Mobile Home Park Protections Bill Advances

DENVER, CO – The Senate Local Government and Housing Committee yesterday advanced legislation to make mobile home park sales more fair and transparent.

HB26-1224, sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Lisa Cutter, D-Jefferson County, and Senator Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, would strengthen Colorado’s Mobile Home Park Act (MHPA) to ensure that residents have a fair chance to purchase the land underneath their mobile home. 

“This legislation builds upon years of work to level the playing field for mobile home park residents who often own their home but not the land beneath it,” said Cutter. “We’ve implemented laws to help residents join together to purchase their parks, keeping costs down and creating opportunities for stability and ownership. This bill adds additional measures to facilitate residents’ ability to purchase their park when it goes up for sale.” 

“I've seen firsthand the opportunity for residents to purchase their mobile home park in action in my district – and it's transformational for preserving affordable, local housing.” said Roberts. “This bill ensures that more residents in our state will have the time and information they need to make that decision, including operating costs and financial disclosures, and adds new protections to prevent families from losing their home. This bill continues upon years of work to keep mobile home parks – which provide essential affordable housing – in the hands of our communities.”

Beginning January 1, 2027, the bill would give residents at least 90 days to conduct inspections and protect residents who negotiate in good faith. The bill would ban anti-competitive practices that inflate prices above market value to make it harder for residents to purchase the mobile home park.

HB26-1224 would improve transparency by requiring a landlord to disclose documentation to justify the list price of the property, the age and history of major infrastructure on the property, rental information and operating expenses. Upon request, the bill would also require a landlord to disclose any financial ties to potential buyers of the property and any agreements between the landlord and the potential buyer.

To prevent evictions and keep housing costs down, the bill would:

• Ensure that residents receive notice when a park owner is temporarily prohibited from raising lot rents;

• Require evictions to be based on an official government finding of a violated law, ordinance, or rule, not just an informal claim; and

• Limit the amount of the annual MHPA registration fee that can be passed onto homeowners to keep housing costs down.

In 2020, the legislature passed a law to create a pathway for mobile home park residents to join together to purchase the land under their communities. Democrats have also passed laws to improve water quality in mobile home parks, strengthen tenant protections, improve language accessibility for important park notices and meetings and clarify the conditions of a sale of mobile homes and parks. The legislature also passed a bill this session, sponsored by Cutter and Senator Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton, to strengthen water quality protections for Coloradans in mobile home parks.

The bill now heads to the Senate floor for further consideration. Track its progress HERE.