Colorado’s MHPA Legislative Timeline- Good or Bad for Landlords?

Colorado’s mobile and manufactured housing market is the state’s largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing, accounting for nearly 900 parks and communities statewide. Although these homes offer cost-effective alternatives to rising mortgage costs and interest rates, tenants have historically been subject to the rates and regulations put in place by mobile home park owners.

To address these disparities, Colorado has enacted a series of amendments to provide security for tenants; in turn, these ramifications are pushing owners to wanting to sell their manufactured housing communities and mobile home parks. The acts are increasing liabilities for owners, decreasing the value of the parks, and potentially implementing rent control, decreasing cash flow to landlords.

MHPA Timeline

May 2019

To rectify the inequality in power between landlord and tenant in manufactured or mobile homes, the state of Colorado adopted the MHP Act, or HB19-1309, to amend previous ordinances and respond to tenant concerns, ultimately giving them more rights and security in their homes. Included in this act:

• Granted counties and municipalities the power to enact certain ordinances for mobile home parks.
• Doubled the period between the notice of nonpayment of rent and the termination of tenancy from five days to 10.
• Extended the time a mobile homeowner has to vacate a park after a court orders eviction from 48 hours to 30 days.
• The act created the Mobile Home Park Act Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Program, which authorizes the division of housing in the department of local affairs to register mobile home parks annually with the state, collect a registration fee from mobile home parks, and dispute resolutions when there are alleged violations.

June 2020

Following the act signed the year prior, Colorado adopted HB20-1196 to further amend legislation and increase protection for park tenants. This amendment included:

• Increased time a homeowner has to cure instances of noncompliance from 30 days to 90 days.
• Increased the period to sell or remove a home if a tenant is evited from 60 to 90 days.
• Tenant annoyance to other homeowner is no longer a legitimate reason to end tenancy.
• Colorado also signed HB20-1201, granting homeowners in a mobile home park the opportunity to purchase the park if the landlord anticipates selling it or changing the use of the land.
• Park owners must give homeowners a minimum of 90 days to express interest in purchasing the property and another 90 days to close the purchase.

May 2022

Two years later, tenants pushed the state of Colorado to adopt HB22-1287, furthering protection for residents. Included in this act:

• A right of first refusal.
• Changed the period in which the tenants can offer to purchase the park up to 180 days.
• Set the landlord responsible for damages to a mobile home that resulted from failure to maintain premises of the park.
• Allows the attorney general to investigate and enforce statutory provisions.
• Clarifies procedures and penalties when a party does not respond to a subpoena from the division.
• Prohibits the landlord from interfering with the tenants right to sell their home to the buyer of choice.

However, only 11 hours before this bill was passed, Governor Polis weighed in a veto threat that forced backers of the bill to remove the amendment that would have limited rent increases to three percent annually or the local rate of inflation rental cap. Therefore, there remains a high probability that further revisions to this amendment will be enacted.

Looking to the Future

The legislation enacted increases responsibilities and liabilities as a park owner, pushing owners to sell their facilities. In the months to come, investors can anticipate an increase in manufactured housing communities and mobile parks to enter the market.