Pennsylvania Mobile Home Tenant Rights
- Mobile park operators are permitted to set specific park rules that all park tenants must abide by. A park owner is allowed to set "fair and reasonable rules" according to the Mobile Home Park Rights Act. The rules must be established for the sole purpose of improving or maintaining park health or safety, or upkeep of the park. The Act requires the rules to be provided in written form to all tenants, or posted in a prominent location. Rules must be applied equally to all tenants to remain valid.
- Mobile park evictions have separate rules from regular evictions in Pennsylvania. This is mostly due to the fact that the park owner has no claim on the mobile home itself, but only the space it is parked on. There are only a few specific reasons a park tenant may be evicted: unpaid lot rent, two lease violations within a six-month period, changes in the designation of park land or closing of the park.
The landlord serves the mobile home owner with a written notice detailing the eviction reason, before filing the eviction in court. A resident has 20 days to pay back rent or leave in the case of unpaid rent. Eviction proceedings for lease violations require a notice for the first lease violation. If the second violation is within six months of the first, the landlord can start the eviction process without written notice as long as its within 60 days of the violation. - The park owner is unable to stop a mobile home resident from selling his mobile home, as it is not the park's property. However, the park owner is able to choose not to approve a buyer for lot rental. In that case, the mobile home would have to be moved when it sells.
- A park owner has the right to request mobile home equipment, such as awnings or underskirts, added to the mobile home. He does not, however, have the ability to force a mobile home owner to purchase the supplies from a particular company or brand.
- The park owner is required to disclose all fees in writing before the tenant moves into the mobile home park. No undisclosed fees are permitted to be charged. The park owner has the right to add rent and service charge increases as long as written notice is provided thirty days in advance.