Highlights
- Provides cities and tenants with the right to purchase their mobile home park when the owner decides to sell or redevelop the property
- Powerful tool for minimizing tenant displacement and creating permanently affordable homeownership opportunities for low-income residents in gentrifying neighborhoods
Background
Around the country, many low-income residents have successfully purchased their mobile home parks, providing a long-term source of stable affordable housing. A key policy tool for supporting resident purchases is a right-to-purchase ordinance, which is triggered by certain events, such as when the park owner attempts to sell the property, issues a notice to vacate for a demolition or discontinuance of the park, or files a re-zoning request.
The successful acquisition of a mobile home park by tenants requires funding for resident organizing and technical assistance. Fortunately, loan financing is already available through organizations like ROC USA, a national nonprofit social venture with a proven track record of financing resident ownership of mobile home communities. ROC USA has already financed at least two mobile home resident ownership projects in Texas (Pasadena Trails and North Lamar Mobile Home Park). Around the country, there are many examples of successful resident acquisitions of mobile home parks providing a long-term source of stable affordable housing for low-income residents.
Model Provisions for a Right-to-Purchase Ordinance
- Require the mobile home park owner to notify residents before listing the property for sale.
- Require the mobile home park owner to provide a copy of any purchase offers to the residents and the city.
- Residents have 60-90 days to accept the offered price or provide a counter-offer.
- Residents have an additional 60-90 days to secure financing.
- Provide tenants with the right to transfer their purchase right to the city or nonprofit housing provider.
Examples
San Diego (45-day right of first refusal); Stacy, Minnesota (180-day notice); Connecticut (120- day notice and right of first refusal); Florida (45-day notice and right of first refusal); Minnesota (45-day notice and right of first refusal).