Mobile Home Park Lot Rent Increases in Vermont

Do you own your home? Read about the Vermont Homeowner Assistance Program (VHAP). It provides grants of up to $30,000 to eligible homeowners who have experienced a COVID financial hardship.

When you get a notice that says your lot rent will increase, read it carefully. Vermont law says that a park owner has to do certain things in order to raise the rent for a mobile home lot. The owner has to follow these rules:

  1. Charges for lot rent or utilities can’t be changed for at least one year after they were set.
     
  2. If the park owner plans to raise the rent, you and everyone else who rents a lot in the park has to be given a written notice at least 60 days before the rent goes up.

See a full listing of rules on the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development website in the Housing Division Rules section.

This is the official form that must be used to notify you of a lot rent increase in Vermont. Near the top of the form the park owner writes in the new rent and the percent of increase over the old rent.

If the percent of increase is higher than 8.8% (for 2023) and the majority of renters thinks it is unfair, you can dispute the increase and ask the state for mediation. This is explained in the Mediation Rights section of the form. The percentage that triggers the right to mediation changes each year depending on the consumer price index. Mediation means an independent person helps the parties negotiate a solution to a problem.

If you and others in the park want to ask for mediation, you must move very quickly. Here are the steps to take:

  1. Call the CVOEO Mobile Home Program at 802-660-3455, ext. 204.
  2. Create a Petition to Request Mediation of Let Rent Increase.
  3. Get people to sign the petition. You have to have signatures from people who rent more than half of the lots in the park. 
  4. File the petition with the park owner and with the Commissioner of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, no more than 15 business days after you get the notice that your rent is going up. See the petition form for the address and fax number.

Helpful links

For more information and rules about mobile home parks in Vermont, go to:

Source URL: https://vtlawhelp.org/lot-rent-increases

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