What a Texas Mobile Home Park Can Require When You Sell

You own the manufactured home. The park owns the ground under it, and you pay lot rent. When you sell, two sets of rules apply. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) statement of ownership records who owns the home, and our guide to selling a mobile home in Texas covers that paperwork. This guide covers the other side: what the park can and cannot require under Chapter 94 of the Texas Property Code.

This is general information, not legal advice; a Texas attorney can apply it to your facts.

Does Chapter 94 cover your lot?

Chapter 94 applies to a "manufactured home community," which Sec. 94.001(4) defines as a parcel of land with four or more lots offered for lease for installing and occupying manufactured homes. Under Sec. 94.002, the chapter covers the relationship between that landlord and a tenant who leases a lot to place a manufactured home on it. It does not cover a landlord who owns the home and rents it to you.

Sec. 94.003 makes void any lease term or community rule that tries to waive a right or excuse a duty under the chapter. Sec. 94.008 says community rules may not be arbitrary or capricious, are part of the lease, and do not take effect until the 30th day after each tenant gets a written copy of a new or changed rule.

Selling the home where it sits

The core rule is Sec. 94.252(a). The owner of a manufactured home may sell a home located on the leased premises if the purchaser is approved in writing by the landlord and a lease agreement is signed by the purchaser.

Three steps come before you promise a buyer they can stay:

• Ask the manager for the park's written application process for new residents, and give it to the buyer early.
• Get the approval in writing; a spoken "should be fine" is not enough.
• Expect the buyer to sign a lease. Under Sec. 94.057, a landlord may prohibit assigning your lease if the lease says so, so do not assume the buyer can take over yours.

Chapter 94 does not list the reasons a landlord may use to approve or turn down a buyer. If the park's written rules set criteria, they are part of your lease under Sec. 94.008(b). Before you list, check whether you signed anything that makes the park your sales agent, because Sec. 94.252(b) turns on a written agreement.

What the park cannot do while you sell

Several parts of Chapter 94 protect a tenant during a sale:

• No lockout or removal without a court writ. Under Sec. 94.203(a), a landlord may prevent a tenant from entering the lot, evict a tenant, or require removal of the home only after obtaining a writ of possession under Chapter 24.
• No retaliation. For six months after a tenant exercises a legal right in good faith or makes a protected complaint, Sec. 94.251 bars a landlord from retaliating by filing an eviction (except on the grounds in Subchapter E), raising rent, decreasing services or ending the lease. Sec. 94.253(a) generally excuses community-wide rent increases or service cuts, escalation-clause rent increases for utilities, taxes or insurance, and actions the landlord proves were not retaliatory. Retaliation has its own remedy in Sec. 94.254: a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $500, actual damages, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees, less any delinquent rent or other sums the tenant owes.
• Other violations. Sec. 94.301 sets the general remedy: actual damages, a civil penalty equal to two months' rent and $500, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Under Sec. 94.303(b), a specific remedy in the chapter, such as the retaliation remedy, supersedes it. If a court finds a tenant sued in bad faith, the landlord's remedy depends on the claim. For a suit under the prohibited-acts subchapter, which includes the sale rule in Sec. 94.252, Sec. 94.255(b) lets the landlord recover possession of the lot plus one month's rent and $500, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Otherwise, Sec. 94.302 awards two months' rent and $500 plus attorney's fees and costs, and it also covers suits brought to harass.

If you no longer live in the home, Sec. 94.009 lets you ask in writing, when you sign or renew the lease, that notices go to your primary residence.

Back lot rent, liens and taxes

Under Sec. 94.206, a landlord may end the lease and evict for nonpayment if the unpaid rent and other amounts due add up to at least one month's rent, the landlord gives written notice that the payment is late, and the tenant does not pay in full before the 10th day after receiving it. Even then, removing the home requires the writ described above.

Chapter 94 has no landlord's lien section of its own. Whether the general residential landlord's lien in Property Code Sec. 54.041, written for "a landlord of a single or multifamily residence," reaches a home on a rented lot is a question for a Texas attorney.

The home has its own lien and tax rules. Under Occupations Code Sec. 1201.219(b), a lien on a manufactured home is perfected only by filing a notice of lien with TDHCA, so check the home's TDHCA record for liens. Tax Code Sec. 32.03(a-2) bars a transfer of ownership until tax liens timely filed with TDHCA are released and the personal property taxes for each January 1 in the 18 months before the sale are paid.

