Mobile Home Park Evictions

The owners of a park:

• cannot make you move your mobile home out of the park without getting a court order
• cannot lock you out of your mobile home
• cannot turn off your heat, water or other utility connections

If the owner has done any of these things, contact us for help. Fill out our form and we will call you back. Your information will be sent to Legal Services Vermont, which screens requests for help for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont. You can also call us at 1-800-889-2047.

The owners of a park can only evict you for three reasons and must follow certain rules. The rules apply whether you are a homeowner renting a lot or you are renting the lot and the home from the park owner. The three reasons for eviction and the special rules are:

• Nonpayment of rent — The park owner must send you a written notice with a date by which you have to pay the back rent or leave. This is the “termination date.” The date must be at least 20 days after the date the notice was mailed to you. You can read the law at 10 VSA § 6237.

Note: No new notice is required if you are not current on your rent and have gotten a notice of eviction for nonpayment of rent in the past six months.

• Serious violation of the rental agreement — The park owner must send you a notice that says how you broke the rules and the date you have to get out. 10 VSA § 6237.

Tip: the owner can’t evict you for breaking the rules if other park residents are allowed to break those rules without being evicted. This is sometimes hard to prove in court, so for help, contact us. Fill out our form and we will call you back. Your information will be sent to Legal Services Vermont, which screens requests for help for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont. You can also call us at 1-800-889-2047.

Note: No new notice is required if you seriously violate the terms of the rental agreement or fall behind on the rent within six months of having gotten a notice of eviction for serious violation of the agreement.

• Closing all or part of the park — The park owner has to give each person renting a lot that will be effected a written notice at least 18 months before changing the use. The notice has to be sent by certified mail. Depending on the circumstances, you should get a notice of intent to sell in advance of the closure notice. 10 VSA § 6237a. If you get any notice of this kind and want help, contact CVOEO’s Mobile Home Program for help at 802-660-3455 x204. You can also contact us at Legal Services Vermont.

Note: Sale of the park or a change in the form of ownership of the park are not grounds for eviction. 10 VSA § 6237. But if the park is going to be sold, you have rights as a resident to consider whether you want to buy the park. Read our page about When a Park is Sold or Closes.

The next step is that the park owner must go to court to evict you. There are rules the park owner must follow and actions you can take. Review information on the process and your rights on our Steps in an Eviction Case page. There are some special defenses for mobile home park residents described below.

If you are behind on the rent, the park owner can ask the court to order you to pay Rent into Court. Learn more about Rent into Court.

Sometimes a park owner and tenant can settle the eviction action in a way that works out well for everyone. Read more about settling an eviction case.

If you lose your eviction case, the last step is an order from the judge to the sheriff to forcibly evict you. Only the sheriff can forcibly remove you. The park owner cannot use force to remove you — at least not legally.

If you are evicted and you own or are buying the mobile home, you have three months from the day you leave to sell or remove the mobile home. 10 VSA § 6237.

In the eviction case, you can use the regular tenant defenses. In addition, there are special protections for mobile home residents being evicted by park owners. 10 V.S.A. § 6237. Here are some of them:

• If the park owner is evicting you for violating the lease, you can defend with proof that these lease terms are not enforced against other tenants. A park owner must treat tenants equally.
• If the park owner is evicting you for violating the lease, you probably can defend with proof that you fixed the problem within 20 days of the notice. For example, if your lease is being terminated because you have a dog, you can defend with proof that you moved the dog to a new home. This is called “cure.”
• If the park owner is evicting you for violating the lease, you can defend with proof that the last violation was more than 60 days before the case was started.
• If the case is about criminal activity, you can defend with proof that the case was started more than 60 days after arraignment.
• If the park owner is evicting you for violating the lease, you can defend with proof that the lease was not adopted properly. Learn more about Mobile Home Park Leases.

On our Court Process: Steps in an Eviction Case page, be sure to check the regular tenant defenses, including:

• “Reasons to dismiss”
• “Include affirmative defenses”
• “The Answer could include counterclaims”