenant's choice of seller of fuel, furnishings, or services absent a health/safety need, or force purchase of fuel oil or bottled gas from a particular dealer.

Operator best practices in Illinois

• Default to a 24-month written lease
  Offer the statutory 24-month written lease to every tenant and keep the signed written waiver on file whenever a tenant elects a shorter or month-to-month term (765 ILCS 745/6).
• Attach a dated disclosure sheet
  Deliver the 765 ILCS 745/6.5 disclosures, including the 3-year rent projection, as a dated attachment to every lease and renewal, and refresh it at least annually.
• Audit the lease against the Section 12 bans
  Strip any clause that shortens the 5-day late-rent grace, exceeds a one-month deposit, adds unspecified fees, allows forced relocation, or waives a jury trial (765 ILCS 745/12).
• Attach and date your park rules
  Deliver written rules before signing and confirm they are reasonable, applied uniformly, and explicit; give 30 days written notice for any mid-term rule change (765 ILCS 745/14).
• Do not tie tenancy to your vendors
  Avoid conditioning tenancy on buying fuel, gas, or services from a particular dealer, and let tenants choose sellers absent a documented health or safety reason (765 ILCS 745/19).
• Build a relationship with an Illinois MHP attorney
  765 ILCS 745 is amended often (for example the 2023 disclosure and relocation changes), so have Illinois manufactured-housing counsel review your lease template and disclosure sheet before rollout.