8 Fair Housing Trends in the Manufactured Housing Industry

There’s no denying that the property management industry has changed drastically in the past several years. Due to COVID-19 and the onslaught of new technology; payments and communications made a massive shift to digital, automation became the norm rather than the exception, and renters are more vocal about their fair housing expectations than ever before.

Managers with manufactured housing portfolios have especially felt these changes. Toward the end of 2021, eight tenant protections were mandated as rent prices increased and pressure to offer rent relief from congress continued to mount.

Manufactured housing communities that accept land loan financing from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are now required to adhere to the following eight guidelines:

Non-Negotiable Fair Housing Tenant Protections:

• One-year renewable lease term, unless there is good cause for non-renewal
• 30-day written notice of rent increases
• Five-day grace period for rent payments and the right to cure defaults on rent payments
• Right to sell the manufactured home to a buyer that qualifies as a new tenant in the community, without having to first relocate it out of the community
• Right to sell the manufactured home in place within 30 days after eviction by the community owner
• Right to sublease, or assign the pad site lease, for the unexpired term to the new buyer of the tenant’s manufactured home without any unreasonable restraint, so long as the new buyer or sublessee qualifies as a new tenant within the community
• Right to post “For Sale” signs that comply with community rules and regulations
• Right to receive at least 60-days’ notice of planned sale or closure of the community

While many of these fair housing guidelines were already considered industry standard, it’s imperative that operators are aware of what’s now mandated. These protections currently only exist for those who take Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac financing in the manufactured housing sector, but they could certainly extend to the single and multifamily industries as well.

For the latest information, research, and advocacy efforts in the industry, be sure to follow the Manufactured Housing Institute.