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

What must a mobile home lot lease include in Washington?

If you rent lots or spaces in a Washington mobile home park, your lease is governed by the Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act, chapter 59.20 RCW. This is a separate statute from the general residential landlord-tenant act (RCW 59.18), and its rental-agreement rules are stricter and more specific.

RCW 59.20.060(1) is unambiguous: 'Any mobile home space tenancy regardless of the term, shall be based upon a written rental agreement, signed by the parties.' There is no lawful oral or handshake lot tenancy in Washington. The written agreement must then contain each of the required items the statute lists, disclose specific facts, and avoid a set of prohibited clauses that are void if you include them.

This guide is an operator-oriented summary of the statute, not legal advice. It covers required lease contents and disclosures and the one-year term rule; it does not address rent regulation or the eviction process.

The required written-agreement contents under RCW 59.20.060(1)

RCW 59.20.060(1) requires the signed written agreement to contain a defined list of contents. At the core: '(a) The terms for the payment of rent, including time and place, and any additional charges to be paid by the tenant.' If a charge is not stated in the agreement, you generally cannot collect it later, so itemize everything.

The agreement must also include the park rules and regulations (1)(c); the landlord's name and address, plus an in-county agent for service of notices and process if the landlord is out of state (1)(d); the name and address of any party holding a secured interest in the home (1)(e); the tenant's forwarding address or an emergency contact (1)(f); deposit-withholding terms if any deposit is taken (1)(i); written descriptions or maps of the space boundaries and of who is responsible for utility hook-ups (1)(k),(l); a statement of the current zoning (1)(m); land-use permit expiration dates (1)(n); and the past five years' rent history for the lot (1)(o).

One accuracy note for operators: the current statute requires the agreement be 'signed by the parties' and does not require you to attach a copy of chapter 59.20 RCW, despite what some older templates assume. Match your template to the statute as it reads today.

Required disclosures and the one-year term

Two disclosure items deserve special care. First, utilities: RCW 59.20.060(1)(j) requires 'A listing of the utilities, services, and facilities which will be available to the tenant during the tenancy and the nature of the fees, if any, to be charged,' together with a statement that if any utility is later charged independent of rent, 'the landlord agrees to decrease the amount of the rent charged proportionately.' You cannot quietly unbundle a utility and keep rent flat.

Second, the park sale/closure warning under RCW 59.20.060(1)(g): the agreement must include the statement that 'The park may be sold or otherwise transferred at any time with the result that subsequent owners may close the mobile home park, or that the landlord may close the park at any time after the required closure notice as provided in RCW 59.20.080.' The statute requires this to appear in boldface and larger print, set off by a box or comparable visual device, and located directly above the tenant's signature.

On term length, RCW 59.20.090(1) provides: 'Unless otherwise agreed rental agreements shall be for a term of one year. Any rental agreement of whatever duration shall be automatically renewed for the term of the original rental agreement, unless a different specified term is agreed upon.' Default every lot lease to one year with automatic renewal; only offer a shorter term when the tenant asks for one. Park rules referenced in the lease are enforceable only if they satisfy RCW 59.20.045 (reasonable, uniformly applied, not evasive or retaliatory, with proper notice before new rules bite).

Prohibited provisions that make clauses unenforceable

RCW 59.20.060(2) lists provisions your agreement 'shall not contain.' You may not include a clause '(d) By which the tenant agrees to waive or forego rights or remedies under this chapter,' nor one '(g) By which the tenant agrees to waive or forego homestead rights provided by chapter 6.13 RCW.' Broad waiver-of-rights language is a classic drafting trap here.

Fee and payment traps are also barred: no clause 'Allowing the landlord to charge an entrance fee or an exit fee' (e); no guest-parking fee absent a rules violation (a); no towing or impound without notice to the owner or tenant (b); no clause requiring the tenant 'to make rent payments through electronic means only' (i); and no late fee 'for rent that is paid within five days following its due date' (j). You also cannot pre-select a particular arbitrator at signing (h), or alter the due date or raise rent during a term under two years or more than annually on longer terms (c).

The consequence is spelled out in RCW 59.20.060(3): 'Any provision prohibited under this section that is included in a rental agreement is unenforceable.' Including one of these clauses does not just fail — it exposes you to liability, so scrub legacy templates.

Lease requirements at a glance in Washington

• Written agreement is mandatory
  Every lot tenancy, regardless of term, must rest on a written agreement signed by both parties (RCW 59.20.060(1)); there is no valid oral lot lease.
• State rent and every charge
  Put the rent, time and place of payment, and all additional charges in writing (59.20.060(1)(a)); undisclosed fees are not collectible.
• Disclose utilities and fees
  List all utilities, services, and facilities and their fees; if a utility later moves to direct billing, rent must drop proportionately (59.20.060(1)(j)).
• Boxed park sale/closure warning
  Include the exact boldface, boxed sale/closure statement directly above the tenant's signature (59.20.060(1)(g), .080).
• One-year default term
  Unless the parties agree otherwise, the term is one year and auto-renews for the same term (59.20.090(1)).
• Rules must be enforceable
  Reference and attach park rules that meet the reasonableness and notice tests of RCW 59.20.045 (59.20.060(1)(c)).
• Prohibited clauses are void
  Rights waivers, homestead waivers, entrance/exit fees, electronic-only rent, and same-week late fees are unenforceable if included (59.20.060(2)-(3)).

Operator best practices in Washington

• Use one compliant master template
  Adopt a single RCW 59.20.060-compliant written agreement and use it for every space so no required content or disclosure is ever missed.
• Audit legacy leases for void clauses
  Remove any entrance/exit fees, rights or homestead waivers, electronic-only payment terms, and same-week late fees — they are unenforceable and create liability (59.20.060(2)-(3)).
• Itemize every fee up front
  Spell out rent, additional charges, and all utility/service/facility fees; charges not disclosed in the agreement generally cannot be collected (59.20.060(1)(a),(j)).
• Place the closure warning correctly
  Reproduce the park sale/closure statement verbatim in bold, boxed, and directly above the signature line — placement is part of the requirement (59.20.060(1)(g)).
• Give a real one-year term
  Default to the statutory one-year term and honor automatic renewal; shorten only when the tenant requests it (59.20.090).
• Keep park rules defensible
  Adopt rules that satisfy the RCW 59.20.045 reasonableness tests and give the required advance notice before enforcing new or amended rules.
• Build a relationship with a Washington MHP attorney
  The MHLTA differs sharply from the general residential act; have Washington counsel review your lot lease and any template changes before rollout.