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

What must a mobile home lot lease include in Kansas?

Kansas regulates mobile home lot leases under the Mobile Home Parks Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, K.S.A. 58-25,100 et seq. It applies to any park where five or more mobile homes are harbored, and it sets both what a lot lease must contain and what it may not.

A lease is not strictly required for every space (absent one, the tenant owes the fair rental value under K.S.A. 58-25,105(b)), but a written agreement is the only way to lock in term, rules, and rights. When you do use one, four sections drive compliance: 58-25,105 (lease terms), 58-25,106 (prohibited clauses), 58-25,109 (disclosures), and 58-25,114 (park rules). Get these right and most Kansas lot-lease disputes never start.

The lease agreement and required disclosures (K.S.A. 58-25,105 and 58-25,109)

Under K.S.A. 58-25,105, your lease may set rent, term, and any other terms not prohibited by the act. If you do not state a fixed term, the tenancy is month-to-month by default, and either side must give at least 60 days' written notice to cancel a month-to-month tenancy. In any park with five or more homes, subsection (f) requires the lease itself to contain a notice telling the tenant they have rights under the act and that a copy is available from you on request, so build that notice into your template.

K.S.A. 58-25,109 adds mandatory disclosures. At or before move-in, disclose in writing the name and address of the park manager and of the owner (or the owner's agent for service of process). Before the lease is signed, give a written explanation of utility rates, charges and services unless the tenant pays the utility company directly. And any rent increase requires at least 60 days' written notice, effective no sooner than the end of the current term. Failing to disclose manager/owner identity can make a non-complying manager the landlord's agent for service of process and even for performing landlord obligations.

Clauses you cannot put in the lease (K.S.A. 58-25,106)

K.S.A. 58-25,106 lists prohibited provisions, and any of them is unenforceable even if signed. A lot lease cannot make the tenant or landlord: waive or forego rights or remedies under the act; authorize anyone to confess judgment on a claim from the lease; agree to pay the other party's attorney fees; agree to exculpate or limit the other party's liability, or to indemnify them; or agree to a designated agent for the sale of the tenant's mobile home.

Practically, this kills the boilerplate many operators inherit from generic apartment leases: fee-shifting attorney clauses, liability waivers, and forced-sale-agent terms are all void here. Scrub them from your Kansas template so a court does not void the clause and hand the tenant a rights argument.

Park rules and regulations (K.S.A. 58-25,114, not 58-25,110)

A common citation error: the rules-and-regulations statute is K.S.A. 58-25,114, not 58-25,110 (which only covers delivery of possession). Under 58-25,114(a), your park rules bind a tenant only if all of these are true: the rule promotes tenant convenience, safety or welfare, protects your property, distributes services fairly, or facilitates management; it is reasonably related to that purpose; it applies to all tenants fairly; it is explicit enough to tell the tenant what to do or not do; it is not a way to evade your own obligations; and the prospective tenant got a copy before signing.

To change rules, 58-25,114(b) requires 30 days' written notice to all tenants before the change takes effect. A rule adopted after a tenant signs is enforceable only if it does not substantially modify that tenant's agreement or the tenant consents in writing. Unfair, deceptive, or non-conforming rules are unenforceable, so attach the current rules to every lease and re-issue on the 30-day clock whenever you amend them.

Lease requirements at a glance in Kansas

• Governing act
  Mobile Home Parks Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, K.S.A. 58-25,100 et seq.; applies to parks harboring five or more mobile homes.
• Default term and notice
  Month-to-month unless a term is stated; 60 days' written notice to cancel a month-to-month tenancy (K.S.A. 58-25,105(d)).
• Rights notice in lease
  Lease must state the tenant has rights under the act and copies are available from the landlord on request (K.S.A. 58-25,105(f)).
• Identity disclosure
  Disclose in writing the manager's and owner's (or owner's agent's) name and address at or before move-in (K.S.A. 58-25,109(a)).
• Utility disclosure
  Written explanation of utility rates, charges and services before signing, unless paid directly to the utility (K.S.A. 58-25,109(e)).
• Rent increase notice
  At least 60 days' written notice before any rent increase, effective no sooner than the current term's end (K.S.A. 58-25,109(f)).
• Prohibited clauses
  No rights waiver, confession of judgment, attorney-fee shifting, exculpation/indemnity, or forced sale-agent clause; all unenforceable (K.S.A. 58-25,106).
• Park rules test
  Rules bind tenants only if reasonable, fairly applied, explicit, non-evasive, and given to the tenant before signing (K.S.A. 58-25,114(a)).
• Rule changes
  30 days' written notice for any rule change; post-signing rules need no substantial modification or written tenant consent (K.S.A. 58-25,114(b)).

Operator best practices in Kansas

• Use a Kansas-specific lot lease
  Do not reuse an apartment or out-of-state template; build one keyed to K.S.A. 58-25,105, 106, 109 and 114.
• Embed the statutory rights notice
  Put the 58-25,105(f) rights-and-copies notice directly in the lease body so it is never missed in parks with five or more homes.
• Front-load disclosures
  Give the manager/owner identity disclosure and the written utility-rate explanation before the tenant signs, and keep them current.
• Strip prohibited clauses
  Audit your template for confession-of-judgment, attorney-fee, waiver, indemnity, and forced-sale-agent language and delete them.
• Attach and version your rules
  Attach current park rules to every lease and re-issue on 30 days' notice whenever you amend them; keep dated copies.
• Calendar the 60-day rent notice
  Set a 60-day reminder before any rent increase and confirm the effective date lands no earlier than the term's end.
• Cite the right statute
  Reference K.S.A. 58-25,114 for rules, not 58-25,110, in notices and postings to avoid enforceability challenges.
• Build a relationship with a Kansas MHP attorney
  Have a Kansas mobile-home-park attorney review your lease and rules and confirm no later amendments to the act before you rely on this.