Chapter 18 - § 18.7 • MOBILE HOME PARK LEASES

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 18.7 • MOBILE HOME PARK LEASES

§ 18.7.1—In General

The Colorado Mobile Home Park Act³²² establishes the relationship between the owner of a mobile home park³²³ and the owner of a mobile home³²⁴ situated in the park.³²⁵ No lease may contain a provision by which the home owner waives his or her rights under the Mobile Home Park Act, and any such waiver is contrary to public policy and is unenforceable and void.³²⁶

§ 18.7.2—Commencement of Mobile Home Park Tenancy

A tenancy or other lease or rental occupancy of space in a mobile home park may not commence without a written lease or rental agreement.³²⁷

§ 18.7.3—Rental Agreement

The terms and conditions of a tenancy must be adequately disclosed in writing in a rental agreement³²⁸ by the management to any prospective home owner prior to the rental or occupancy of a mobile home space or lot.³²⁹ The disclosures must include:

• The term of the tenancy and the amount of the rent³³⁰ therefor, subject to the requirements of the terms of the tenancy set out below;
• The day rental payment is due and payable;
• The day when unpaid rent shall be considered in default:
• The rules and regulations of the park then in effect;
• The name and mailing address where a manager's decision can be appealed; and
• All charges to the home owner other than rent.³³¹

The rental agreement must be signed by both the management and the home owner, and each party must receive a copy of it.³³²

The management and the home owner may include, in a rental agreement, terms and conditions not prohibited by law.³³³

The terms of tenancy must be specified in a written rental agreement³³⁴ subject to the following conditions:

• The standard rental agreement is for a month-to-month tenancy.³³⁵
• Upon written request by the home owner to the landlord, the landlord must allow a rental agreement for a fixed tenancy of not less than one year if the home owner is current on all rent payments and is not in violation of the terms of the then-current rental agreement; except that an initial rental agreement for a fixed tenancy may be for less than one year to ensure conformity with a standard anniversary date.³³⁶
• A landlord may, in the landlord's discretion, allow a lease for a fixed period of longer than one year, in which circumstances the foregoing requirements do not apply.³³⁷

§ 18.7.4—Security Deposits

The owner of a mobile home park or his or her agents may charge a security deposit not greater than the amount of one month's rent or two months' rent for multiwide units.³³⁸ After July 1, 1979, security deposits remain the property of the home owner, and they must be deposited into a separate trust account by the landlord to be administered by the landlord as a private trustee. For the purpose of preserving the corpus, the landlord may not commingle the trust funds with other money, but he or she may keep the interest and profits on the security deposit as his or her compensation for administering the trust account.³³⁹

§ 18.7.5—Termination of Mobile Home Park Tenancy

A tenancy in a mobile home park may not be terminated until a written notice to quit has been served.³⁴⁰ A tenancy or other estate at will or lease in a mobile home park may not be terminated solely for the purpose of making the home owner's space in the park available for another mobile home or trailer coach.³⁴¹

Termination of non-owner lease or occupancy: Where a mobile home is being leased to, or occupied by, persons other than its owner and in a manner contrary to the landlord's rules and regulations, the landlord may terminate the tenancy upon giving a 30-day notice rather than a 60-day notice.³⁴²

Termination for statutory reason: A mobile home park tenancy may be terminated under the Mobile Home Park Act only for the reasons set out in C.R.S. § 38-12-203.³⁴³ Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Mobile Home Park Act also provides that such tenancy may be terminated for nonpayment of rent.³⁴⁴ The notice to quit must specify the reason for termination.³⁴⁵ If the tenancy is being terminated based upon the mobile home or mobile home lot being out of compliance with the rules and regulations established by the management,³⁴⁶ the notice must include a statement advising the home owner that he or she has a right to cure the noncompliance within 30 days of the date of the service or posting of the notice to quit.³⁴⁷ The 30-day period to cure a noncompliance runs concurrently with the 60-day period to remove a mobile home from the premises. Acceptance of rent by the landlord or management of a mobile home park during the 30-day cure period does not constitute a waiver of the landlord's right to terminate the tenancy for noncompliance with the written rules and regulations of the mobile home park.³⁴⁸ In addition to the notice to quit, a notice of termination must be served.³⁴⁹

