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

What must a mobile home lot lease include in Oregon?

If you rent spaces in an Oregon manufactured dwelling or floating home facility, the lot lease is not a simple month-to-month form. Oregon's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ORS 90.505 to 90.850) treats facility tenancies as their own category with extra disclosure duties that ordinary apartment leases do not carry.

Two written documents are mandatory for every space tenant. Under ORS 90.510(4) you must provide a signed written rental agreement, and under ORS 90.510(1) you must separately provide a written statement of policy to both prospective and existing tenants. Skipping either one exposes you to tenant remedies and weakens any later termination.

This guide summarizes what those documents must contain, how facility rules and fixed-term renewals work, and which lease clauses Oregon law makes unenforceable. It is operational guidance, not legal advice — have Oregon counsel review your actual forms.

The written rental agreement and statement of policy (ORS 90.510)

ORS 90.510(4) requires a written, signed rental agreement for every space. Under ORS 90.510(5) it must specify the location and approximate size of the space, the federal fair-housing age classification, the monthly rent, and all personal property, services and facilities the landlord provides. It must also state security deposits, fees and installation charges, any tree-planting policy, what improvements the tenant may or must make and how those improvements are handled when the tenancy ends.

The agreement must also set out the conditions under which you will approve a buyer of the home, the term of the tenancy under ORS 90.510(5)(k), the process for changing the agreement or rules consistent with ORS 90.610 under ORS 90.510(5)(l), your notice procedures, the availability of no-cost mandatory mediation, and any renter's liability insurance requirement.

The statement of policy under ORS 90.510(1) is a separate, broader disclosure. It must include the facility's rent-adjustment policy and a rent history (the rent charged on January 1 for the preceding five years or your ownership period), the services and facilities provided, installation and other charges, closure and sale policies, what utilities are available and how they are billed, mediation availability under ORS 90.767, and any required renter's insurance. Note: the old ORS 90.515 sometimes cited for utility disclosure was repealed in 1995 — utility disclosure now lives in the statement of policy and in ORS 90.315.

Facility rules, sale-of-home disclosures, and term/renewal

Facility rules are mandatory. ORS 90.510(6) states that every facility landlord 'shall provide rules and regulations concerning the tenant's use and occupancy of the premises,' and that a violation may be cause for terminating the agreement. Because ORS 90.510(5)(l) ties rule changes to ORS 90.610, you cannot change the rules outside that notice-and-meeting process.

Sale-of-home terms must be disclosed. ORS 90.510(5)(j) requires the lease to tell the tenant they may not sell the home to a buyer who intends to leave it on the space until you have accepted that buyer as a tenant, and ORS 90.525(6) requires you to hand the parties an informational document about tenant and landlord rights when a home is sold in the facility.

On term and renewal, the lease must state the term (ORS 90.510(5)(k)). Under ORS 90.545, a fixed term that expires 'automatically renews as a month-to-month tenancy having the same terms and conditions' unless you offer a new term. To offer a new fixed term you must deliver the proposed agreement, with a written summary of any changes, at least 60 days before the end date, and the tenant must respond in writing at least 30 days before the end. Miss the deadline and the tenancy renews month-to-month on the old terms.

Lease clauses Oregon prohibits (ORS 90.525 and ORS 90.245)

Oregon caps what you can require. ORS 90.525(1) says a landlord 'may not impose conditions of rental or occupancy which unreasonably restrict the tenant or prospective tenant in choosing a fuel supplier, furnishings, goods, services or accessories.' The same section bars steering tenants to a particular dealer and protects the tenant's choice of real estate agent or dealer to sell or sublet the home.

ORS 90.245(1) voids several common overreaching clauses. A lease may not make the tenant waive rights or remedies under the chapter, confess judgment, exculpate or indemnify the other party for willful misconduct or negligence, or agree to pay liquidated damages (except as allowed by ORS 90.302(2)(e)). Such provisions are unenforceable.

The teeth: under ORS 90.245(2), a landlord who deliberately uses a provision known to be prohibited can be liable for the tenant's actual damages plus up to three months' periodic rent. Strip these clauses from your template before you sign anyone.

Lease requirements at a glance in Oregon

• Written rental agreement required
  ORS 90.510(4) requires a signed written agreement for every space; oral facility tenancies do not satisfy the statute.
• Separate statement of policy
  ORS 90.510(1) requires a written statement of policy to prospective and existing tenants, including a five-year rent history and rent-adjustment policy.
• Core lease terms
  ORS 90.510(5) requires space size, fair-housing age class, monthly rent, services/facilities, deposits and fees, improvement and tree policies, and mediation availability.
• Rules and regulations
  ORS 90.510(6) requires facility rules; they may only be changed through the ORS 90.610 process referenced in ORS 90.510(5)(l).
• Sale-of-home disclosures
  ORS 90.510(5)(j) requires stating the buyer must be accepted as a tenant before an on-site sale, and ORS 90.525(6) requires a tenant/landlord rights handout.
• Term and renewal
  ORS 90.510(5)(k) requires stating the term; ORS 90.545 auto-renews expired fixed terms month-to-month unless you use the 60-day/30-day renewal process.
• Prohibited restrictions
  ORS 90.525 bars unreasonable limits on suppliers and dealer choice; ORS 90.245 voids waivers, confessions of judgment, exculpation, and liquidated damages.

Operator best practices in Oregon

• Use two documents, not one
  Issue the signed ORS 90.510 rental agreement and the separate statement of policy together, and keep proof of delivery to both prospective and existing tenants.
• Keep an accurate rent history
  Maintain the January 1 rent figures for the last five years so your statement of policy meets ORS 90.510(1); refresh it before each new tenancy.
• Calendar the renewal deadlines
  For any fixed term, diary the 60-day proposal and 30-day tenant-response dates from ORS 90.545 so a missed date does not force an unintended month-to-month renewal.
• Deliver the sale-of-home handout on time
  Provide the ORS 90.525(6) rights document when you evaluate the application or execute the lease, whichever comes first.
• Audit your template for void clauses
  Remove any waiver, confession-of-judgment, exculpation, or liquidated-damages language to avoid the ORS 90.245(2) penalty of damages plus up to three months' rent.
• Route rule changes through ORS 90.610
  Do not amend facility rules by notice alone; follow the statutory rule-change process referenced in ORS 90.510(5)(l).
• Build a relationship with an Oregon MHP attorney
  Manufactured-facility law changes frequently and ORS 90.515 is already repealed; have Oregon counsel review your forms annually and before any policy change.