New Bill Mandates Tenant Rights in Manufactured Home Communities with Federal Loans

This proposed legislation, the 'Manufactured Housing Tenants Bill of Rights Act of 2025,' aims to establish a baseline set of protections for folks living in manufactured home communities financed through specific federal loan programs (like certain HUD, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac loans). If enacted, landlords receiving these loans would need to include several key rights in tenant leases within 180 days.

New Rules for the Neighborhood

So, what does this mean for residents? The bill lays out several minimum standards that would have to be part of the deal when you rent a pad site (or a pad site plus a home owned by the landlord). Key protections include:

• Lease Security: A standard 1-year lease term that automatically renews unless there's a solid, documented reason not to.
• Rent Hike Notice: At least 60 days' written notice before any rent increase or new charge, complete with justification. Big jumps (over 5%) require even more notice – an extra 30 days for every additional 2.5% hike. This gives families more time to budget or plan.
• Payment Flexibility: A 5-day grace period for paying rent and a 15-day window to fix a payment default before things escalate.
• Selling Your Home: If you own your manufactured home, you'd have the right to sell it without being forced to move it. Even after an eviction, you'd get 45 days to sell it in place.
• Subleasing Rights: The ability to sublease or assign your lease to the person buying your home, provided they meet reasonable community standards. If they're denied, the landlord has to explain why in writing.
• 'For Sale' Signs: You can post your own 'For Sale' signs.
• Community Sale/Closure Notice: A 60-day heads-up if the community is being sold or closed, including the sale terms, plus a 60-day window for tenants to try and negotiate purchasing the community themselves.
• Eviction Protections: Termination of tenancy would only be allowed for specific reasons like breaking lease terms, violating reasonable community rules, or a legitimate business reason spelled out in the lease, all requiring written notice with clear reasons.

Importantly, this bill sets a floor, not a ceiling. If your state or city already offers stronger protections, those still apply.

Keeping Landlords Accountable (and Rewarding Good Actors)

The bill isn't just suggesting these protections; it requires borrowers seeking these federal loans to certify they're including them and provide proof, like a copy of their standard lease. There are teeth here: landlords (or their affiliates) who 'willfully and materially' violate these protections could be barred from future federally backed financing for at least two years.

There are also specific financial penalties tied to violations:

• Messing up rent increase notices could mean repaying the extra rent plus 25% interest.
• Improperly charging late fees could require repayment plus 25% interest.
• Violating rules around selling a home could cost the landlord the equivalent of the sale price or 12 months' rent.
• Blocking subleasing or 'For Sale' signs could mean paying the total remaining rent owed on the lease.
• Failing to give proper notice about a community sale could result in penalties equal to 2 months' rent or a share of the sale price.

On the flip side, the bill encourages 'covered pricing incentives' – basically, potential discounts on those federal loans for landlords who offer protections better than the minimum requirements.

Building a Better Lease & Looking Ahead

Beyond the immediate protections, the Act establishes a 16-member 'Manufactured Home Community Lending Standards Commission' (including government officials, industry reps, academics, and residents). Within a year, this commission is tasked with recommending even stronger consumer protections that could potentially qualify landlords for those loan pricing incentives. The goal seems to be pushing the industry towards better practices over time.

Additionally, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director is directed to create a standard site-lease agreement within one year, aiming to make it easier for mortgages on homes in these communities to be bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under their single-family programs. Finally, a public website will list properties covered by these protections, increasing transparency for current and potential residents. Funding for all this comes from existing agency budgets, meaning no new appropriations are authorized by this bill.