My Park is for Sale

Role of the Mobile Home Park Oversight Program

Program staff can’t provide legal advice or legal representation. Information on this website is intended for educational purposes only.

If you own a home and rent a lot in a mobile home park and you believe your landlord has violated the law, you can file a complaint with the program.

What a Park Sale Might Mean for You

Closures

If your park is for sale, it doesn’t necessarily mean your park is going to close. The park may remain open under the new owner.

Leases

Home owners are most likely not required to sign a new lease even if a new owner purchases the mobile home park they live in. However, occupants or residents renting a mobile home from a home owner may be required to sign a lease if the mobile home park they live in is purchased by a new owner.

“After the sale of the [mobile home park], the existing lease agreements remain in effect, as do the park rules and regulations unless changed pursuant to statute. The new ownership should not be able to require the tenants to sign a new lease agreement.” See Karin M. Troendle and Alex Witteveld, “Colorado Landlord-Tenant Law From the Perspective of a Tenant Advocate” (8th ed.) or statute section 6.2.4.

Read more about mobile home park lease laws in Colorado.

Home Owner Rent Increases

It’s possible a new mobile home park owner will want to increase your rent. Under Colorado law, mobile home park rent increases can only occur occur when:

• The landlord provides at least 60 days’ notice before the increase will take effect
• There hasn’t been another rent increase within 12 months

A landlord is also prohibited from increasing lot rent if the park isn’t in compliance with other laws. Learn about how and when a mobile home park landlord can increase rent.

The Colorado statute doesn't set a rent cap, or limit on the amount that a landlord can increase rent, for a mobile home lot or mobile home each year.

If you are a resident who is renting both the mobile home and the lot, you should review your leases.

Know the Sales Law

If your landlord is considering selling your mobile home park, we encourage you to read the law and rules on mobile home park sales and home owners’ opportunity to purchase:

• Mobile Home Park Act section 38-12-217, C.R.S. (English), Mobile Home Park Act section 38-12-217, C.R.S. (Spanish)
• Mobile Home Park Oversight Program Administrative Rules, 8 CCR 1302-15 Rule 8 (English), Mobile Home Park Oversight Program Administrative Rules, 8 CCR 1302-15 Rule 8 (updated Spanish version coming soon!)

Program staff are not attorneys. If you want to understand your rights and responsibilities under Colorado law, you should speak with an outside attorney.

Landlords Must Post Notices of Intent to Sell

Under Colorado law, the seller of a mobile home park is required to provide advance notice in English and Spanish of a potential sale to home owners renting lot space in the park. Learn more about when and how the seller must post these notices. See section 38-12-217 (2) and (3), C.R.S.

Your Opportunity to Purchase

Colorado law grants home owners time to form a group and make an offer to buy the mobile home park, which is called their opportunity to purchase. This means that sellers have waiting periods they must honor after posting a notice of intent to sell. Home owners can make an offer to buy their mobile home park when it is for sale, or at any other time by forming a group, association, or cooperative and applying for public or private grants or loans to buy the park.

After the owner of a mobile home park posts a notice of intent to sell the park, two countdown clocks start running at the same time:

90-Day Communication Period

• Home owners have the right to communicate with the landlord about the sale. See Rule 8.2 and section 38-12-217 (1)(d), C.R.S.
  • Owners of a mobile home park can answer questions and discuss their intentions.  Landlords or sellers should ensure that they do not take any actions that would violate the statute.
  • Home owners and owners of mobile home parks should maintain an open line of dialogue so that home owners can clearly understand and consider their options  under the law. 
• Landlords must wait 90 days to ask for home owners’ signatures on whether they want to accept or decline the opportunity to purchase the park. 
  • Statute emphasizes that landlords or sellers should not attempt to coerce, threaten, or provide financial incentives to influence a home owner’s decision See section 38-12-217(1)(d), C.R.S. effective June 30, 2020.
  • After 90 days, landlords must request home owners’ signatures using the division-approved forms in English and Spanish.

120-Day Opportunity to Purchase (OTP)

The 120-day OTP is the time frame that home owners have to organize, prepare, and present an offer to purchase the park themselves. This countdown starts at the same time as the 90-day communication period. See Rule 8.1, effective November 30, 2022, and section 38-12-217(1)(a), C.R.S., effective October 1, 2022.

• Landlords or sellers must wait 120 days for home owners to form a group and submit an offer, unless 50% declined the opportunity by signing the division-approved forms (English and Spanish).
• Unless at least 50% of total home owners in the park return the forms and state that they are not interested in participating in an effort to buy the park, the seller must honor home owners’ 120-day opportunity to make an offer.
• It is against the law for a landlord to close on the sale of the park to an outside individual or business while this OTP period is open.
• A landlord must consider any purchase offer from a group of home owners or their assignee in good faith, and they can’t enter an unconditional contract with a buyer until the home owners' opportunity to purchase period has expired.
• Home owners may choose to assign their rights to a public entity (assignee) for the purpose of preserving the mobile home park as affordable housing. See section 38-12-217(8), C.R.S.
• In this case, when conditions in the statute are met, the public entity or its designee will have the right of first refusal to purchase the park.
• If the home owners or their assignees submit a proposed purchase and sale agreement within the 120-day period, then their OTP remains open.
• If the home owners or their assignees obtain a financial commitment within the 120-day period, then their OTP remains open. See section 38-12-217(4)(a).
• If the 120-day period passes and home owners do not make an offer to purchase, then the opportunity to purchase expires. See section 38-12-217 (6), C.R.S.
• If, during this 120-day window, any material changes to the sale terms occur that affect the price, conditions, or any key financial terms by more than 10%, a new notice must be provided, and the 120-day OTP period restarts. See Rule 8.4.

In summary, the 90 days after the notice of intent to sell are crucial for homeowners to gather information and start the process of potentially purchasing the park. The 120-day OTP period is the window during which homeowners can solidify and submit their offer. Significant changes to the sale's terms reset this OTP period to ensure fairness and provide homeowners with an accurate understanding of what they are considering to purchase.

If a landlord posts another notice of intent to sell because they took another triggering action, both countdowns start all over again.

After a sale, the seller must fill out an affidavit or form and update the park’s contact information. You can learn more by reading the instructions for sellers.

Potential Sources of Assistance for Home Owners

To learn how to apply for division grants or loans that may help with the purchase of a mobile home park, contact the housing development specialist for your county.

You may also want to reach out to these organization for potential assistance with organizing or funding an offer to buy your mobile home park:

• Thistle Resident Owned Communities (Thistle): info@thistle.us, 303-443-0007
• Impact Development Fund: info@impactdf.org, 970-494-2021
• 9to5 Colorado: 9to5Colorado@9to5.org, 303-628-0925
• Colorado Coalition of Manufactured Home Owners (CoCoMHO): info@cocomho.org, 720-591-9031
• Common Good Management Services: contact form, 1-833-454-4663 (toll free)

When a Landlord Doesn’t Follow the Law

If you’re a mobile home owner and believe your landlord didn’t follow the sales law, you have the right to file a complaint with the division.

State law empowers the division to file a civil action or impose a fine on the seller of a mobile home park for violations of section 38-12-217, C.R.S. Get more details on what can happen when a landlord doesn’t comply with state law on mobile home park sales.