One of the unique aspects of mobile homes is their mobility. Unlike other homeowners, you can move your whole house around. As a result, it often means that you may encounter some unique legal challenges as well as what should and shouldn’t be included in any rental agreements.
In most cases, you will enter into a mobile home lot rental agreements and not the usual leases like those apartments have. These agreements are meant to protect both the owner of the lot (or landlord) and the future tenant.
Legal agreements can be intimidating to set up and to sign. We aren’t always sure what they should look like. That’s why we often make mistakes when drawing up agreements and when accepting them without legal advice. If you have some form of legal representation it’s always a good idea to have them look at agreements whether you’re the potential tenant or the owner of the lot
Usually, there are two types of rental agreements involving mobile homes. One type involves renting both a mobile home and the lot on which it stands from a landlord. However, often people own a mobile home but rent the land or lot on which they stay. These lots are almost always in mobile home parks.
A lot rental agreement is an agreement entered into by the tenant and landlord that sets out the conditions for the lease of this lot. It’s always recommended to sign a written lease and not just rely on a verbal agreement . This is the safest way to approach this type of arrangement and can be very useful in resolving disputes.
These agreements outline the tenant’s rights but also their obligations. The same is true for the landlord. This means they contain information about the details of the lease and the roles of the parties that are involved.
Before setting up or signing an agreement check the laws in your area or state as they usually differ from place to place. For now, here are some guidelines on what a lot rental agreement should and shouldn’t contain
The agreement should contain identifying information for both the tenant and the landlord.
Mobile home lot rental agreements, like all rental agreements, need to provide information about all the costs and payments that are involved. The agreement must also outline the procedures and conditions for these payments.
I f there are any rules or regulations that the tenant needs to follow to stay on the lot, this must be in the agreement.
Both tenants and landlords have certain rights and responsibilities that should be specified by the rental agreement. This will greatly depend on the specific property and preference of the landlord.
So, now that we have looked at what a lot rental agreement should contain, we can look at what it shouldn’t contain. This ranges from putting in extraneous information to putting in provisions that are illegal.
Including some of these provisions can mean that the landlord or tenant won’t be able to enforce conditions of the agreement. At the extreme end, the inclusion of these provisions can make the entire agreement invalid. That is why it’s often safer to have an attorney that specializes in real estate review the agreement.
The lot rental agreement shouldn’t contain any provisions that violate any laws. The landlord will be unable to enforce these provisions. Additionally, this can lead to legal repercussions and can impact the validity of the agreement. Laws and legal requirements for property leases change regularly. The landlord needs to make sure that the lease subscribes to the current laws.
All the information in the agreement should be up to date at the time of signing. The personal information of the tenant and landlord should be up to date. As well as this, information about the property itself should be accurate.
As this agreement is a legal document, it must use certain jargon and legal terms. Avoid incorrect terminology and informal language, like slang.
Crucially, the agreement shouldn’t contain any provisions that discriminate against tenants because of their disability, religion, race, color, sex, nationality or familial status. The Fair Housing Act outlaws these types of discrimination. An agreement shouldn’t include provisions that can prevent a tenant from renting a lot because of these factors.
Any provision that stops the tenant from exercising their rights is probably unlawful. Remove these provisions. To avoid this, pay particular attention to clauses involving eviction and tenant’s right to defend themselves in these situations.
The lease agreement shouldn’t have provisions that will hinder a tenant’s right to privacy. Although the landlord can enter the property this must be done follow certain guidelines and can’t be done without giving the tenant at least 24 hours’ notice.
There are also some provisions that aren’t necessary to include in the agreement, but that could be beneficial to put in.
It’s clear that it can become very complicated to work out these agreements. You will be able to find mobile home lot lease agreement template online that can help you to formulate your own. Or you can purchase standard agreement forms.
Hiring a rental agency or working through one is another solution to the problem as they might have a template that they use for all the contracts that they manage.
As can be seen, the different provisions in the lot rental agreement it’s set up to protect the tenant and the landlord by making sure that neither of them can be exploited. So make sure that both parties have a copy of the agreement, and that both agree on all aspects of the contract.
All in all, if you follow the guidelines above you will be on the right track to work out a valid and binding mobile home lot rental agreement. As a tenant and as a landlord , paying attention to these guidelines can help you to avoid legal pitfalls. Just don’t be intimidated by the legal jargon along the way and stay reasonable.
Dan Paton has been working full-time in this field for over a decade. Both him and his partner, Dan Leighton, formed EZ Homes back in 2006 and have seen explosive growth ever since. Dan works heavily in the administrative role within the organization. He is a jack of all trades type of guy. Dan and his wife have 4 children.