Californiaprovides some protection to residents by requiring notice 30 days to one year before the park owner lists the park with a licensed real estate broker or offers to sell the park to any party. This gives residents the opportunity to buy the park. However, California’s law:
Only requires notice, no right of first refusal (which would obligate the park owner to sell to the residents if they matched the terms of the other offer);
Does not require the park owner to negotiate in good faith with the residents;
Only requires notice to a resident association - if the residents do not have a resident association, no notice is required; and
Only requires notice to the resident association if it sends a letter to the owner once a year stating that it is interested in purchasing park.
Connecticutprovides some protection to residents by requiring the park owner to give residents notice and a right of first refusal in some circumstances 120 days before the park is sold. (The right of first refusal obligates the park owner to sell to the residents if they match the terms of the other offer). A strength of Connecticut’s law is that it requires notice to each resident, even if they do not have a resident association. However, Connecticut’s law applies only if the park owner intends to discontinue use as a park or sell to someone who intends to discontinue use as a park. As a result, residents miss many opportunities to purchase their parks.
Floridaprovides some protections to residents by requiring the park owner to give residents notice and a right of first refusal in some circumstances 45 days before the park is sold. (The right of first refusal obligates the park owner to sell to the residents if they match the terms of the other offer). This gives residents an opportunity to buy their park in some circumstances. However, Florida’s law has serious loopholes:
It requires notice only to a resident association - if the residents do not have one, the park can be sold without any advance notice.
It requires notice to the resident association only if it has given a notice to the park owner, recorded a notice with the local court, and given the park owner a copy of that notice.
If the park owner receives an offer to buy the park without having offered it for sale, the only obligation is to give notice – no delay in the sale is required.
Maineoffers some protections to residents by requiring park owners to give 45 days’ written notice before accepting an offer to purchase the park. A strength of the law is that it requires notice to each resident, without requiring that there be a resident association. However, the law:
Does not give residents a right of first refusal (which would obligate the park owner to sell to the residents if they match the terms of the other offer).
Does not require advance notice if the purchase and sale agreement forbids the buyer of the park from changing its use for the first two years.
Massachusettsprovides some good protections to residents. The park owner must give notice to each resident, with copies to public officials, within 14 days of offering the park for sale or lease. In addition, residents are entitled to advance notice and a right of first refusal in two circumstances: 1) when the park owner receives an offer for sale or lease that would result in changing the use of the park; or 2) when there is a resident homeowners’ association in the park that represents more than 50% of the residents and that has notified the park owner that it wants to receive notice of any proposed sale or lease.
Minnesotaoffers some protection to residents by requiring park owners or buyers, in some circumstances, to give 45 days’ notice and a right of first refusal (meaning that the park owner is obligated to sell to the residents if they match the terms of the other offer). A strength of Minnesota’s law is that the park owner must give notice to a resident of each home, not just to a resident association if there is one. However, notice is required only if the buyer intends or decides to close park or convert it to another use within one year, which dramatically narrows the scope of the protection. A park owner who lists the park with a realtor or advertises it for sale to the public in a newspaper must also give written notice to the residents, but need not delay before selling the park.
Nevadaprovides some protections to park residents, but the protections are relatively weak. Nevada requires the park owner to give notice to the resident association, if there is one in the park, 10 to 30 days before listing the park for sale with a licensed real estate broker. Even this notice is required only if the resident association 1) sends the owner a letter saying it wants to be given notice and that it is interested in buying the park, and listing the names and addresses of three members; and 2) renews this letter every year. Nevada does not require the park owner to negotiate in good faith with the residents. Nor does Nevada give the residents the right of first refusal, which would obligate the park owner to sell to the residents if they match the terms of the other offer.
New Hampshire provides relatively strong protections to residents. It has a very strong notice requirement, requiring park owners to give each resident advance notice of almost any sale of the park. In addition, the owner has a duty to consider any offer the residents make to buy the park, and to negotiate in good faith with them. New Hampshire does not give residents a right of first refusal, so the park owner is not obligated to sell to the residents if they match the terms of the other offer, but it has a very strong community loan program that has enabled many park residents to take advantage of the advance notice and buy their parks.
New Jersey provides some protections to park residents. Park owners must give notice to residents before offering the park for sale or accepting an offer to sell the park. The park owner must give notice to the resident association if there is one, but otherwise must give notice to each resident. Residents then have the right of first refusal, meaning that the park owner is obligated to sell to the residents if they match the terms of the other offer. The weakness in New Jersey’s law is that it only applies if the sale is made in contemplation of a change of use for the park, so residents miss many opportunities to buy their parks.
Oregon provides some protections to park residents. A park owner who lists the park for sale or receives an offer must give notice and must negotiate in good faith with the residents if they make an offer. A weakness in the law is that notice is required only to a resident association that has made a written request to the park owner. Oregon also provides a tax incentive for park owners to sell to residents or non-profit organizations.
Rhode Island provides fairly strong protections to park residents. The park owner must give residents notice and the right of first refusal before selling the park, and also before any lease that would result in change of use. (The right of first refusal means that the park owner is obligated to sell to the residents if they match the other offer). The main weakness in Rhode Island’s law is that notice is required only if there is an incorporated resident association that has sent the owner a certified letter.
Vermont provides relatively strong protections to residents. The park owner must give notice to each resident 45 days before accepting an offer to buy the park. If the residents make an offer to buy the park, the owner must negotiate in good faith with them. Vermont does not, however, give residents the right of first refusal, so the park owner is not obligated to sell to them if they match the other offer. Vermont also gives park owners a tax incentive to sell the park to the residents or a non-profit organization.
Washington provides some protection to park residents. The park owner must give notice to the residents, and to any resident association and a number of governmental offices, within 14 days after any advertisement, multiple listing, or public notice advertise the park for sale. The law also encourages the park owner to negotiate in good faith with the residents for the sale of the park, and provides a tax incentive if the park owner sells the park to the residents or a local government, local housing authority, nonprofit community or neighborhood-based organization, federally recognized Indian tribe, or regional or statewide nonprofit housing assistance organization. The law does not require the park owner to wait any period of time after giving notice or after receiving a third-party offer to enable the residents to make an offer.
