10 V.S.A. § ___ § 6236

(a) All terms governing the use and occupancy of a manufactured home lot shall be contained in a written lease. Manufactured home park owners shall promulgate reasonable and fair lease terms governing the use and occupancy of a manufactured home lot and shall furnish an initial copy of the lease to leaseholders. Any lease term that prohibits or in any other manner obstructs the ability of any leaseholder to act in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall be unenforceable. Any lease term that is not uniformly applied to all leaseholders of the same or a similar category shall be unenforceable, except that a park owner may establish a different lot rent rate for a manufactured home park constructed after June 1, 1995 or for new lots in an expanded manufactured home park constructed after June 1, 1995. Manufactured home park owners shall not restrict access by representatives of the Department to the leaseholders of the park.

(b) A lease term requiring the removal from a manufactured home park of a manufactured home that is detrimental to the other residents of the park for either health, safety, or aesthetic reasons shall not be considered unreasonable or unfair.

(c) Prospective leaseholders shall be furnished with a copy of the proposed lease prior to any agreement to use or occupy a manufactured home lot, and upon acceptance of the lease terms the lease shall be signed by the lessor and lessee. Any provision in a lease governing rental and utility charges shall be effective for a minimum of one year, except in the case of a new leaseholder in a manufactured home park in which there is a uniform rent schedule that affects all lots in that park simultaneously. The initial lease for a new leaseholder may include the anticipated increase in the rent and utility charge at the time it occurs for the other lots. A manufactured home park owner shall provide leaseholders with a minimum of 60 days’ notice prior to any rent increase. Rent increase notices shall not be given within six months prior to the issuance of a closure notice or at any time during which the closure notice is in effect. All rent increases received by the park owner during the six months prior to the issuance of a closure notice shall be returned to the affected leaseholders within seven days of issuance of the closure notice, except when the Commissioner determines the rent increase is needed to help remedy an emergency situation that affects the resident’s health, safety, or welfare. This subsection shall not apply to proprietary leases in manufactured home parks owned by limited equity housing cooperatives established under 11 V.S.A. chapter 14. The rental and utility charge may be increased during a year if the operating expenses of the park increase 20 percent or more during that year as the result of legislative action taken during that year and the increase could not have been anticipated. The rental and utility charge may be increased during a year only to the extent necessary to cover the increase in operating expenses of the park.

(d) No person shall sell, lease, or sublease a manufactured home or sublease or assign a lease for a lot in a manufactured home park without first obtaining the written approval of the park owner, which shall not be unreasonably withheld. A violation of this subsection shall be grounds for eviction.

(e) All manufactured home lot leases shall contain the following:

(1) Rental and utility charges and other reasonable incidental service charges, if any. No charges other than properly disclosed charges for rent, utilities, or other reasonable incidental services may be imposed or collected.

(2) Names and addresses of the park owners.

(3) Notice that the park owner shall not discriminate for reasons of race, religious creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, national origin, or because a person is a recipient of public assistance.

(4) Notice that the park owner shall not discriminate based on age or the presence of one or more minor children in the household, except as permitted under 9 V.S.A. § 4503(b) and (c). If age restrictions exist in all or part of a park, the specific restrictions and geographic sections in which restrictions apply shall be documented in the lease.

(5) The requirement to obtain permission from the park owner prior to leasing or selling a manufactured home or assigning or subleasing a lease for a manufactured home lot to another person.

(6) The notice required from a leaseholder in order to terminate the lease or occupancy arrangement.

(7) An effective date of the lease.

(8)(A) Notice that the manufactured home park is in a flood hazard area if any lot within the manufactured home park is wholly or partially located in a flood hazard area according to the flood insurance rate map effective for the manufactured home park at the time the proposed lease is furnished to a prospective leaseholder. This notice shall be provided in a clear and conspicuous manner in a separate written document substantially in the form prescribed by the Department of Housing and Community Development pursuant to subdivision (B) of this subdivision (8) and attached as an addendum to the proposed lease.

(B) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall develop a model form for the notice provided under this section that shall include the information required under subdivision (A) of this subdivision (8).

(f) A copy of all new lease terms shall be furnished to all leaseholders at least 30 days prior to the effective date of any amendment, addition, or deletion of the existing lease terms. Upon request, the park owner shall provide to any leaseholder a copy of the current lease for his or her lot. (Added 1973, No. 264 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 1987, No. 252 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1989, No. 229 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; 1993, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. May 6, 1994; 1995, No. 33, § 3, eff. June 1, 1995; 1997, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 23, 1998; 2007, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), § 57; 2011, No. 137 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 14, 2012; 2023, No. 181 (Adj. Sess.), § 104, eff. June 17, 2024.)