MOBILE HOMES
Whether you rent or own a mobile home, you will be a tenant of the mobile home park. Before you purchase a mobile home, if you do not plan to move the home, review the lease and be sure that you have been approved to live in the park before you finalize the purchase. Moving a mobile home can easily cost more than $1,000.00.
The Mobile Home Landlord and Tenant Rights Act
(Chapter 765 Illinois Compiled Statutes, Act 745) protects many rights of mobile home park tenants. If you live in a park that has 5 or more mobile homes, the law applies to you.
Among its provisions are:
- The park owner must offer you a written, 12-month lease.
- Rent cannot be increased unless the park gives you notice 60 days in advance of the lease termination date. Rent cannot be raised during the lease.
- Late charges cannot be charged unless they are stated in the lease and the park gives you a minimum 5 day grace period after rent is due before imposing the charge.
- Your lease automatically renews for another year, every year, unless the park gives you written notice, 30 days in advance of the lease ending, of the reason for not renewing. Only GOOD CAUSE, such as non-payment of rent or violation of park rules can be used as a reason for refusing to renew your contract.
- You cannot be evicted from the park, except after judgment is entered against you in court for non-payment of rent, violation of law, or violation of park rules.
- Park rules are not enforceable unless:
* Copy of the rules was provided by the park at the time of signing the lease, or 30 days written notice of new rules was provided during the lease;
* The purpose of the rules is to promote the convenience, safety, and welfare of the tenants, preserve park property from damage, or to fairly distribute services;
* Rules apply to all tenants in a fair manner;
* Rules are clear enough to inform a tenant of what s/he must or must not do;
* Rules are not for the purpose of evading obligations of the park owner.
- Security deposits cannot exceed an amount equal to one month's rent. The park cannot charge for damage after the end of the lease unless it sends the tenant an itemized list of damages, with estimated costs of each item on the list, within 15 days after the lease ends. FAILURE BY THE TENANT TO OBJECT TO THESE CHARGES, IN WRITING, WITHIN 15 DAYS, MEANS THE TENANT AGREES TO THESE CHARGES. The park owner must pay
annual interest on any deposit held for more than 6 months.
- Upon sale of your mobile home to a qualified purchaser, the park owner/manager cannot require that the home be moved out of the park unless it is less than 12 feet wide or if it is in substantial disrepair and you failed to make repairs after written notice from the park.
THE PARK CANNOT PROHIBIT
YOU FROM SELLING YOUR HOME OR INTERFERE WITH YOUR SALE OF THE HOME TO A
QUALIFIED BUYER.
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The Tenant Union does not provide legal services of any kind. All information provided in this publication is intended to help the average person prevent problems and deal with common concerns of renting. When legal help is needed, always consult with an attorney at law.
The URL for these pages is http:// www.tenantunion.uiuc.edu
This page was last updated on 8/24/01.
