Manufactured Home Parks: What if the Park Rules Change?

Parques de casas prefabricadas: ¿Qué sucede si cambian las reglas del parque?
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Residents of manufactured home parks who own their home have many rights under Minnesota law. Some of these rights protect them when the park’s rules change.

Park Rules Must Be Reasonable

Minnesota law requires all park rules to be reasonable—whether the rules are in leases, rulebooks, or regulations. (Minn. Stat. § 327C.01, subd. 8; 327C.02, subd. 2.) A reasonable rule must meet all these goals:

Here are a few examples of rules that are unreasonable: (Minn. Stat. § 327C.05, subd. 1 and 2.)

Park Rules Cannot Limit Homeowners’ Legal Rights

Park rules cannot limit homeowners’ legal rights. Here are a few examples of rules that are not allowed:

Park owners also must give all residents 60 days’ written notice before changing any park rules.

Homeowners Do Not Need to Follow a New Rule That Significantly Changes an Old Rule

Even if a new rule follows the law, Minnesota law says that homeowners who live at the park when the rule is changed do not need to follow the new rule if it significantly changes the old rule. For example, a homeowner who built a wooden garden shed that was allowed by the old rule does not have to tear it down because the new rule says residents cannot have wooden garden sheds. Because of this, there may be many sets of rules that apply to different homeowners, depending on what rules were in place when each homeowner moved to the park.

A new rule significantly changes an old rule if it: (Minn. Stat. § 327C.01, subd. 11.)

Here are a few examples of rule changes that do not significantly change the old rules, and homeowners would have to follow them: (Minn. Stat. § 327C.02, subd. 2.)

Homeowners Have Protections against Being Evicted for Not Following Rules

A homeowner cannot be evicted for breaking an unreasonable or illegal rule, or for breaking a new rule that significantly changes an old rule that was in place when they first moved into the park.  If a park owner files an eviction lawsuit against a homeowner for breaking a rule like this, the homeowner can fight the eviction by telling the court the rule is unreasonable, illegal, or significantly changed an old rule that they are still following. (Minn. Stat. § 327C.10, subd. 3.)

Even if a homeowner breaks a rule, a park owner must follow several steps before evicting them. (Minn. Stat. § 327C.09, subd. 4.)

A homeowner who challenges a new rule in court as unreasonable or a significant change to an old rule and loses still cannot be immediately evicted.  The court must give them ten days to start following the new rule. If the homeowner starts following the new rule within those ten days, the eviction will be cancelled. The court may also make them pay the park owner’s court fees. (Minn. Stat. § 327C.02, subd. 2a.)

If your park owner has changed your park’s rules and you have a question about whether the new rules are legal you may wish to contact the following:

All Parks Alliance for Change
2380 Wycliff Street, Suite 200
Saint Paul, MN 55114
(855) 361-2722
hotline@allparksallianceforchange.org
www.allparksallianceforchange.org

Housing Justice Center
275 East 4th Street, Suite 590
Saint Paul, MN 55101
(612) 807-1139
clients@hjcmn.org
www.hjcmn.org

If you believe your park owner is not following Minnesota law, please report the issue to the Attorney General’s Office:

Office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
445 Minnesota Street, Suite 1400
St. Paul, MN 55101
(651) 296-3353 (Twin Cities Calling Area)
(800) 657-3787 (Outside the Twin Cities)
(800) 627-3529 (Minnesota Relay)
www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Complaint.asp


Related Post:

Manufactured Home Parks

This handbook explains the Minnesota laws concerning manufactured home park residents and park owners.