Vermont Mobile Home Park Eviction Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Eviction for nonpayment of rent

In Vermont, a lot leaseholder in a mobile home park can be evicted only for nonpayment of rent or for a substantial violation of the lease terms, or for a change of use/closure — those are the only lawful grounds (10 V.S.A. §6237(a)). You cannot use self-help of any kind: shutting off utilities, blocking access, or removing the home are all prohibited (§6237(a)(1)).

For nonpayment, before you file anything you must send the leaseholder a certified or registered mail notice stating the grounds and warning that a proceeding may be commenced if the overdue rent is not paid within 20 days from the date of the mailing of the notice (§6237(a)(2)(B)). Count the 20 days from the mailing date, not the delivery date, and keep your mailing receipt.

There is a repeat-conduct provision that works in the operator's favor: if a further nonpayment or a substantial lease violation happens within six months of that notice, you may move to immediate eviction proceedings without starting the notice clock over (§6237(a)(3)). Even so, always document the second event carefully.

Eviction for lease violations and other grounds

Beyond nonpayment, you may evict for a substantial violation of the lease terms of the mobile home park (§6237(a)). Minor or technical breaches will not carry an eviction — Vermont courts read substantial strictly, so tie the violation to a specific, enforceable park rule and keep dated evidence.

Timing is a hard limit here. For a substantial violation other than uncured nonpayment, the eviction proceeding is insufficient to support a judgment of eviction unless the proceeding is commenced within 60 days of the last alleged violation; for violations based on criminal activity, the clock is 60 days after arraignment (§6237(a)(4)). If you sit on a violation past 60 days, you lose it as a ground.

Two more traps to respect. First, you must give certified/registered-mail notice of the grounds before commencing (§6237(a)(2)(A)). Second, selective enforcement is a complete defense: a leaseholder shall not be evicted when there is proof that the lease terms are not enforced with respect to the other leaseholders (§6237(b)). Enforce your rules evenly across the park, or you cannot enforce them at all.

Filing the eviction (ejectment in Superior Court)

Once the applicable notice period has run without cure, the eviction is a court action, not a lockout. You file a Complaint for Ejectment in the Vermont Superior Court, Civil Division under 12 V.S.A. Chapter 169 (and 12 V.S.A. §1551). The court, not the operator, orders possession.

Serve notice of the proceeding on the leaseholder and on any occupants known to the park owner residing in the mobile home (§6237(g)). Missing an occupant can delay your case, so identify everyone living in the home before you file.

One jurisdictional note: §6237 governs evictions by the park owner. If the person being removed is a renter of a home owned by someone other than the park owner, that removal runs through the ordinary residential-tenancy statute, 9 V.S.A. §4467, instead (§6237(d)). Make sure you are using the right track for the relationship you actually have.

The resident owns the home — removal and sale window

Remember that in a lot tenancy the resident typically owns the mobile home and only rents the ground. That is why Vermont builds a wind-down period into the judgment itself. A judgment of eviction shall provide that a leaseholder shall sell a mobile home or remove a mobile home from the mobile home park within three months from the date of execution of a writ of possession, or within another period the court sets in its discretion (§6237(e)).

During that window the resident keeps a real option to sell the home in place to a buyer who then leases the lot — that is the sell-a-mobile-home path in the statute, and it is often the cleanest outcome for everyone because it avoids an abandoned or costly-to-move home. The leaseholder also shall continue to be responsible for lot rent that accrues until the mobile home is sold or removed (§6237(f)), so the meter keeps running on them, not on you.

Because moving a home is expensive and slow, cash-for-keys — a voluntary payment in exchange for the resident selling or removing the home and vacating on an agreed date — is a common market practice that can resolve matters faster and cheaper than running the full writ-of-possession timeline.

Typical timeline in Vermont

• Day 0 — Nonpayment notice mailed
  Send certified/registered mail stating the grounds; the 20-day cure clock runs from the mailing date (§6237(a)(2)(B)).
• Day 20 — Cure period ends
  If the overdue rent is unpaid after 20 days from mailing, you may commence eviction proceedings (§6237(a)(2)(B)).
• Lease-violation track — within 60 days
  For a substantial violation other than nonpayment, you must commence the proceeding within 60 days of the last violation (or 60 days after arraignment for criminal conduct) (§6237(a)(4)).
• Filing — Superior Court, Civil Division
  File a Complaint for Ejectment under 12 V.S.A. ch. 169 and serve the leaseholder plus any known occupants (§6237(g)); timing depends on the court docket.
• Judgment and writ of possession
  If you prevail, the court issues judgment and a writ of possession; the judgment must set the home sale/removal terms (§6237(e)).
• Up to 3 months after writ execution
  The resident has three months from execution of the writ to sell or remove the home, unless the court orders a different period, and owes lot rent until then (§6237(e)-(f)).
• Change-of-use / closure — 18 months
  To close the park or a lot, give at least 18 months' certified-mail notice to each affected resident and the Commissioner before any possession action (§6237a(a),(f)).

Operator best practices in Vermont

• Build a relationship with a Vermont MHP attorney
  Chapter 153 has strict, resident-protective notice rules and short filing windows; have local counsel review your notices and file your ejectment actions before you act.
• Mail every notice certified or registered
  The statute requires certified/registered mail and dates the cure clock from mailing — keep receipts and green cards for every notice (§6237(a)(2)).
• Count the 20 days from the mailing date
  Do not file for nonpayment until a full 20 days have passed from the date you mailed the notice (§6237(a)(2)(B)).
• Act within the 60-day violation window
  Calendar the deadline the moment a substantial violation occurs; a proceeding filed after 60 days cannot support a judgment (§6237(a)(4)).
• Enforce park rules evenly
  Selective enforcement is a full defense — apply the same rules to every leaseholder or you cannot enforce them against any (§6237(b)).
• Never use self-help
  No lockouts, utility shutoffs, or home removal outside a court writ; eviction must go through Superior Court ejectment (§6237(a)(1), §6237(g)).
• Do not treat a park sale as an eviction trigger
  A sale or change in ownership form is not grounds for eviction; honor existing leaseholds through the transfer (§6237(c)).
• Plan closures 18+ months ahead and notify the Commissioner
  Change of use requires at least 18 months' certified-mail notice to residents and the state, with no ordinary evictions during that period (§6237a(a),(f)).
• Respect the residents' right of first refusal on a sale
  Before selling, give the §6242 notice of intent to sell; residents get 45 days to signal interest and up to 120 more days to negotiate (165 days total) (§6242).