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

What must a mobile home lot lease include in Wisconsin?

If you operate a manufactured or mobile home community in Wisconsin, your lot tenancies are governed by Wis. Stat. Section 710.15 (the current statute, the tenant-protection provisions formerly associated with Section 66.0435 now live in Section 710.15) and by two Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection rules: ATCP 125 (Manufactured Home Communities) and ATCP 134 (Residential Rental Practices).

Every site rental must be by a written lease of at least one year, unless the resident asks for a shorter term and you agree (Wis. Stat. Section 710.15(1m); ATCP 125.03(2)). A copy must be given to the tenant when the lease is signed (ATCP 125.03(1)).

The lease must clearly disclose the rent and everything included in it, plus every other charge the tenant will pay, security deposit, installation charges, utility charges, the municipal permit fee, and any local waste-hauling or recycling fees. It must incorporate or attach the community rules, state the approximate site size and location, note your screening rights, and state whether the community has an emergency shelter (ATCP 125.03(1); Wis. Stat. Section 710.15(2) and (2m)).

The community statute: written agreement and disclosure under Wis. Stat. Section 710.15

Section 710.15(1m) is the anchor: every agreement for the rental of a site shall be by lease, and every lease shall be for a term of at least one year unless the resident or occupant requests a shorter term and the operator agrees to the shorter term. A month-to-month or handshake lot arrangement does not satisfy the statute.

Section 710.15(2) requires that all community rules substantially affecting the rights or duties of residents or operators be made part of every lease, so you cannot enforce rules that were never incorporated into the agreement. Section 710.15(2m) adds that each lease must state whether the community contains an emergency shelter, and if it does, the rules must give its location and use procedures.

When a tenancy ends by your choice, the statute controls timing: at least 90 days' written notice to all known residents before you permanently retire the community or any site from the rental market (Section 710.15(5r)), and termination or non-renewal only for one of the enumerated causes in Section 710.15(5m), nonpayment, lease breach, dangerous rule violations after written notice, unsafe home condition, material misrepresentation, retirement of the community, and similar good cause.

Prohibited practices: fees, tie-ins, and the right to sell in place

Wisconsin bars several classic park practices. ATCP 125.04(1): no operator may charge an entrance fee or exit fee in return for allowing the movement of a manufactured home into or out of a manufactured home community. You may still collect ordinary rent, a security deposit capped at two months' rent or 750 dollars (whichever is less), and actual material and labor costs to move, install, or connect utilities.

Tie-in sales are prohibited. Under ATCP 125.02, you may not require the purchase of a home from you or a named dealer as a condition of renting a site, and you may not impose discriminatory charges on a tenant for buying elsewhere. ATCP 125.04(2) also bars restricting which vendors a tenant may buy goods or services from, subject to narrow exceptions.

The resident's right to sell the home in place is protected. Wis. Stat. Section 710.15(4) forbids requiring removal of a home solely because ownership or occupancy has changed, and Section 710.15(3) forbids using the home's age against the resident. ATCP 125.06(1)(a) bars requiring you to be the sales agent or unreasonably restricting a sale through the tenant's own agent; Section 125.06(1)(b) bars charging for the transfer of tenancy to a buyer; and Section 125.06(1)(e) bars For Sale sign restrictions unless applied uniformly to everyone, including you. You may still lawfully screen the incoming buyer for a new tenancy.

Admin-code lease-provision rules: ATCP 125 and ATCP 134.08

ATCP 125.03 sets the required contents of the written lot lease: rent and what it includes; security deposit, installation, and other charges; utility charges; approximate site size and location; the municipal permit fee and local waste fees; a notice of your screening rights; the emergency-shelter disclosure; and a copy of the community rules attached to the agreement.

Changes are notice-driven. ATCP 125.05(1) and (3) require at least 28 days' prior written notice before a rent increase, a change in rental terms, or a change in community rules; notice may be given in person or by mail, and mailed notice counts as actual notice. Utility charges must be usage-based and competitive with local retail rates (ATCP 125.04(3)).

On top of the MHP-specific rules, DATCP points operators to ATCP 134 for prohibited lease clauses. ATCP 134.08 makes a rental agreement void and unenforceable if it, among other things, retaliates against a tenant for contacting law-enforcement, health, or safety services; authorizes eviction outside the ch. 799 judicial process; accelerates rent on default or waives the duty to mitigate; makes the tenant pay the landlord's attorney fees; confesses judgment; waives the landlord's negligence liability; shifts liability for damage beyond the tenant's control; or waives the duty to deliver habitable premises. Scrub these clauses from any form lease you use.

Lease requirements at a glance in Wisconsin

• Written lease required
  Every site rental must be by a written lease; give the tenant a copy at signing (Wis. Stat. Section 710.15(1m); ATCP 125.03(1)).
• One-year minimum term
  At least one year unless the resident requests shorter and you agree (Wis. Stat. Section 710.15(1m); ATCP 125.03(2)).
• Full charge disclosure
  Disclose rent, deposit, installation, utility, municipal permit, and local waste fees, no hidden charges (ATCP 125.03(1)).
• Rules incorporated
  All rules that affect resident/operator rights or duties must be part of the lease (Wis. Stat. Section 710.15(2)).
• Emergency-shelter statement
  State whether the community has an emergency shelter; if so, give location and use in the rules (Wis. Stat. Section 710.15(2m)).
• No entrance or exit fees
  Cannot charge a fee to move a home in or out; deposit capped at two months' rent or 750 dollars, whichever is less (ATCP 125.04(1)).
• No tie-in purchases
  Cannot require buying a home from you or a named dealer as a rental condition (ATCP 125.02(1)).
• Right to sell in place
  Cannot force removal on ownership change or block sale through the tenant's own agent (Wis. Stat. Section 710.15(4); ATCP 125.06).
• 28-day change notice
  At least 28 days' written notice before a rent increase or rule change (ATCP 125.05).
• Cause-based termination
  End or decline to renew only on enumerated statutory grounds; 90 days' notice before closing the community (Wis. Stat. Section 710.15(5m), (5r)).
• No prohibited clauses
  Remove void provisions listed in ATCP 134.08 (non-judicial eviction, rent acceleration, negligence waivers, etc.).

Operator best practices in Wisconsin

• Use a compliant written lease template
  Build one lot-lease form that hits every ATCP 125.03 disclosure and the Section 710.15 requirements, and reuse it community-wide.
• Attach the current rules to every lease
  Unincorporated rules are unenforceable under Section 710.15(2); attach and re-attach whenever rules change.
• Audit your fee schedule
  Confirm you charge no entrance or exit fee and that deposits never exceed two months' rent or 750 dollars; itemize only actual move/install/utility costs (ATCP 125.04(1)).
• Document all change notices
  Send rent and rule changes in writing with at least 28 days' lead time and keep proof of mailing (ATCP 125.05).
• Honor the right to sell in place
  Let residents sell through their own agent and post uniform For Sale signs; screen only the buyer's new tenancy (ATCP 125.06).
• Terminate only for statutory cause
  Map every non-renewal or termination to a Section 710.15(5m) ground and give the required written notices.
• Strip void clauses from forms
  Cross-check your lease against ATCP 134.08 and remove any prohibited provision before it voids the agreement.
• Build a relationship with a Wisconsin MHP attorney
  Have counsel who knows Section 710.15 and ATCP 125/134 review your lease and rules and advise on closures, terminations, and rent changes.