10 V.S.A. § ___ § 6238
Charges and fees
Operative Text
(a) A prospective leaseholder or other person may not be charged an entrance fee for the privilege of leasing or occupying a manufactured home lot. A reasonable charge for the fair value of services performed in placing a manufactured home on a lot shall not be considered an entrance fee. (b) A qualified park owner may charge the initial lessee or occupant of an eligible site a site improvement fee. (1) The term “qualified park owner” shall mean: (A) a limited equity cooperative organized to provide low or moderate income housing as defined in 11 V.S.A. chapter 14; or (B) a Section 501(c)(3) organization or its wholly owned subsidiary organized to preserve housing for low income families. (2) The term “eligible site” shall mean a lawfully created manufactured home site that becomes available for occupancy by a manufactured home for the first time after June 1, 1993, and: (A) is located in a manufactured home park established in conformance with the requirements of this chapter after June 1, 1970; or (B) is located in a manufactured home park established prior to June 1, 1970, that registered with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources as a preexisting manufactured home park prior to July 1, 1989. (3) A site improvement fee is a charge for the cost of establishing a designated manufactured home site located within a manufactured home park, including site clearing; grading; construction of a manufactured home pad; construction of utility improvements such as those for water supply, sewage disposal, electricity, telephone, cable television, and gas; payment of municipal fees such as school impact fees and sewer connection charges; and payment of other costs associated with improvement of a site. A site improvement fee may not exceed $8,000.00. (4) A manufactured home park owner who has collected a site improvement fee may not terminate the park or change the use of any site that has paid the fee without offering to sell the park to the manufactured home owners in accordance with the provisions of section 6242 of this title. (Added 1973, No. 264 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 16, 1974; amended 1993, No. 96, § 1; 2007, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), § 60.)
Under 10 V.S.A. ch. 153 § 6238, manufactured home park operators are generally prohibited from charging prospective residents an "entrance fee" simply for the right to lease or occupy a lot, though a reasonable charge for actual placement services is not treated as such a fee. A narrow exception allows certain nonprofit or cooperative park owners — specifically limited equity cooperatives and Section 501(c)(3) organizations focused on low-income housing — to charge a "site improvement fee" on newly created or newly available sites, capped at $8,000. Park owners who collect this fee face a significant restriction: they cannot close the park or change a fee-paying site's use without first offering to sell the park to the residents under the procedures set out in § 6242.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Operators of manufactured home parks in Vermont should be aware that § 6238 bars the collection of entrance fees tied to the mere privilege of leasing a lot, though charges reflecting the actual fair value of home-placement services remain permissible. Only "qualified park owners" — limited equity cooperatives or qualifying 501(c)(3) organizations — may assess a site improvement fee, and only on eligible sites first made available after June 1, 1993, with the fee capped at $8,000 and limited to documented site-establishment costs such as grading, utility hookups, and municipal impact fees. Qualified park owners who do collect a site improvement fee under § 6238 must be prepared to offer residents the right of first purchase before closing the park or converting any fee-paying site to another use.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Section 6238 of Title 10 gives manufactured home lot residents a clear protection against being charged simply for the right to move in — entrance fees of that nature are prohibited, and only a narrow category of nonprofit or cooperative park owners may charge a site improvement fee, subject to a $8,000 cap and strict eligibility rules. If a prospective or current resident believes they have been charged an unlawful entrance fee, they may consider documenting the charge and exploring options such as raising the violation in any relevant legal proceeding or contacting a Vermont tenant-rights or manufactured-housing advocacy organization for guidance. Residents whose park owner collected a site improvement fee under § 6238 also have a protected right to be offered the opportunity to purchase the park before it is closed or their site's use is changed, a right enforceable under § 6242.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 18, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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