If the park files an eviction

An eviction case does not end your ownership of the home, but it changes the timeline for selling it in place. Under Sec. 94.203:

• If you disclosed a lienholder under Sec. 94.054, the landlord must give that lienholder written notice of the case no later than the third day after filing for possession.
• A court may not issue a writ of possession before the 30th day after the judgment if you paid the rent due under the lease for that 30-day period.
• If the landlord removes the home after executing the writ, it must send written notice of the home's location no later than the 10th day after the removal.

A sale in place still needs the park's written approval of the buyer, so talk to the manager and an attorney early if a case is pending.

If the park changes its land use

Under Sec. 94.204(a), a landlord may choose not to renew a lease to change the community's land use only if, no later than the 180th day before the change, it sends notice to the tenant, to the home's owner if different, and to any lienholder, stating the date and that the owner must relocate the home, and posts a conspicuous notice in the community. Under Sec. 94.204(b), the owner and lienholder get that notice only if the landlord was given their names and addresses in writing.

For an ordinary nonrenewal, Sec. 94.052(b) and Sec. 94.055(a) call for notice no later than the 60th day before the lease ends. Sec. 94.055(d) adds that a landlord may ask a tenant to leave before the end of that notice period only by paying relocation expenses in advance, including the cost of moving and installing the home at a new location.

After a land-use notice, the usual choices are moving the home or selling to a buyer who will.

Moving the home out instead

Moving the home is regulated work: a Texas Department of Motor Vehicles permit for a home in excess of legal size limits under Transportation Code Sec. 623.092, a licensed installer under Occupations Code Sec. 1201.101(d), and a new statement of ownership afterward. Sec. 1201.206(f) allows 60 days after the move to apply, but TDHCA's Form 1037 instructions say a change of location for a personal property home must be recorded within 30 days, so get the application to TDHCA within 30 days. Our guide to moving a mobile home in Texas covers who may tow it, the road rules and the paperwork.

Sec. 94.201 caps the landlord's damages for early termination at the rent left on the lease and other amounts owed under it, or at one month's rent if the lot is reoccupied before the 21st day after you surrender it. Sec. 94.202 gives the landlord a duty to mitigate, and Sec. 94.103 requires a deposit refund, less lawful deductions (Sec. 94.105(a)), no later than the 30th day after you surrender the lot, but Sec. 94.107(a) lets the landlord wait for your written forwarding address.

An empty home left in the park

Sellers who have moved out should know Occupations Code Sec. 1201.217. The owner of the land may declare a home abandoned if it has been continuously unoccupied for at least four months and any debt secured by the home or related to the lease is delinquent. The landowner must first mail a notice of intent to the record owner, the lienholders and the tax collector, among others. If the home is still there at least 45 days after the postmark, all liens on it are extinguished and the landowner may apply to TDHCA for the statement of ownership. Sec. 1201.217(c) lets the record owner remove the home after receiving the notice, so do not let the 45 days pass without a plan. Our guide to an abandoned mobile home on land walks through the process from the landowner's side.

If you would rather sell the home to us

Cash Home Advisors buys houses, including manufactured homes, in Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. We can close in 7–14 days once the statement of ownership and the land position are clear, and we pay all closing costs.

When you request a cash offer, tell us the park, your lot rent balance and whether you have the statement of ownership. See how our process works, read about selling a manufactured home, or browse our selling guides.

The state index is the Texas hub.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Texas Property Code, Chapter 94 (manufactured home tenancies, Secs. 94.001-94.303)
2. Texas Property Code, Chapter 54 (Sec. 54.041 residential landlord's lien)
3. Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1201 (Secs. 1201.101, 1201.206, 1201.217, 1201.219)
4. Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 623 (Subchapter E, manufactured house permits)
5. Texas Tax Code, Chapter 32 (Sec. 32.03 manufactured home tax liens)
6. TDHCA, Frequently Asked Questions: Statement of Ownership
7. TDHCA Form 1037, Statement of Ownership application instructions (change of location)

General information, not legal or tax advice. Talk to a Texas attorney or CPA about your situation.