Except as mentioned below, a home owner has not less than 60 days to remove a mobile home from the premises from the date the notice is served or posted.³⁵⁰ If the tenancy is terminated for certain conduct of the home owner or any lessee of the home owner or any guest, agent, invitee, or associate of the home owner or lessee of the home owner,³⁵¹ the home owner has a period of not less than 10 days to remove a mobile home from the premises from the date the notice is served or posted.³⁵² If the home owner has a right to cure under the Mobile Home Park Act, the landlord or management of the mobile home park cannot terminate a home owner's tenancy without first providing the home owner with a time period to cure the noncompliance.³⁵³

§ 18.7.6—Statutory Reasons for Termination

The following are the statutory reasons for termination of a mobile home park tenancy:

• Failure of the home owner to comply with local ordinances and state laws and regulations relating to mobile homes and mobile home lots;³⁵⁴
• Conduct of the home owner, on the mobile park premises, which constitutes an annoyance to other home owners or interference with park management;³⁵⁵
• Failure of the home owner to comply with written rules and regulations of the mobile home park³⁵⁶ either established by the management in the rental agreement at the inception of the tenancy, amended subsequently thereto with the consent of the home owner, or amended subsequently thereto without the consent of the home owner, on 60 days' written notice, if the amended rules and regulations are reasonable;³⁵⁷
• Condemnation or change of use of the mobile home park;³⁵⁸
• The making, or causing to be made, with knowledge, of false or misleading statements on an application for tenancy;³⁵⁹ and
• Conduct of the home owner or any lessee of the home owner or any guest, agent, invitee, or associate of the home owner or lessee of the home owner that:

• ○ Occurs on the mobile home park premises and unreasonably endangers the life of the landlord, any home owner or lessee of the mobile home park, any person living in the park, or any guest, agent, invitee, or associate of the home owner or lessee of the home owner;
• ○ Occurs on the mobile home park premises and constitutes willful, wanton, or malicious damage to or destruction of property of the landlord, any home owner or lessee of the mobile home park, any person living in the park, or any guest, agent, invitee, or associate of the home owner or lessee of the home owner;

•

○ Occurs on the mobile home park premises and constitutes a felony prohibited under article 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, or 18 of C.R.S. Title 18;
• ○ Is the basis of a pending action to declare the mobile home or any of its contents a class 1 public nuisance under C.R.S. § 16-13-303.³⁶⁰

§ 18.7.7—Eviction Procedure

The landlord or management of a mobile home park must serve to a home owner a notice to quit in order to terminate the home owner's tenancy.³⁶¹

The notice required by C.R.S. § 38-12-204.3 and the accompanying notice to quit or notice of nonpayment of rent³⁶² are the first steps in the eviction process.³⁶³ After the last day of the notice period, a legal action may be commenced to take possession of the space leased to the home owner.³⁶⁴ A home owner must appear to defend against an eviction action.³⁶⁵

In an action under the Mobile Home Park Act, the landlord has the burden of proving that he or she complied with the relevant notice requirements, that he or she provided the home owner with a statement of reasons for the termination³⁶⁶ and that the reasons for termination of the tenancy are true and valid under the Mobile Home Park Act.³⁶⁷ In addition to any other defenses a home owner may have, it is a defense that the landlord's allegations are false or that the reasons for termination are invalid.³⁶⁸

If the court rules in favor of the landlord or management of the mobile home park, the home owner will have not less than 48 hours from the time of the ruling to remove the mobile home and to vacate the premises. If a tenancy is being terminated pursuant to C.R.S. § 38-12-203(1)(f),³⁶⁹ the home owner has not less than 48 hours from the time of the ruling to remove the home and vacate the premises. In all other circumstances, if the home owner wishes to extend the period beyond 48 hours but not more than 30 days from the date of the ruling, the home owner must prepay to the landlord an amount equal to the total amount declared by the court to be due to the landlord, as well as a pro rata share of rent for each day following the court's ruling that the mobile home owner will remain on the premises. All prepayments must be by certified check, cashier's check, or by wire transfer and must be paid no later than 48 hours after the court ruling.³⁷⁰

Upon granting judgment for possession by the landlord in a forcible entry and detainer action,³⁷¹ the court must immediately issue a writ of restitution, which the landlord must take to the sheriff.³⁷² Upon receipt of the writ of restitution, the sheriff must serve notice to the home owner of the court's decision and entry of judgment.³⁷³

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